Quarterfinals of U18 European’s set

The Quarterfinals of the 2015 U18 European Championship have been set after a thrilling final round in the group stages in Greece. We now move forward to the knockout phase of the competition where every win counts on the road to the showpiece game.

Defending champions Turkey came out on top in a top spot deciding clash against Lithuania, finally edging an exciting game 73-67. A back and forth encounter saw the teams trade leads and buckets throughout, but Turkey had more consistency on the court thanks to two double-doubles, Furkan Korkmaz (22 points and 12 rebounds) and Ömer Yurtseven (14 points and 12 boards).

Bosnia and Herzegovina punched its Quarterfinals ticket with a 72-59 win over Italy, which ensured the Italians would miss out on the last 8. It is the first time the Bosnians will compete the Quarterfinals, and Edin Atic with 24 points and 17 rebounds was instrumental in the victory.

Greece completed the Group F picture as the hosts overcame Russia, although they would have progressed regardless. The Greeks were trailing by 14 points heading into the last 13 minutes, but fought back as Iakovos Milentigievits hit 16 points in the second half on his way to a haul of 19 points.

France dispensed of Germany with ease, grabbing an 89-74 win on the way to topping Group E. Bathiste Tchouaffe led the winning effort with 21 points and Les Bleus look in good form heading into the knock out phase on evidence of a 4-1 record so far are among the teams to beat. Germany progressed in third place despite the loss.

Spain looked on course for first place in the group, leading Latvia 71-61 with five minutes remaining. However, already eliminated Latvia restored pride with a 14-2 run that sealed an unlikely comeback, although the Spanish go through regardless.

Serbia’s rejuvenation continued as last year’s runners-up collected a narrow 86-87 win over the Czech Republic to qualify in fourth place from the Group E. Vojislav Stojanovic’s name goes in the record books as the Serbian became the first player to make a triple-double since 2004. He managed an excellent game that included 15 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists.