Division A: Serbia comes back to the throne - Aug. 13, 2007
Serbia U18 - Greece U18 92:89 Serbian U18 team repeated 2005 and became the new European champions.
In a dramatic Final they managed to overcome a 16-point deficit in the second
frame to celebrate a narrow 92:89 victory over Greece. This summer became really
unbelievable for Serbian youngsters as U16, U18 and U20 teams all triumphed in
respective European championships.
Greece entered the title clash as the only undefeated team at the tournament.
And they started to prove their status straight away. Nikoloas Theodorakos'
three pointer marked an early 15:9 lead for Greek side. They dominated the first
frame and established a 29:22 lead at the end of it.
Konstantinos Koufos (216-C-89) nailed 6 points early in the second frame to
lift Greece to a 35:24 distance. Another bunch of misses from Serbian players
allowed Greece to extend the gap to 45:31 on
Charalampos Giannopoulos (201-F-89, agency:
FCM)
trey with less than 3 minutes remaining.
Konstantinos Sloukas (187-G-90) added four straight points for Greece at the
end of the first half and they enjoyed a 51:39 advantage at halftime. Stefan
Stojacic (197-G-89) nailed 8 points in the first part of the third term to
inspire Serbian comeback. They cut the deficit to 6 points 51:57 midway through
the quarter. However Greece withstood the attempt and responded with consecutive
three pointers from
Konstantinos Koufos and
Konstantinos Sloukas to cap the frame. Serbia entered the fourth quarter
trailing by as many as 10 points 58:68. But
Dusan
Katnic (193-G-89) reignited Serbia with a trey at the start of the final
term.
Milan Macvan (206-F/C-89) added a free throw and another three point attempt
from
Stefan Stojacic put Serbia back into contest. They narrowed the lead and
finally surged ahead as
Milan
Macvan chipped in 4 consecutive points with less than 4 minutes left. Katnic
later added three points and Stojacic was perfect from free throw line to give
Serbian squad a 87:78 lead with 48 seconds remaining. Greece used free throws to
stay in race as they cut Serbian lead to 4 points with 14 seconds on the clock
87:91. Then
Konstantinos Koufos dunked one home to put Greece as close as 2 points with
13 seconds in the game.
Filip
Covic (178-G-89) answered with one made free throw and Greece had 11 seconds
to force overtime. However first
Nikolaos Pappas (194-G-90, agency:
FCM) and then
Charalampos Giannopoulos missed their shots to lose the Final. Milan
Macvan became Serbian Player of the Game with 32 points and 14 boards.
Stefan
Stojacic nailed 21 points, while
Dusan
Katnic provided 20 points.
Konstantinos Koufos, who was named tournament's MVP, paced Greece with 33
points and 13 boards.
Konstantinos Sloukas poured in 18 points and
Charalampos Giannopoulos produced 14 points in defeat.
Division B: Belgium wins the tournament - Aug. 12, 2007
Final
Belgium U18 - Ukraine U18 86:58 Belgium U18 National team triumphed at the European championship in
Bulgaria. They stun Ukraine 86:58 to claim the top spot in Division B of the
European basketball. Both Ukraine and Belgium will join Division A next year.
Both teams entered the Final game with a 7-1 record and looked forward to
improving it.
The game started closely enough but
Olivier
Troisfontaines (194-G/F-89) nailed a three pointer midway through the first
frame to give Belgium a 18:10 lead. They later drove to a 22:14 advantage at the
end of the quarter.
Lorenzo
Giancaterino (190-F-90) opened the second quarter with a long jumper and put
Belgium up by 11 points 25:14.
Olexiy
Chygrynov (190-G-89) hit a trey with under three minutes left in the first
half to cut the deficit to 6 points 27:33. However Belgium held on to the lead
and finished the first half ahead 37:30.
Ukraine tried to stay in the contest throughout the third frame but 12:0 run in
the last three minutes allowed Belgium to run away to a 62:39 distance.
Lorenzo
Giancaterino connected from beyond the arc early in the fourth term to spoil
Ukrainian hopes for a positive result. Ukraine struggled from all ranges and
just watched their opponents to pile up the lead. Belgium coach let the bench
log some minutes at the end of the encounter but the gap never kept on growing
and reached 28-point mark at the end. Jean
Mwema (195-F-89) topscored for Belgium with 16 points and 6 rebounds in the
Final.
Lorenzo Giancaterino added 15 points for the winners.
Ruslan
Otverchenko (192-F-90) scored 16 points for Ukraine.
Olexiy
Shchepkin (194-G-89) had 11 points in defeat.
Poland U18 - Montengro U18 80:68 Poland U18 team celebrated a narrow win over Montenegro to clinhc the
3rd spot in the European championship Division B. Polish team led by 12 points
at halftime 44:32. Jaroslaw Mokros opened the second half with a three pointer
to set the tone for the rest of the encounter. Poland secured a 64:47 advantage
entering the fourth term. Nikola Lalic jumper cut the deficit to 10 points for
Montenegro 56:66. But they never managed to come closer and had to surrender at
the end. Adam
Waczynski (197-F-89) topscored for Poland with 22 points and 10 rebounds.
Jakub
Wojciechowski (209-C-90) provided 14 points and 11 boards for the winners.
Igor
Lutersek (203-C-89) scored 23 points for Montenegro.
Sead
Sehovic (200-G-89, agency:
Ultimate
Sports Agency) netted 16 points, grabbed 7 rebounds and dished out 6 assists
in a losing case.
Sweden U18 - Czech Republic U18 91:56 Sweden U18 national team demolished Czech team to finish the European
championship in Sofia at the 5th place. Sweden controlled the game right from
the start and drove to a 18:14 lead after the opening quarter.
Jeffery
Taylor (198-G/F-89) poured in 6 points in the last 3 minutes of the first
half to ensure a 44:33 advantage for Sweden at halftime. Swedish guard scored
first 5 points for his team in the third term to keep them ahead 49:41. Czech
Republic managed only 6 points in the final 7 minutes of the third stanza and
were trailing 47:68 at the start of the fourth quarter.
Christopher Ryan (194-G-90) knocked down a three pointer and
Jeffery
Taylor added another 5 points to lift Sweden to a massive 76:50 advantage
midway through the final term. Czech Republic had no chances for a positive
outcome and Sweden eased to an overall victory at the end. Jeffery
Taylor produced 22 points and 10 boards for Sweden.
Christopher Ryan contributed 16 points for the winners.
Jan
Vesely (204-F-90) had 16 points and 9 boards for Czech Republic.
Jan
Spacek (195-F-89) added 14 points in a loss.
Division A: Everything is set for the Final - Aug. 12, 2007
3rd-4th spots
Latvia U18 - Lithuania U18 74:72
Latvian U18 team clinched the third spot at the European championship in Spain.
They outscored Lithuania in the dramatic Bronze medals game today. Lithuania
failed to repeat their last season's success when they finished the tournament
at the third place.
Lithuania got to a slightly better start of the game and they enjoyed an early
6:2 advantage. The lead then changed hands seven times before the teams drew the
scoreline at 34 at hafltime. Sarunas Vasiliauskas nailed three straight points
to lift Lithuania to a 41:36 lead early in the third quarter. They maintained
the gap throughout the third term and completed it in front 57:53. Donatas
Motiejunas (213-C-90) chipped in 8 points at the start of the final quarter
to put Lithuania ahead 65:56. However first
Dairis
Bertans (192-G/F-89) connected from afar and then Lauris Blaus converted a
layup to close the gap with just over 3 minutes left.
Vaidas
Cepukaitis (207-C-89) ensured a 2-point lead for Lithuania 70:68 with under
2 minutes on the clock. But
Janis
Kaufmanis (184-G-89) was perfect from free throw line to make it a 70:70
game with 49 seconds to play. Vasiliauskas missed his shot, while Kaufmanis
responded with a two-point play to put Latvia up 72:70.
Zygimantas Janavicius (192-G-89) once again tied the scoreline at 72 with 9
seconds left in regulation but it was not the end. Janis Strelnieks hit a jumper
to seal the victory for Latvian team. Dairis
Bertans and
Lauris
Mizis (195-G/F-89) produced 14 points apiece for Latvia.
Janis
Kaufmanis contributed 11 points in a winning clause.
Donatas
Motiejunas paced Lithuania with 22 points and 10 boards.
Vaidas
Cepukaitis had 17 points and 13 boards in defeat.
Spain U18 - France U18 92:85 Spanish U18 team rebounded after a sour loss from Lithuania in the
qualifying round and finished the home European championship in style. They
recorded two consecutive victories that lifted them to the 5th place in the
final ladder. Today Spain overcame France in the battle for the 5th spot. Spain
dominated the game from early on and rolled to a 22:19 lead after the first
quarter. Sergio De La Fuente ensured 8 points in the second frame to leave Spain
in front 46:38 at halftime.
French players outplayed 3 points in the third quarter and entered the fourth
term trailing by 5 points 59:64.
Raphael
Wilson (196-F-89) nailed a three pointer and
Edwin
Jackson (190-G-89) added another one to draw teams midway through the frame.
But Spain immediatelly reacted with consecutive treys from
Pablo
Aguilar (203-F-89) and
Luis
Parejo (196-G-89) to restore a 81:76 lead. France climbed as close as 3
points with 22 seconds left 85:88. But a perfect free throw shooting at the
dying stage helped Spain survive and celebrate victory. Pablo
Aguilar led Spain with 22 points and 11 rebounds.
Ricard
Rubio (192-G-90) secured 21 points and 8 assists for the winners.
Edwin
Jackson netted 27 points for France.
Antoine
Diot (191-G-89) produced 24 points in a loss.
Spainiards shot 50% from close range and solid 48.1% from three point range.
France at the same time dominated the boards 41:32.
Croatia U18 - Turkey U18 90:81 Croatia ended the U18 European championship in Spain with a win over
Turkey. This lifted them to an overall 7th spot. Turkey had a perfect start to
the game as they enjoyed an early 26:13 advantage. But Croatian players
completed the first frame with a 10:0 run and cut the gap to 3 points 23:26.
Turkey though did not allow Croatia to spur ahead in the second quarter and
maintained advantage throughout the frame. They led by as many as 2 points at
halftime 44:42. Croatia stayed at a striking distance before
Mario
Delas (204-F/C-90) connected from afar to finally put them in front with 57
seconds left in the third quarter.
Can
Ozcan (200-F-89) however responded with a jumper to tie the scoreline at the
end of the quarter. The game remained close enough in the first part of the
fourth term before Croatia paved their way to a safe 10+ lead with less than two
minutes to go in the game. Turkey scored 6 consecutive points in the dying stage
but it never helped them to escape loss. Karlo
Vragovic (191-G-89) scored team-high 21 points for Croatia.
Marino
Sarlija (205-F/C-89) and
Miro
Bilan (210-C/F-89) netted 16 points apiece for the winners. Turkey answered
with 27 points and 6 boards from
Can
Ozcan.
Birkan
Batuk (198-F-90) delivered 20 points in a losing effort.
Russia U18 - Germany U18 53:70
Russian U18 team was not able to succeed on the last day of the European
championship in Madrid. They were badly beaten by German team 53:70 to complete
their campaign at the 10th place.
Russia enjoyed an early lead as
Semen
Antonov (203-F-89) opened the score with a layup. Later Valentin Novikov hit
a three pointer to put Russia ahead 7:4. However Germany pulled back late in the
frame and secured a narrow 15:12 advantage at the end. The lead changed hands
couple of times throughout the second quarter but Germany finally enjoyed a
33:30 gap at halftime.
The second half opened with a 13:2 run from Germany as they cleared off to a
safe 46:32 distance. They capped the third term with 6 unanswered points and led
by as many as 19 points entering the final frame 54:36.
Russian players struggled to cut the deficit and came back into the contest and
Germany easily cruised past their opponents to an overall victory. Elias
Harris (200-F-89) led all scorers with 16 points.
Philipp
Schwethelm (200-F-89) added 13 points, while
Tibor
Pleiss (213-F/C-89) had 12 points and 15 boards for the winners.
Ivan
Pavlov (202-C-89) paced Russian team with 12 points.
Dmitri
Khvostov (191-G-89) provided 10 points in defeat.
Russia converted 43.2% of two pointers and only 17.9% from beyond the arc. They
were also outrebounded by Germany 39:44.
Israel U18 - Estonia U18 68:59
Israeli U18 national team completed their European championship campaign with a
win over Estonia. This victory marked the 11th overall place for Israel. Estonia
lost their 4th straight encounter and finished the tournament at the 12th spot.
Estonia though looked better at the start of the game. Karl Vimberg scored 4
points late in the opening frame to lift Estonia to a 16:11 lead. They secured a
19:16 advantage after the first frame and held on to it throughout the second
quarter. The teams approached halftime with a 36:33 Estonian lead.
Siim-Sander Vene (200-F-90) and
Gert
Merisalu (189-G-89) combined 8 points for Estonia early in the third quarter
to give them a 44:35 lead. Israel just managed to cut the deficit to 8 points at
the end of the frame on
Hen
Gonshor (190-G-89, agency:
Arik Krayn
Services)'s trey. However breakthrough for Israeli team came in the fourth
stanza.
Hen Gonshor connected from outside and
Raviv
Pitshon (202-C-89) added two points for Israel to tie the scoreline.
Estonian team merely stopped and scored only 3 points in the final 5 minutes of
action giving away the win.
Raviv
Pitshon capped the game with 4 consecutive points and clebrated the victory
together with his teammates. Raviv
Pitshon topscored for Israel with 27 points and 21 rebounds.
Hen
Gonshor contributed 14 points for the winners.
Siim-Sander Vene replied with 18 points for Estonia.
Gert
Merisalu had 10 points in a losing effort.
Division B: Ukraine and Belgium will play in the title decider - Aug.
12, 2007
Semifinals
Ukraine U18 - Poland U18 77:56
Ukrainian team edged Poland in the first semifinal of the U18 European
championship in Sofia, Bulgaria. Thus Ukraine became the first finalist of the
tournament and guaranteed Division A birth in their next European campaign.
However the victory was not so easy for Ukrainians as they final scoreline might
tell. Poland looked much better as the start of the encounter and gained an
early 18:5 lead with just over 3 minutes remaining in the first quarter. Polish
guard
Tomasz Snieg (187-G-89) secured 7 points in this successful period. However
Denys
Lukashov (187-G-89),
Igor
Dranchenko (191-G-89) and
Olexiy
Chygrynov (190-G-89) all connected from beyond the arc in the last 3 minutes
of the opening quarter to cut the deficit to 16:25.
Ukraine continued to use three point artillery in the second frame and posted an
impressive 17:2 run midway through the quarter to gain a 34:27 advantage. They
held on to the lead and completed the first half ahead 38:32.
Ivan
Poliezhaiev (202-F-89) and Oleksandr Tischenko fired another consecutive
three pointers in the third term to extend the lead to 54:39. Poland struggled
to match Ukrainian accuracy and fell far behind. Ukraine enjoyed a 70:52
distance on another Poliezhaiev's long jumper with less than three minutes
remaining in regulation. Poland had nothing to reply with and surrendered at the
end. Olexiy
Shchepkin (194-G-89) led Ukraine with 18 points.
Denys
Lukashov chipped in another 12 points for the winners.
Piotr
Pamula (190-G-90) and
Adam
Waczynski (197-F-89) scored 12 points apiece to pace Poland.
Tomasz
Snieg had 9 in a loss.
Belgium U18 - Montenegro U18 64:56
Belgium joined Ukraine in the U18 European championship Final. They needed to
overcome Montengro in a fierce semifinal yesterday. Montengro entered the
semifinal undefeated and hoped to extend their winning streak however Belgium
used a solid accuracy and a very tidy defensive performance to snap Montenegrin
winning streak.
Though the start of the encounter did not forecast anything good for Belgium.
Montengro proved their favorite status as they confidently rolled to a 20:6
advantage after the opening frame. But Belgium was never taken aback and began
to recover in the second quarter.
Jorn
Steinbach (180-G-89) nailed 10 points early in the second frame to cut the
deficit to 3 points 20:23. Belgium point guard added two more free throws and
Jean
Mwema (195-F-89) connected from afar in the last minute of the first half to
lift Belgium ahead 29:28.
Both teams kept it close throughout the biggest part of the third quarter before
Belgium sparked with a 10:0 run to complete the term and extended the lead to
48:39.
Montenegro desperately tried to save the contest and came as close as 5 points
on Nikola Ivanovic's three pointer with just over 3 minutes remaining. But
Belgium wisely secured the distance at the dying stage and advanced into the
Final. Jean
Mwema led all scorers with 22 points and 15 boards.
Jorn
Steinbach netted 21 points for the winners.
Igor
Lutersek (203-C-89) answered with 18 points and 11 rebounds for Montenegro.
Sead
Sehovic (200-G-89, agency:
Ultimate
Sports Agency) finished with 13 points and 8 boards in defeat.
Czech Republic U18 - Hungary U18 68:58 Czech Republic U18 team celebrated a tough victory over Hungary to
fight for the 5th spot. They will clash with Sweden later tonight. Hungary will
take on Bosnia and Herzegovina for the 7th-8th places.
The teams played a close basketball in the starting frame and were tied at 10
after it. Czech Republic finally managed to clear off their opponents late in
the second quarter as they spurred to a 27:24 lead at halftime. However Hungary
regained the lead late in the third frame as
Matyas
Szanati (190-G-89) nailed a jumper and
Adam
Hanga (200-G/F-89, agency:
FCM) converted a free throw 46:44. They held on to it through a bigger part
of the final term before
Jan
Vesely (204-F-90) dunked the ball home and put Czech Republic back in the
lead 58:56 with less than 3 minutes to go. Vojtech Hruban later dropped 4
straight points to spur Czech Republic to a 62:58 distance with 81 seconds
remaining. Jan Spacek and
Jan
Vesely combined 4 free throws to seal a 66:58 a win for Czech Republic in
the dying seconds. Jan
Vesely led Czech team with 22 points and 20 rebounds.
Jakub
Krakovic (-90) added 12 points for the winners.
Adam
Hanga netted 24 points for Hungary.
Peter
Szabo (-89) had 7 points in a losing effort.
Czech Republic dominated the boards 52:36. They also limited Hungarian side to
only 29.3% from two point range, converting 47.9% themselves.
Sweden U18 - Bosnia and Herzegovina U18 82:64
Swedish U18 team secured a battle for the 5th spot yesterday. They defeated
Bosnia and Herzegovina in classification round and will now face Czech Republic.
Bosnia plays against Hungary today.
Sweden drove to an early 22:14 advantage after the opening frame. The gap grew
to 44:31 at halftime as Sweden shot more accurately from close range. Bosnia and
Herzegovina had a momentum midway through the third frame as they managed to cut
the deficit to 7 points on
Danko
Sestic (197-F-89) jumper. However
David
Hult (205-C-89) chipped in 4 consecutive points to restore a 13-point
advantage for Sweden. Bosnia tried hard to cut the gap in the final frame and
came as close as 9 points 6 minutes into the term. But
Jeffery
Taylor (198-G/F-89) nailed 7 straight points for Sweden and put them away to
a 77:62 distance with 70 seconds left in regulation. Bosnia and Herzegovina
never recovered and suffered a defeat. Jeffery
Taylor topscored for Sweden with 19 points and 8 rebounds.
Christopher Ryan (194-G-90) and
David
Hult secured 10 points apiece for the winners.
Igor
Vreca (195-G-89) netted 17 points for Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Nemanja
Nikolic (197-F-89) had 16 points in a losing clause.
Sweden shot solid 55.6% from two point range and 66.7% from free throw line.
Division A: Serbia and Greece are through to the Final - Aug. 12, 2007
Semifinals
Serbia U18 - Latvia U18 82:71
Serbia became the first U18 European championship finalists yesterday. They
stormed past Latvia in the fourth quarter to celebrate an overall 82:71 victory.
Serbia will now clash with Greece in the tournament decider today. Latvia will
play against Lithuania for Bronze medals.
Latvian
Dairis Bertans (192-G/F-89) opened the game with a three pointer to set the
tone for the encounter and marked Latvian ambitions. The lead then changed hands
numerous times before
Mikus
Sokolovs (192-G-89) nailed a jumper and
Dairis
Bertans added a free throw to secure a 20:17 lead for Latvia after the
starting frame. The game was still a bunch of nerves and drama in the second
quarter and Serbia used
Nikola
Markovic (207-F/C-89) 's trey at the end of the frame to surge ahead 35:32.
Neither team could accumulate any decent advantage throughout the third stanza
and Serbia just managed to hold on to 51:49 gap entering the final term. They
however used a 6:0 run early in the fourth quarter to clear off to a 57:50
distance. Latvuia missed a couple of nice opportunities and Serbia immediatelly
capitalized spurring in front to a 71:57 lead with just over 3 minutes
remaining.
Janis
Strelnieks (185-G-89) responded with a long jumper to cut the deficit but
Serbia were unstoppable.
Dusan
Katnic (193-G-89) and
Filip
Covic (178-G-89) scored a pair of free throws each, while
Milan
Macvan (206-F/C-89) added another jump shot to put Serbia ahead 77:61 with
90 seconds left in regulation. Latvia capped the game with 7:1 run but it never
helped. Serbia are in the Final! Dusan
Katnic netted 22 points for Serbia.
Milan
Macvan secured another 20 points and 15 boards for the winners.
Dairis
Bertans topscored for Latvia with 24 points and 10 rebounds.
Janis
Kaufmanis (184-G-89) had 13 points in a loss.
Greece U18 - Lithuania U18 86:78 Greek team joined Serbia in the European championship Final. They edged
Lithuania shortly after Serbian success. Greek centre
Konstantinos Koufos (216-C-89) was remarkable in thsi one as he provided 37
points, 20 rebounds and 5 blocks to seal the win for Greece. Lithuania did not
find a weapon against his impressive performance and had to surrender at the
end.
Konstantinos Koufos and
Nikolaos Pappas (194-G-90, agency:
FCM) combined 17 points in the first frame to lift Greece to a 21:19 lead.
Lithuania however quickly bounced back and
Mindaugas Kuzminskas (202-F-89) ' dunk put them in front 26:25 midway
through the second frame. Greece answered with a massive 19:2 run and left
Lithuania far behind 44:28 with 2 minutes to play in the first half. Lithuania
were able to cut the deficit to 10 points at halftime 36:46.
Almost a perfect shooting accuracy helped Lithuanian squad to narrow the gap and
regain the advantage late in the third quarter 58:57. But once again
Konstantinos Koufos and
Nikolaos Pappas combined their effort to post 7 straight points and grab a
64:58 lead for Greece. The game remained very close in the dying stages and
Lithuania trailed by only 3 points with just under 3 minutes on the clock.
Marios
Matalon (188-G-89) then dropped two points and
Nikolaos Pappas fired two from free throw line to ensure a 82:76 advantage
for Greece with 70 seconds left. Pappas later was once again perfect from the
stripe and Charalampos Giannopoulos notched another jumper to bury Lithuanian
hopes for Final birth.
Nikolaos Pappas finished with 19 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists for
Greece.
Marios Matalon added 16 points and 9 assists for the winners.
Vytenis
Lipkevicius (196-F-89) scored 22 points and pulled down 11 boards for
Lithuania.
Adas
Juskevicius (193-G/F-89) had 16 points in defeat.
France U18 - Croatia U18 75:59
French U18 team started the classification round for the 5th-8th spots with a
comprehensive victory over Croatia. They will now face the winner of a Spain
vesrus Turkey clash for the 5th place tomorrow.
France allowed Croatia to gain a 6:5 lead 3 minutes into the game but then
Edwin
Jackson (190-G-89) nailed a jumper to put France ahead for good. They
secured a narrow advantage 14:12 after the opening frame.
Edwin
Jackson converted a bunch of free throws late in the second quarter to give
France a comfortable 41:27 advantage at halftime. France continued to dominate
after the break and led by as many as 16 points with less than 2 minutes to go
in the third stanza. However
Pavle
Marcinkovic (197-G-89) connected from beyond the arc and
Marino
Sarlija (205-F/C-89) added three more points to cut the deficit to 10 points
entering the fourth quarter 47:57.
Sarlija opened the final term with another two-pointer but it was as close as
Croatia managed to get. France responded with 10:3 run to establish a 67:52 gap
midway through the frame. Croatia were not able to deliver any comeback attempt
and lost the encounter. Edwin
Jackson led all scorers with 28 points for France.
Luc
Louves (205-F/C-89) contributed 12 points and 9 boards for the winners.
Pavle
Marcinkovic chipped in 15 points for Croatia.
Karlo
Vragovic (191-G-89) and
Marino
Sarlija had 13 points apiece in defeat.
Croatia outrebounded the winners 44:40 but lost the contest of accuracy. France
converted 48.9% of two pointers and 31.3% from outside, whike Croatia shot just
37.2% from close range and 20% from afar.
Spain U18 - Turkey U18 84:64
Spanish U18 team celebrated a confident victory over Turkey in the
classification round for the 5th-8th places yesterday. They will now play
against France for the 5th spot later today. Turkey will fight for the 7th place
against Croatia.
Spain enjoyed an early 28:23 lead after the opening frame.
Pablo
Aguilar (203-F-89) netted 12 points for Spain in the first quarter. Spanish
centre continued to deliver consistently and his trey marked a 41:28 advantage
for home side.
Ricard
Rubio (192-G-90) then added another three pointer to lift Spain to 44:28
lead midway through the second quarter. Turkey sparked in the center of the
third term and cut the gap to 13 points 43:56. However
Luis
Parejo (196-G-89) connected from the outside and Aguilar scored another jump
shot to stay ahead 61:46. Turkey refused to say die and capped the third stanza
with 4 consecutive points which allowed them to come back within 9 points 55:64.
But it was as close as Turkey could have got that evening. Aguilar and Rubio
combined their effort to ignite Spaniards and led them to an overall victory.
Pablo
Aguilar topscored for Spain with 25 points and 7 rebounds.
Ricard
Rubio contributed 19 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds and 6 steals for the
winners.
Can Ozcan (200-F-89) answered with 17 points for Turkey.
Birkan
Batuk (198-F-90) delivered 12 points in a losing clause.
Montenegro and Poland stays unbeaten in Division B - Aug. 10, 2007
11.08.2007
Semifinals Montenegro-Belgium
Poland-Ukraine
The Qualifying Round finished up in the Division B last night. Two teams left
with 0 in the column of their losses. Montenegro and Poland are the teams now
that deserve the Finals more than any other team. Ukraine and Belgium will try
to upset them in the semifinals in order to stay alive.
Poland beat Belgium 67:55 due to the last spurt of 21:12. Waczynski and
Mokros
(196-F-90) led the winners with 12 points.
Jean
Mwema (195-F-89) top-scored for Belgium with 12 points and 9 rebounds.
Poland finishes the Group with 3-0, while Belgium reaches the semifinals with
2-1.
In another game of the group Czech Republic beat Sweden 71:69.
Jeffery
Taylor (196-G-89) 's 27 points and 15 rebounds were not enough for Sweden as
Vojtech
Hruban (197-F-89) produced 15 points for the winners.
In Group F Montenegro beat Ukraine in the game for the first place 67:66. Nikola
Lalic led the way with 21 points.
Denys
Lukashov (187-G-89) and
Olexiy
Chygrynov (190-G-89) netted 18 points for Ukraine.
Bosnia demolished Hungary 87:66 to finish third in the group.
Dino
Hodzic (190-G-90) had a great game scoring 35 points for Bosnia.
Division A: The semifinals are ready
- Aug. 10, 2007
11.08.2007
SEMIFINALS
Serbia-Latvia
Greece-Lithuania
GROUP E
Greece U18-Latvia U18 83:73 (17-18, 23-21, 19-14, 24-20) Latvia U18 and Greece U18 were the only undefeated teams in Group E
before the game with each other. In the last day of the Qualifying Round Greece
won 83:73 sending Latvia to the second spot.
Konstantinos Koufos (216-C-89) was again unstoppable with 30 points and 13
rebounds.
Charalampos Giannopoulos (201-F-89, agency:
FCM)
produced 21 points and 9 rebounds, while
Nikolaos Pappas (194-G-90, agency:
FCM) posted 15.
Lauris
Mizis (195-G/F-89) ended up with 16 points in the losing effort.
Both teams realized that it was not the game to die. The game started with the
two teams being like rookies in the game as they both were trying to identify
the weak points of their rivals. Latvia won the opening quarter 18:17 due to
Vilcins' jump shot. Oskars
Virsis (192-G-89) and
Dairis
Bertans (192-G/F-89) put away a couple of nice treys to keep Latvia close
while Greece missed some free throws as the gap closed to 40:39 to Greece at
half-time.
In the third and most crucial quarter though,
Konstantinos Koufos together with Ioakeimidis increased the deficit for
Greece to seven points by the end of the third quarter. Greece overcame also in
the last with 24:20 to stay the only undefeated team in the tournament.
On the 11th of August Latvia will face Serbia in the first semifinal. The
latter finished with 4-1 record being the top of the group F. In another
semifinal Greece will meet Lithuania.
Turkey finished 4th in Group E of the Qualifying Round of U18 European
Championship for men. In the last game of the Round Turkey beat Estonia 84:58
and left them with no wins in the second Round.
Birkan
Batuk (198-F-90) led the winners with 19 points.
Tufan
Onen produced 10, while
Volkan
Incekara (192-G-90) chipped in 9 points.
Siim-Sander Vene (200-F-90) netted 13 points in defeat.
Ozcan opened the game for Turkey with a three pointer to give the 'always' lead
for his team. Turkey enjoyed 25:15 lead after the first 10 minutes.
In the second quarter Estonia came back to the game and after Klementsov's two
the score was 33:30. To feel more comfortable in the game Turkey led to 42:34 at
the half.
In a terrible third quarter for the Estonians only three of their players found
the basket. Turkey continued to shoot well all over the court, pulling away to a
24 point lead. The game ended up with 84:58 for Turkey that finished with 2-3 in
the group.
Turkey due to the win will play for the 5-8 places. Estonia meanwhile will have
battles for 9/12 spots.
Israel U18-France U18 53:90 (12-20, 21-23, 10-21, 10-26)
France U18 finishes third in the group E of U18 European Championship
for Men. In the game over Israel the team won 90:53 and left Israel on the 5th
spot.
Antoine Diot (191-G-89) top-scored for the winners with 21 points.
Luc
Louves (205-F/C-89) scored 14, while
Christophe Leonard (198-F-90) added 12.
Raviv
Pitshon (202-C-89) was the best for the Israeli team scoring 17 points and
making 11 rebounds.
Zinderman opened the game with a free throw to give Israel the only lead 1-0.
France answered with 17:5 after Wilson hit a three. An opening quarter ended up
at 20:12 for the French squad.
Even Israel stayed tough in the second quarter France kept their ten points
advantage.
Antoine
Diot with a three sent the teams to the lockers with 43:33.
In the second half we saw only one team that controlled the game-France.
Christophe Leonard made the score 58:41 and it was clear at that time that
France would win. It was him again to close the third with 64:43. In the last
quarter France used a 26:10 spurt to make the score inappropriate for Israel.
Lithuania U18-Serbia U18 75:71 (25-20, 19-16, 9-20, 22-15)
Lithuania U18 advanced in the semifinal of U18 European Championship. In a key
game of the day the Baltic team rolled over the leader of the group Serbia
75:71. A confident win in the first half was broken with 9:20 for Serbia.
Spanish spectators that desired the win for the Serbs in order Spain clinch
second place were disappointed as Lithuania grabbed the win.
Donatas
Motiejunas (213-C-90) (213-C-90) led the winners with 22 points and 10
rebouns.
Lukas
Vasiliauskas (193-G/F-90) posted 14, while
Vaidas
Cepukaitis (207-C-89) collected 12.
Stefan
Stojacic (197-G-89) top-scored for Serbia with 16 points.
Lithuania grabbed the lead in the opening tip and after Juskevicius's two the
score was 11:5. In order to stay on task Markovic closed the first for Serbia
with 25:20. A good deficit could create Lithuania in the second quarter as they
finished at 44:36.
In the third quarter Serbia dominated in the court.Another three-pointer from
Covic gave Serbia a 56:53 lead going in to the final stretch. Serbia stayed in
front for 5 more minutes in the last quarter until
Lukas
Vasiliauskas tied the game at 60. A Vytenis Lipkevicius three pointer
started a run of 11-2 to Lithunania that put them ahead 73:67. Lithuania led the
game to 75:71 to get the ticket to the semifinal.
Spain U18 overcame Croatia in the last day of the Qualifying Round. The
victory lifted them to 4-1 record which was enough to advance but only from
another Group. In the game after them Lithuania beat Serbia and three teams
finished the group with 4-1 record. Unfortunately for the hosts of the
Championship, due to the games between each other Spain had the worst result.
In the game over Croatia Spain stormed in the beginning of the game and
controlled the rest of it.
Pablo
Aguilar (203-F-89) led the winners with 24 points.
Pere
Tomas (201-F-89) nailed 20, while De La Fuente added 16.
Mario
Delas (204-F/C-90) collected 23 points in the losing effort.
A 7-0 run in the game was exchanged to 34:21 after the first 10 minutes of the
game. Croatia threatened to come back slightly, but never drew closer than to
within nine points.
Pablo
Aguilar dunk ended the half with Spain 55:44 ahead.
In the second half Croatia could step closer with the score 73:68. An 8-0 run
from Spain at the start of the final quarter buried the visitors. Spain won
89:78 but finished third in the group and as well as Croatia will play for the
5/8 place.
Russia U18 lost the last game of the Qualifying Round in U18 European
Championship for Men, however with 1-4 record finished 5th in the Group. Germany
beat the Russia squad 83:77, but ended up last with the same record.
Robin
Benzing (208-F-89) paced the winners with 23 points.
Tibor
Pleiss (213-F/C-89) collected 17 points and made 14 rebounds, while
Christian Standhardinger (201-F-89) added 15.
Semen
Shashkov (202-F-89) top-scored for Russia with 27 points and 13 rebounds.
Russia U18 dominated in the first quarter, however let Germany to win the
quarter.
Semen
Shashkov's three reduced to 20:23. Germany was unstoppable in the next
period due to which they increased to 10 points lead.
Robin
Benzing pulled away to 40:30 lead at half-time.
In the third quarter nothing had changed definetely as German team stayed in
front. A jump-shot by Schwethelm made the score 60:48 before the last 10
minutes. What Russia could do was to reduce to 4 points.
Semen
Antonov (203-F-89) with a free throw made the score 78:74, but then Germany
increased to 83:77.
Russia and Germany will play for the 9-12 places in the tournament. This is
for sure not the goal that was before the Championship.
Division B: Qualifying round begins - Aug. 9, 2007
As it was
the end of the Preliminary Round recently the teams did not even have a day-off
before the next round. Last night eight best teams so far started the Qualifying
Round.
Belgium and Poland celebrated the wins in Group E. For the only indefeated team
in Group A, Belgium it was another comfortable win. Even though the team lost
the first quarter to Sweden they triumphed 91:68 win.
Jorn
Steinbach (180-G-89) led the winners with 22 points.
Jeffery
Taylor (196-G-89) netted 14 for Sweden.
Meanwhile Poland luckily escaped from Czech Republic. Trailing 12 points in the
first half the team finished with 80:78 victory due to 25:17 and 24:18 in the
last quarters.
Adam
Waczynski (197-F-89) paced the winners with 28 points.
Jan
Vesely (204-F-90) collected 20 points and made 15 rebounds in defeat.
In Group F Ukraine and Montenegro share the first place. Ukraine did not have
any problems against Hungary beating them 82:56.
Denys
Lukashov (187-G-89) and Olexiy Shchepkin top-scored with 15 points each.
Montenegro also easily overcame Bosnia 93:69.
Igor
Lutersek (203-C-89) shone with 36 points and 10 rebounds. Ukraine and
Montenegro see each other tonight.
Division A: three teams stay unbeaten - Aug. 9, 2007Â
Today will
be the last day of the Qualifying Round in Division A of U18 European
Championship for Men. Last night only three teams stayed undefeated in the
tournament and two that are from Group E advanced already into the semifinals.
Greece and Latvia will have tonight a small final, which will be the game for
the first place in Group E. Both teams remain undefeated in the tournament and
booked already the tickets to the semifinal. Greece had a thriller against
France and won 82:81.
Konstantinos Koufos (216-C-89) led the winners with 25 points, 10 rebounds
and 7 blocks.
Latvia had also a tough game defeating Turkey 73:68. Trailing 10 points after
the first 10 minutes of the game Latvia overcame the oppponent.
Lauris
Mizis (195-G/F-89) led the way with 26 points.
Dogus
Balbay (184-G-89) produced 27 for Turkey.
Israel and Estonia solved the task for the first win and Israel being a bit
stronger won 70:69.
Anton
Shoutvin (206-C-89) top-scored for the winners with 18 points and 6
rebounds.
Group F
1. Greece 4/0
2. Latvia 4/0
3. France 2/2
4. Turkey 1/3
5. Israel 1/3
6. Estonia 0/4
In Group E Serbia improved to 4-0 and remains the only team without losses. The
team smashed Germany 107:59 with Milan Macvan's 18 points.
In the key game of the day Spain took a massive step towards the semis with a
tough 87:82 win over Lithuania.
Donatas
Motiejunas (213-C-90) was the top scorer for Lithuania with 17 points.
Ricard
Rubio (192-G-90) led the Spaniards with 33 points.
Russia overcame Croatia 71:63 and got the first win in the Qualifying Round.
Valentin Novikov (195-F-89) paced the winners with 21 points.
Group F
1. Serbia 4/0
2. Lithuania 3/1
3. Spain 3/1
4. Croatia 1/3
5. Russia 1/3
6. Germany 0/4
Division B: The end of the Preliminary Round - Aug. 8, 2007Â
The
Preliminary Round ended up in Sofia as all the teams in four groups played 4
games each. Two best teams from the group advanced to the Qualifying Round, the
others went into Classification.
Belgium stayed undefeated in the group with 4-0 record. The win over Slovakia
gave Czech Republic the ticket to the next round. Slovak Republic U18 lost the
very important game after which the team was sent to the Classification Round.
Playing with the leader of the group, Slovakia was defeated by Belgium 56:74.
Jorn Steinbach led the winners with 29 points.
Jean
Mwema (195-F-89) posted 16 points and made 10 rebounds, while Olivier
Troisfontaines ended up with 12.
Miroslav
Kral (189-G-89) top-scored with 23 points and Peter Dorazil finished with 22
points and 19 rebounds for Slovakia.
Miroslav
Kral with a three gave Slovakia 10 points lead in the second quarter. A
41:27 lead at the half was more than enough to advance. Meanwhile Belgium proved
that the team is the leader in teh group and produced a great second half. The
team made 17-3 run and Jorn Steinbach gave Belgium 45:44 lead in the end of the
third. A 27:7 in the third quarter demolished Slovakia. Belgium won the last
20:8 and the game 74:56.
Czech Republic U18 grabbed the second ticket from group A to the Qualifying
round in Division B. In the last game of the group not only the win was enough
for the team. A 94:78 victory and the Belgium win over Slovakia gave them the
second place. Jakub Mikulec and Jan Spacek led the winners with 17 points.
Jan
Vesely (204-F-90) supported them with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Morten
Sahlertz (-89) and Rasmus Soeby scored 50 points together for Denmark.
Denmark, the team with no wins opened the game well. After 18:12 in the end of
the first Denmark finished at 18:16. Later on Czech Republic was the team that
led the score. At first in the beginning of the second quarter the team tied the
game after
Jan
Vesely made a lay-up, then 44:38 sent the teams to the lockers.
In the third quarter the Czechs felt more confident and dominated in the court.
Kudlacek with a jump-shot submited a 67:51 advantage. Denmark could bring an
intrigue back into the game reducing to 68:79. It was only for some time as
Czech Republic finished with 94:78.
Poland beat Sweden in group B 83:72 as both teams proceeded to the Qualifying
Round. Finland having the same result, 3-1 due to the games with each other went
to the Classification Round. The team smashed Armenia 133:37 with 29 points from
Antti
Kanervo (191-G/F-89).
Ukraine and Bosnia advanced to the next round even before the game with each
other as both teams stayed on top with 3-0. Ukraine won the game 71:69 to finish
first.
Denys Lukashov (187-G-89) led the winners with 21 points. Ireland beat
Switzerland 55:49 with Dara McKeon's 22 points.
In group D Montenegro and Hungary qualified the day before as well. In the game
between each other Montenegro celebrated a 76:61.
Nikola
Lalic (188-G-89) top-scored for the winners with 19 points. Portugal
overcame England 71:65 as Joao Filipe Valente Soares ended up with 17 points.
Division A: The 1st day of the Qualifying Round - Aug. 8, 2007
GROUP E
Israel U18-Latvia U18 78:91 (17-18, 22-18, 17-21, 22-34))
Latvia U18 won the first game of the Qualifying Round in U18 European
Championship. The team remained the undefeated in the tournament defeating
Israel 91:78. Only in the last quarter the Baltic team could prove its
superiority as Israel led for the whole game.
Oskars
Virsis (192-G-89) led the winners with 24 points and 7 rebounds.Dairis
Bertans (191-G-89) (191-G-89) nailed 21, while
Janis
Kaufmanis (184-G-89) added 16.
Anton
Shoutvin (206-C-89) top-scored with 24 points and 12 rebounds in the lossing
effort.
The first quarter gave the clear idea that Israel having 0-2 in the Round would
not lose the gave easily. Israel reached a ten point lead 38:28 with the end of
the half approaching. Two three pointers in the last minutes luckily left Latvia
in the game.
In the second half it looked that Latvia should go on, but Israel stayed tough.
Only in the last quarter the team had no strength and realized that it did all
the best in the last three. Latvia took a control and led the game to 91:78 win.
The victory lifted Latvia to 3-0 to share the first spot with Greece. Israel
covres the bottom at 0-3 as well as Estonia.
Turkey U18- France U18 68:82 (21-26, 16-22, 16-21, 15-13)
France U18 increased to 2-1 in the Qualifying Round of U18 European
Championship. In the game for the second win in the group both France and Turkey
desired it, but France won the battle.
Edwin
Jackson (190-G-89) paced the winners with 21 points.
Christophe Leonard (198-F-90) and Diot supported him with 16 points.
Dogus
Balbay (184-G-89) ended up with 18 points in the losing effort.
France U18 opened the game with 2-0, but got a three from
Melih
Mahmutoglu (192-G-90) right after that. The rest of the first quarter was
controlled by the French squad that increased to 26:21.
The first 10 points advantage the favorites got after
Edwin
Jackson nailed a jump-shot. He made France to celebrate 41:31 lead. Both
squads went to the interims with 48:37.
Things got worse for Turkey as from 5:00 in the third quarter they missed seven
consecutive shots. France continued to dominate, growing a 69:50 lead to
effectively close out the Turks. In the last quarter Turkey scored more the
France but it was not enough to win. France improves to 2-1, while Turkey falls
at 1-2.
Estonia U18 after a dramatic win over Italians lost the first game of the
Qualifying Round. Greece, being the leader of the group downed Estonia 87:56.
Konstantinos Koufos (216-C-89) paced the winners with 23 points and 8
rebounds, while
Charalampos Giannopoulos (201-F-89, agency:
FCM)
produced 17 points and 9 rebounds.
Siim-Sander Vene (200-F-90) top-scored for the Baltic state with 17 points
and 7 rebounds.
Henri
Polakene (187-G-89) netted 10, while
Margus
Klementsov (169-G-89) scored 8 points.
Estonia started poor and got 9 consecutive points from the Greek players. The
first 2 points Estonia scored only after 3 minutes of the game.
Siim-Sander Vene made a jump-shot to cut the lead a little bit. Sloukas gave
Greece 27:18 lead after the first 10 minutes of the game.
The second quarter was a good one for Estonia as they reduced to 39:35 at the
half. That seemed to be the turning point for Greece, who at the start of the
third quarter went on a 13-2 run to build a big 52:37 lead. As hard as Estonia
could try they trailed 46:63 after three quarters.
In the last period Greece did not stop and as a result they increased to 87:56
making it the final score.
It was the third loss for Estonian team in U18 European Championship. The
next game the team plays tonight against Israel.
Lithuania U18 stays undefeated in U18 European Championship. In the first
game of the Qualifying Round the team downed Russia 79:65. With a tough game
throughout the first three quarters Lithuania pushed the tempo in the last.
Zygimantas Janavicius (192-G-89) paced the winners with 16 points.
Vaidas Cepukaitis (207-C-89) finished the game with 14 points and 13
rebounds, while
Vytenis Lipkevicius (196-F-89) added 14 and
Sarunas Vasiliauskas (188-G-89) and
Donatas Motiejunas (213-C-90) had 10.
Semen Shashkov (202-F-89) top-scored for Russia with 15 points and 13
rebounds. For the team it was the third loss and now they are on the bottom
with 0-3.
It was Russian team that started the game being in front. Russia went on a
7-0 run in the opening tip to bring intrigue into the game. After a bright
start, however, the Russians just seemed to stop playing and end the quarter
17:12 down as Lithuania came back with an amazing run.
In the second quarter tried to increase to 10 points, but satisfied with
36:28 at the half.
Vaidas Cepukaitis in the third brought Baltic team 42:32. Pavlov with a
jump-shot reduced again to 54:47 before the last quarter. In the fourth
period Lithuania was the favorite in the court. The team won the quarter
25:18 and achieved the first win in the Qualifying Round that lifted them to
3-0.
Croatia U18-Serbia U18 81:84 ( 26-17, 14-26, 19-23, 22-18 ) A win over Germany took lots of strength as Croatia lost the first
game of the Qualifying Round. Serbia, being the leader of the group beat
Croatia 84:81. A good game and a great support by the spectators made the
game very interesting.
Milan Macvan (206-F/C-89) and
Stefan Stojacic (197-G-89) led the winners with 21 points, while
Dusan Katnic (193-G-89) added 15.
Filip Kruslin (200-G-89) nailed 20 points in the losing effort.
Mario Delas (204-F/C-90) netted 17 and
Marino Sarlija (205-F/C-89) added 16.
Croatia opened the game with 6 points in a row and thanked the spectators
who were chearing loud.
Marino Sarlija made the score 23:10 that was a bit of surprise in the
court. Croatia held the lead and had 26:17 after the first 10 minutes of the
game.
In the second Serbia hit their first trey of the game through Nikola
Markovic during an 8-0 run at the start of the quarter which turned the game
into a contest.
Milan Macvan helped the team to take 34:31 lead.
Stefan Stojacic with a three put Serbia with 43:40 at the half time.
In the third quarter Croatia slowed down. Markovic gave Serbia 53:42 in the
center of the quarter. His team kept 7 points before the final period. With
three seconds left and against deafening noise from the crowd
Milan Macvan converted his second free throw to give his side a 84:80
lead. Marcinkovic could only reduce to 81:84.
Spain U18 improves to 2-1 in the Qualifying Round of the U18
European Championship in their own country. A victory in every quarter gave
them 82:56 over Germany.
Ricard Rubio (192-G-90) led the winners with 20 points.
Pablo Almazan (203-C-89) collected 16 points and made 11 rebounds, while
De La Fuente added 15.
Elias Harris (200-F-89) top-scored for Germany with 13 points.
The first quarter did not promise a difference in the end of more than 10
points. Spain and Germany stayed close to each other and only 19:17 left
spain in front. Spain found its game later in the second and when
Xavier Rabaseda (199-G-89) scored two more the advantage became 37:27.
Benzing cut it to 42:35 as both teams disappeared in the lockers.
The game lost the interest in the third quarter till the end. Spain was too
good for the opponents and dominated in the court. Of course it was highly
appreciated by the fans who supported their team. The hosts won the third
23:11 and even at that time did not worry about the game. The last quarter
was also won by them 17:10 that brought them a first win in the Qualifying
Round.
Czech Republic U18 fell at 1-2 in the Group A after being defeated by
Austria. In Day 4 of U18 European Championship the last quarter was the disaster
for the Czechs. Austria pushed them to 26:11 and won 81:71. Seilern led the
winners with 31 points.
Moritz
Lanegger (188-G-90) (188-G-90) produced 17 pointrs and made 11 rebounds,
while
Rasid Mahalbasic (203-F-90) added 11.
David
Jelinek (194-G-90, agency:
PPGroup)
top-scored for the Czechs with 15 points.
The game started with both teams playing offensive basketball. An even game led
to 16:15 for Czech Republic after the first 10 minutes. The second quarter was
the break up in the game as Austria took 10-points lead. With 28:17 in the
second Austria steped in front with 43:33.
In the third quarter the Czechs felt the second feeling and created a 27:12 run.
Kudlacek's three gave his team 60:55 before the last 10 minutes. A 71:70 lead
was the last for Czech Republic U18 in the game. Austria dominated in the end of
the game and won it 81:71.
Slovak Republic U18 overcame Denmark in Day 4 of U18 European
Championship. A 25:18 lead in the first quarter allowed them to keep 87:83 win.
Peter
Dorazil (198-C-89) led the winners with 21 points and made 12 rebounds.
Miroslav
Zilik (-89) ended up with 13 points, while
Miroslav
Kral (189-G-89) added 12. Denmark was paced by
Asger
Kongstad (-89) who scored 15 points.
Slovak Republic U18 had 3-5 points lead from time to time in the opening
quarter.
Peter Dorazil with a jump-sot made the score 25:17 as both teams left the
first. The team increased to 9 points after
Peter
Dorazil again scored a basket. Hasan made the biggest lead for Slovakia
37:24.
Denmark meanwhile reduced in the second quarter and trailed 43:38 at the half.
In the third quarter Soeby hit a three a brought Denmark 53:51. A 71:70 was the
last lead however for Denmark. With no strength left the team failed in the end.
Slovak Republic U18 made 11-1 run to finish the game at 87:83.
Finland U18-Holland U18 86:65 (23-14, 29-17, 14-19, 20-15)
Hollnad u18 fell at the 4th place and now has 1-3 record. It happedned
as the teams lost to Finland 86:65.
Antti
Kanervo (191-G/F-89) led the winners with 30 points.
Juho-Matti Lehtoranta (191-G-89) ended up with 17, while
Toivo
Virtanen (-89) added 13.
Jonas
van der Poel scored 12 points in the losing effort.
Finland started very nice and led the game to a happy end. Holland could only
win the thitd quarter 19:14.
Sweden U18-Armenia U18 90:32 (25-11, 22-4, 25-9, 18-8)
Sweden U18 destroyed Armenia in Day 4 of U18 European Championship. A
90:32 win was a great step to the first place in the group.
Andreas
Karlsson (194-F-89) and
Bengt
Pettersson (-89) led the winners with 13 points each.
John
Gaddefors (-89) supported them with 11. Aghajanyan
Andranik Novents (-89) was the only one to reach the double digits nailing
13 points.
Sweden dominated in every quarter and there was no time when you could think of
another team. Armenia lost only 8-18 in the last that was applaud by the
specators.
Ireland U18 got the first win in U18 European Championship. In the
third game of the Preliminary Round the team beat Luxembourg 75:72. Trailing 5
points before the second half, Ireland progresses in the second.
Craig
Edmonds (198-F-89) led the winners with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Anderson
chipped in 13 and made 11 rebounds.
Laurent
Schwartz (177-G-89) nailed 22 points in the losing effort. Ireland is 1-2 in
the group, while Luxembourg 1-3.
Bosnia and Herzegovina U18-Switzerland U18 83:49 (21-16, 21-8, 18-18,
23-7)
Bosnia and Herzegovina U18 stays undefeated in U18 European
Championship in Sofia, Division B. In the third game the team did not have any
difficulties over Switzerland beating them 83:49.
Dino
Hodzic (190-G-90) led the way with 17 points. Sestic produced 13 points and
made 13 rebounds, while
Josip
Naletilic (184-G-89) added 11.
Marko
Milicevic (194-G-89) netted 14 points in the losing effort.
It was not difficult to predict the game as both teams are already known tin the
tournament. Bosnia proved the stability and mastership.
Norway U18 lost the third game in U18 European Championship for men. In
the last game the team was beaten by Hungary 47:79. The latter as well as
Montenegro stays undefeated in the Group.
Adam
Hanga (200-G/F-89, agency:
FCM) led the winners with 17 points and 8 rebounds, while
David
Vojvoda (191-G/F-90) added 12. For Norway
Stian
Mjoes (185-G-89) top-scored with 15, points.
Anders
Stien (193-G-90) scored 11, while
Torgrim
Sommerfeldt (196-G-89) chipped in 8. Norway lost all the quarters, but most
of the troubles had in the second half.
England U18-Montenegro U18 60:72 (13-20, 9-22, 17-12, 21-18)
Montenegro tops the Group D of U18 European Championship for Men. In
Day 4 of the tournament the team rolled over England 72:60. The latter has 0-3
record and covers the bottom.
Sead
Sehovic (200-G-89, agency:
Ultimate
Sports Agency) led the winners with 18 points and 13 rebounds.
Milos
Lopicic (213-C-90) and
Nikola
Lalic (188-G-89) supported him with 9 points each.
Devan
Bailey (183-F-89) produced 16 points in the losing effort.
Montenegro won the first two quarters and 20 points deficit before the half. It
was more than enough to prepare for another game against Hungary for the 1st
place in the group. The game is scheduled for tonight.
Division A: The end of the Preliminary Round - Aug. 6, 2007Â
The Preliminary
Round finished up in the U18 European Championship for men. It brought some
results and events that for sure will be desired by the reader. Italy and
Slovenia as well as Romania and Bulgaria are out of Top 12.
In Group A Latvia ensured a perfect start to their U18 European championship
campaign. They defeated France in the third round of action in Group A to stay
unbeaten and advanced into the qualifying round of the tournament. France fell
to 2-1 record, but successfully made it to the Top 12.
Dairis Bertans reigned the court in the opening frame and scoring 7 points
helped Latvia to stay ahead 24:18. He opened the second quarter with another
long jumper and set the tone for Latvian squad. They held on to a lead
throughout the quarter and France managed just cut the gap to 3 points at
halftime 36:39.
The teams kept it close in the third frame and only offensive burst from Dairis
Bertans at the end of the stanza lifted Latvia to a 56:51 lead entering the
fourth quarter.
Janis
Kaufmanis (184-G-89)' jumper marked a 69:60 Latvian dominance with 2 minutes
left in regulation. However France replied with 7 consecutive points to narrow
the gap to just 2 points with 1 minute left. But Janis Strelnieks dropped a
two-point attempt and
Janis
Kaufmanis added a free throw to seal the victory for Latvia.
Dairis Bertans led Latvia with 23 points and 6 steals.
Lauris
Mizis (195-G/F-89) provided 12 points and 6 boards for the Baltic team.
Raphael Wilson netted 15 points for France. Carl Ona-Embo delivered 11 points in
defeat.
A big time first frame secured a winning outcome for Estonia against Italy
yesterday. They rolled over Italy 31:15 in the opening frame and celebrated an
important victory at the end. The win means Estonia will play in the qualifying
round of the U18 European championship, while Italian team seek for their first
victory in classification stage. Andrea
Saccaggi (192-G-89) knocked down a free throw 10 seconds into the game to
give Italy their only lead. Karl-Ingemar Viilver responded with a jumper 18
seconds later to put Estonian team ahead for good. Karl Vimberg scored 9 points
in the first quarter to give Estonia a 31:15 advantage. Italy managed to cut the
deficit to 6 points on Stefano Gentile's jump shot midway through the second
frame but
Rain
Raadik (204-C-89) capped the first frame with 7 straight points for Baltic
team to secure a 43:31 distance at halftime.
Estonia easily maintained the gap throughout the third stanza and enjoyed a
56:46 dominance at the start of the final quarter. Saccaggi's free throw put
Italy as close as 6 points with almost 7 minutes left in the game but once again
Estonia showed they were in control of it. Karl Vimberg hit from outside and
Siim-Sander Vene nailed another jump shot to spur in front to a safe 70:56
distance. Italy did not have enough strength to come back into this one and
suffered the third straight defeat. Rain
Raadik led Estonia with 13 points. Karl Vimberg provided 12 points and 9
rebounds for the winners.
Andrea
Saccaggi netted 17 points for Italy. Andrea Renzi had 16 points and 11
rebounds in a losing case.
In Group B Israel overcame Bulgaria 74:63. Isreali U18 National team delivered
the right result on the last day of preliminary round of the Euroeapn
championship in Spain. Bulgaria meanwhile suffered their third consecutive loss
and continue their campaign in classification.
Both teams entered the contest desperate for a win to advance. In a tight first
quarter Bulgaria used Simeon Mihaylov's two-point attempt at the end of the
frame to win it 14:12. Bulgaria led by as many as 7 points with just under 3
minutes to go when Israel burst out with a spectacular 11:0 run and surged ahead
33:29 at halftime.
Israel found the touch from the field and started pouring all kind of shots in
the third quarter. The gap kept on growing and reached a 56:46 mark enetering
the fourth frame. Aleksandar Georgiev nailed a jumper midway through the last
stanza to put Bulgaria back within 2 points 56:58. However
Raviv
Pitshon (202-C-89) responded with 4 points and
Anton
Shoutvin (206-C-89) added two more to lift Israel to a 65:58 distance with 2
minutes remaining. Bulgaria never managed to get back in this one and suffered
another sour defeat. Raviv
Pitshon led all scorers with 26 points and 11 rebounds.
Anton
Shoutvin fired 18 points and pulled down 14 boards for the winners.
Hristo
Zahariev (196-G-90) secured 19 points for Bulgaria.
Tsvetelin Ivanov (196-G-89) had 13 points in a losing effort.
Israel will now take on Estonia in qualifying round Group E. Bulgaria faces
Romania in the relegation round.
In the other game in Group B Greece beat Turkey 82:67.
Dogus
Balbay (184-G-89) led Turkey in their losing effort with 22 points and nine
rebounds.
Konstantinos Koufos (216-C-89) had another excellent game with 25 points and
15 rebounds, as did Nikolaos Pappas with 16 points.
Serbia upset the hosts in Group C 85:76.
Ricard
Rubio (191-G-90) scored 25 points and grabbing eight rebounds.
Milan
Macvan (206-F/C-89) with a double-double of 19 points and 18 rebounds and
Stefan
Stojacic (197-G-89) with 24 points and 10 boards were on top of the winners.
Russia grabbed the third spot, the first win and the ticket to the Qualifying
Round defeating Romania 63:40. Valentin Novikov top-scored for Russia with 17
points.
Group D became the most unpredictable and interesting. Croatia that lost the
first two games took Slovenian spot. In the last day of the Preliminary Round
Croatia recorded an 88-73 win over Germany for a place in the next round.
Filip
Kruslin (198-G-89) finished with 29 points in a winning effort.
Lithuania upset Slovenia 70:59 and sent them out of the Qualifying Round.
Vytenis
Lipkevicius (196-F-89) top-scored with 17 points.
Division B: Day 3 results - Aug. 6, 2007Â
Day 3 of the
U18 European Championship left 6 unbeaten teams in four groups. Belgium and
Sweden stays sweet in groups A and B. Ukraine and Bosnia and Herzegovina has
zero in the losing column of Group C, while Hungary and Montenegro are
undefeated in Group D.
Belgium improved to 3-0 in Group A defeating Denmark 74:57.
Jean
Mwema (195-F-89) was unstoppable for the winners nailing 25 points and
making 15 rebounds. Slovak Republic tied at 1-1 after a victory over Austria
80:72.
Maros Repasky (182-G-89) paced the winners with 24 points.
In Group B Sweden stays on top with 2-0 outscoring Holland 62:46.
Jeffery
Taylor (196-G-89) again top-scored for his team, this time with 17 points.
Poland smashed Armenia 141:33 and made the same with the opponent as Serbia with
Romania in Division A.
Krzysztof Krajniewski (199-F-89) produced 20 points for the winners.
Ukraine and Bosnia and Herzegovina keep Group C with two teams without losses.
Both teams will see each other tomorrow in the first game of the day. Yesterday
Ukraine demolished Switzerland 65:41 with 13 points from
Denys
Lukashov (187-G-89). Bosnia and Herzegovina overcame Luxembourg 95:78 as
Danko
Sestic (198-F-81) collected 26 points and made 18 rebounds.
In Group D Hungary and Montenegro are on top with 2-0. Hungary did not play
yesterday, while Montenegro beat Portugal 95:62. Norway sent England to 0-2
after 83:59 win.
Stian
Mjoes (185-G-89) top-scored for the winners with 25 points.
Division B: all the teams started the championship - Aug. 5, 2007
The second
day of E18 European Championship of men brought the following results. All the
team now in the division entered the Championship.
In Group A Czech Republic grabbed their first win at the U18 European
championship in Bulgaria. They overcame Slovakia on Day 2 of action in Group A.
Slovakia were more impressive at the start of the game as they established an
early 17:10 lead in the first quarter. Czechs however closed the opening frame
with a 5:0 run and trailed 15:17 at the start of the second quarter. The things
looked brighter for Czech Republic in the second quarter as they managed to gain
a 34:32 advantage at halftime.
Maros Repasky tied the scoreline early in the third stanza but Czech players
responded with a 14:0 run to clear off to a 48:36 distance. They secured the gap
and were in front 61:50 entering the final frame. Slovakia obviously struggled
to find answers in the last part of the encounter and had to surrender in their
first fixture at the tournament. David
Jelinek (194-G-90, agency:
PPGroup)
and Jan
Vesely (204-F-90) scored 20 points apiece to ensure win for Czech Republic.
Jakub Kudlacek contributed another 15 points for the winners. Maros Repasky
paced Slovakian team with game-high 27 points and 6 steals. Miroslav Kral and
Michal Maslik netted 14 points each in a loss.
Czech Republic were dominant under the rims 46:30 and shot more accurately from
the field.
In another game Belgium defeated Austria 75:64. Olivier Troisfontaines
top-scored for the winners with 18 points.
In Group B the Scandinavian derby was won by Sweden who outscored Finland 79:63.
Jeffery
Taylor (196-G-89) poured in 26 points and made 12 rebounds for Sweden.
Poland beat Netherlands 71:51 with 18 points from
Karol
Gruszecki (-89).
Bosnia and Herzegovina started their campaigh with the win over Ireland in Group
C. A 90:61 win was more than confident in the first game for the winners. Dino
Hodzic led the way with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Ukraine reached the second
win outscoring Luxembourg 85:70.
Denys
Lukashov (187-G-89) and
Olexiy
Shchepkin (194-G-89) produced 17 points for the winners.
England's first game was not a good start in group D. The team lost to Hungary
46:63.
Gergely Toth (206-F-89, agency:
Laszlo
Vinko Services) and Peter Szabo paced the way with 16 points. Montenegro
demolished Portugal 95:62 as
Nikola
Lalic (188-G-89) scored 19 points and made 9 rebounds.
Second day full coverage of Division A - Aug. 5, 2007
GROUP A
France U18-Italy U18 75:68 (16-13, 24-27, 17-10, 18-18)
France U18 celebrated the second win in U18 European Championship. The
team overcame Italy 75:68 and left them without wins. The latter, in order to
advance, will have to beat Estonia tonight.
Edwin
Jackson (190-G-89) (190-G-89) led the winners with 21 points.
Antoine
Diot (191-G-89) produced 16, while
Raphael
Wilson (196-F-89) scored 11.
Andrea
Renzi (210-F/C-89) top-scored for Italian side with 22 points.
Italy bombed first 5 points of the game but could only reduce to 16:13 in the
first. France demonstrated a better game, however could not go too far. There
was nothing to choose between the two sides in the first half, as the lead
changed hands seven times before both teams went to the break tied on 40 points.
In the third quarter France went on a 11-0 run. With 44 points for each of the
teams they produced a spurt that lasted to Ona-Embo's jump-shot. France stayed
in front before the last 10 minutes of the game having 57:50. In the last
quarter Italy had only a small chance to catch up. Cutolo's three made the score
66:62, however Italy could not struggle any more. France will have a game for
the first place in the group against Latvia.
Latvia U18-Estonia U18 80:64 (19-18, 21-18, 18-9, 22-19) Latvia U18 stayed unbeaten after the first two games in U18 European
Championship in Spain. In the second game the team beat Estonia 80:64. For the
latter it was a better game in comparison with the opener when they were smashed
by the French squad.
Oskars
Virsis (192-G-89) and
Dairis
Bertans (191-G-89) led the winners with 18 points each.
Lauris
Mizis (195-G/F-89) supported them with 13 points and 15 rebounds.
Sten
Sokk (180-G-89) paced Estonia with 17 points in defeat.
Latvia and Estonia had different starts in the European Championships. Even
before the game Latvia considered to be a favorite and they proved it
truthfully. After a good start by the Latvian side, which saw them take the
first nine points of the game without reply, the Estonians fought back with an
11-0 run of their own to overturn the deficit and take a 13-12 lead. Anyway
Latvia stayed in front after the first, 19:18. In the second quarter Latvia
increased to 30:22, but
Sten
Sokk sent the teams to the lockers with 40:36.
At the start of the third Latvia were able to go on a 12-0 run to take a 16
point lead and end the game as a contest. The team controlled the rest of the
game and reached the second win.
Greece U18-Bulgaria U18 94:64(25-12, 25-15, 16-14, 28-23)
Bulgaria U18 lost the second straight game in U18 European Championsip. In the
game against Greece Bulgaria had nothing to upset the favorite losing 64:94.
Greece won all the quarters and the team seemed to be more confident in a win.
Nikolaos Pappas (193-G-90, agency:
FCM) led the winners with 21 points.
Konstantinos Koufos (216-C-89) supported him with 18 points and 10 rebounds,
while
Georgios Bogris (210-C-89) and
Nikolas
Theodorakos (-89) added 10.
Bozhidar
Avramov (194-G-90) and
Hristo
Zahariev (196-G-90) shone for Bulgaria with 19 points. Bulgaria will now
play Israel tonight for the last place in the quarter final round.
Bulgaria U18 took the lead from the first seconds, but enjoyed it a bit more
than a minute. Greece did not wait too much as
Konstantinos Koufos made a dunk to give 4-3 lead. Greece never looked behind
after that score increasing the lead from time to time. In the second quarter
Ioakeimidis increased Greek's lead to 29:19.
Konstantinos Koufos closed the second with 50:25 to answer al the questions
about the winner.
As it was mentioned above bulgaria will have to win tonight in order to
advance to the Qualifying Round. Their opponent Israel stays winless as well.
Israel lost the second straight game at U18 European Championship in Spain.
The result 80:92 do not reflect the game itself as even with three minutes
remaining Israel were losing only 78:81.
Melih Mahmutoglu (192-G-90) and
Birkan Batuk (198-F-90) led the winners with 19 points. Ozcan collected
17 points in a winning effort.
Sean
Daniel (201-F-89) top-scored for Israeli team with 18 points.
Israel had a nice start and controlled the game in the opening quarter. Only
due to
Birkan Batuk's three Turkey could overtake 27:25. In the second quarter
the game remained the same, but most of the time Turkey stayed in front.
Ariely with a three helped Israel to be on top after 2, 45:43.
In the beginning of the second half Turkey dominated taking 9 points lead
before the last quarter. Israel just would not give up and clawed their way
back to take the lead 71:70 with seven minutes left of the game.Israel
opened the last quarter with a 10-0 serie and took the lead back but Melih
Melih Mahmutoglu and Dogus Balbay rallied Turkey for a 92:80 victory.
GROUP C
Spain U18-Russia U18 98:64 (23-17, 23-13, 28-22, 24-12) Spain U18 had no troubles in the second game over Russia.
Having won 98:64 the hosts of U18 European Championship advanced to the
Qualifying round with one more game remaining.
Pere Tomas (201-F-89) led the winners with 20 points. De La Fuente
and
Ricard Rubio (191-G-90) both netted 16 points.
Semen Antonov (203-F-89) produced 13 points in the losing effort.
Russia will have now to beat Romania in order to advance.
Semen Antonov was the most noticable for the Russia team in the
opening tip. For less than a minute he managed to do a defensive
rebound, a turnover and scored first two points in the game.
Unfortunately for his team that was the only lead in the game. Spain
finished the first at 23:17. In the second quarter Russia fought hard to
stay in touch with Spain, but found themselves struggling to keep up
with their hosts largely due to the amount of free shots they were
giving away.
Spain controlled the game at both ends, dominating in defensive rebounds
and pulling down more of their own missed shots than the Russian
defence. After 46:30 at the half Spain made some pushes to increase the
score. Marco closed the third quarter with a jumper to give Spain 74:52.
Parejo with a three ended up the game at 98:64.
Serbia U18-Romania U18 145:37 (43-6, 29-7, 41-12, 32-12)
Serbia U18 recored a 145:37 win in U18 European Championship. The result
became the highest win ever recorded in the tournament. With more than
confident wins in all the quarters serbia destroyed Romania.
Ivan Smiljanic (198-F-89) paced the winners with 28 points.
Stevan Tapuskovic (201-F-89) posted 19, while
Nikola Markovic (207-F/C-89) added 16.
Mihai Urichianu (198-C-89) had more than a half of his team nailing
19 points.
It was apleasure to see that all the players who participated for Serbia
scored at least a point. Taking a lead from the first seconds Serbia had
43 in the end of the first, that was even more than Romania reached in
the end.
The second quarter had the same scenarium with Serbia on top. The team
finished the half having 72:13.Nikola
Markovic with a dunk brought Serbia 100 points.
Mihai Urichianu's two closed the third with 113:25. The difference
in the last quarter was 20 points and it gave 145:37 as a total.
Today Serbia will play against Spain for the first place in the
group.
Germany created a small sensation beating Slovenia in a second
game of U18 European Championship. The latter beating Croatia in the
opener 92:82 with 37 points from
Dino Muric (198-F/C-90) could not show the same game. The 17-years
old boy produced only 6 points due to the good defense of the Germans.
Elias Harris (200-F-89) led the winners with 19 points.
Philipp Schwethelm (200-F-89) had 16 points and 12 rebounds, while
Robin Benzing (208-F-89) added 13.
Zoran Dragic (194-G-89) and Bilic chipped in 11 points for Slovenia.
Germany did not start as well as they finished and gave Slovenia the
lead in the beginning of the first quarter. With 3 minutes to play in
the opening quarter
Robin Benzing brought Germany 13:12 lead. Inspired by this the team
finished the first 26:15. Joining
Robin Benzing and Harris in double figures was
Philipp Schwethelm, who scored a string of consecutive shots in the
second quarter as Germany started to build a commanding lead of 45:23 by
halftime.
In the third quarter the game became even as both teams kept the same
lead. Germany finished the third 60:36 and could celebrate the win at
that time. Another 19:17 victory in the last brought the team 79:53 win.
Lithuania stepped to the first place and is now the only
undefeated team in the Group D. In the second game of the U18 European
Championship the team beat Croatia 86:68.
Zygimantas Janavicius (192-G-89) led the winners with 18 points.
Donatas Motiejunas (213-C-90) nailed 17, while
Mindaugas Kuzminskas (202-F-89) and
Sarunas Vasiliauskas (188-G-89) added 10 points.
Filip Kruslin (198-G-89) top-scored for Croatia with 24 points.
Croatia will have to beat Germany to advance.
It was a great start of the Baltic team that scored 8 points in a row.
Cepukaitis's jump-shot was the last before
Filip Kruslin opened the scoring points for the opponents.
Mario Delas (204-F/C-90) brought Croatia to 13:16, however Lithuania
stayed in front at 26:20.
In the second quarter Lithuania increased the lead to 9 points.
Filip Kruslin made the score 47:38 as both teams went to the
interims.
The third quarter was the benefit for the favorites as they produced
20:12 in it.
Zygimantas Janavicius with a free throw gave the Baltic state 67:50
lead. It was no wonder as the team led the game to a happy end.
Division B first day results - Aug. 4, 2007
Austria U18-Denmark U18 74:71 (26-19, 13-15, 16-18, 19-19)
Austria U18 secured a first win in U18 European Championship for Men Division B.
In the first game the team could hold the deficit that they achieved in the
first quarter.
Moritz
Lanegger (188-G-90) led the winners with 23 points and 10 rebounds.
Rasid
Mahalbasic (203-F-90) chipped in with 15 points and the same number of
rebounds, while
Thomas
Csebits (187-G-89) added 10. Jens Nielsen nailed 15 points and grabbed 7
rebounds in defeat.
Denmark won the opening tip and led throughout the opening tip of the first
quarter. Their last lead was however at 14:12 when Falsvig made a lay-up.
Austria won the first quarter 26:19 and looked forward to the second quarter.
In the second quarter Denmark never stayed in front, but they tied the game at
30 points each. Weissl gave Austria 39:34 lead in the end of the half.
In the third quarter Sahlertz gave Denmark a 44:43 lead.
Moritz
Lanegger still kept Austria in front with 55:52 before the last quarter. In
the last quarter Austria even made 9 points advantage, but in the end satisfied
with 74:71 win. Christensen tried to tie the game but did not score a three
pointer.
Today Austria meets Belgium as Denmark will have a day-off.
Belgium U18 opened Group A of the U18 European Championship for Men in
Division B with a win over Czech Republic 75:54. The latter looked better in the
first half, however were smashed in the second, especially in the last quarter.
Jean
Mwema (195-F-89) (195-F-89) led the winners with 19 points and 9 rebounds.
Jorn
Steinbach (180-G-89) added 18, while
Frederic
Biot (-89) and
Olivier
Troisfontaines (-89) scored 14.
David
Jelinek (194-G-90, agency:
PPGroup)
was the top in the scoring list of Czech Republic making 19 points.
Czech Republic U18 opened the game with 2-0 but it was them who luckily tied the
score in the first. Kudlacek's lay-up made 17:17 as both teams finished the
opening quarter.
In the second quarter Czech Republic were in front most of the time and deserved
to go to the interims leading the score.
Vojtech
Hruban (196-G-89) scored 2 points as the board showed 35:31 for his team.
The game has changed completely in the second half. Belgium forced the opponents
to make turnovers and Czech Republic stayed scoreless in the last 4 minutes.
Moreover the team scored only 4 points in the quarter. In the last period
Belgium stormed pat the opponent's defense and won 30:13. Belgium gets the first
win and will meet Austria in the next game. Czech Republic will face Slovakia
tonight.
Netherlands U18 did not have many troubles in the first game of the U18
European Championship in Sofia, Bulgaria. The team that appeared in the court
aganst them was Armenia. The latter did their best but were smashed 103:40.
Joshua
Kramer (192-F-90) led the way with 21 points.
Bob van
den Enden (-89) ended up with 19, as Kherrazi scored 18 points and made 14
rebounds.
Gevorg
Mayilyan (-90) posted 12 in the losing effort.
Netherlands took a lead from the first minuutes of the game. Armenia saw only
one time a tie when
Andranik Novents (-89) tied at 2-2. It took Armenia more than 5 minutes to
score another 2 points. The first quarter was ended as the teams had 32:15 for
the favorites.
Kherrazi increased the lead to 20 points after he made a jump-shot. It was him
again who made the difference 30 points in the end of the half.
In the second half instead of opened game Netherlands paid too much attention in
defense. As a result the team left Armenia in 8 in the third and 6 in the last.
Netherlands overwhelmed Armenia 103:40 to take the first spot in the group.
Division A: the full coverage of Day 1 - Aug. 4, 2007
GROUP A
Estonia U18-France U18
36:64 (8-14, 11-16, 7-17, 10-17)
France U18 started their defensive title tournament with a win in the opener. In
the first game of the U18 European Championship in Spain France smashed Estonia
64:36. There was no leader in the team, as almost everybody contributed into the
victory. As a result
Frens Johwe Casseus
(211-C-89) top-scored for the winners with only 9 points. Four other players
ended up with 8 players.
Antoine Diot
(191-G-89), Jackson,
Alexis Tanghe
(205-C-90) and Wilson produced 8 points.
Siim-Sander Vene
(200-F-90) collected 10 points in the losing effort.
France U18 proved that the team will be also the favorite this year. A great
defensive game left Estonia only in 36. France opened the game with 4-0 run that
followed 14:8 after the first 10 minutes of the game.
Estonia reduced to 4 points in the beginning of the second quarter after
Klementsov made a jump-shot.
Christophe Leonard (198-F-90) 's lay-up did not bring any surprise in the
end of the half with 30:19. It was again him who poured in a three in the end of
the third and even at that time brought the win for the leaders. His shot gave
France 47:26 before the last 10 minutes. France won the game and stepped to the
first place in Group A.
Latvia U18 - Italy U18 76:74 Latvia U18 had a victorious start to their European championship
campaign. They came from behind in the second half to narrowly edge Italy in
Group A opener.
Italian team controlled the game in the first half. They took a 22:20 lead
at the end of the first frame on Luca Tardito's jumper. Marco Portannese
connected from the outside midway through the second frame to give Italy
their biggest lead 39:33. Italy secured a 45:39 advantage at halftime.
Latvia though spurred ahead after the break. Dairis Bertans converted a long
jumper to regain the lead for Latvia three minutes into the quarter 47:46.
The lead changed 7 times till the end of the third quarter but Latvia
emerged leading 61:59.
The teams were tied at 73 with 90 seconds to go in the game. Later
Roberts Mednis (204-C-89) nailed a jump shot to put Latvia in front
75:73 with 33 seconds left. Marco Portannese responded with one free throw
to cut the deficit to 74:75 with 16 seconds remaining. Lauris Mizis got
fouled and knocked dowm one of two free throws. Italy had 11 seconds to save
the encounter but Marco Portannese committed a turnover and Italy had to
surrender.
Roberts Mednis led Latvia with 18 points.
Janis Kaufmanis (184-G-89) added 15 points for the winners.
Niccolo Martinoni (202-G/F-89) paced Italy with game-high 22 points and
9 rebounds.
Andrea Renzi (210-F/C-89) had 13 points and 8 rebounds in a losing
clause.
Latvia will next play against Estonia. Italy takes on France in the second
round.
GROUP B Bulgaria U18 - Turkey U18 78:81
Bulgaria U18 national team had somewhat a sour start to their
European championship campaign. They were dramatically beaten by
Turkey in the opening game of Group B in Madrid.
Bulgaria drove to a narrow 19:18 advantage after the first frame.
However Turkey started the second quarter with a 14:0 run and
maintained the lead throughout the frame. Mukremin Kilicli dropped a
jumper to give Turkey a maximim 54:37 advantage early in the third
quarter. Bulgaria though responded with a 14:0 of their own and cut
the deficit to just 3 points midway through the third stanza.
Can Ozcan (200-F-89) capped the third quarter with a trey to
establish a 65:55 advantage for Turkey.
Hristo Zahariev (196-G-90) scored 12 consecutive points for
Bulgaria to get them back on track 5 minutes into the frame 74:77.
The teams exchanged a couple of free throws to stay within three
points with 4 minutes remaining. Dogus Balbay then scored two
pointer to lift Turkey to 81:76 distance. Dimitre Marintchechki
answered with a jumper to keep the distance at three points. However
the teams then kept it scoreless for 2 last minutes and Turkey
celebrated their first win at the tournament.
Can Ozcan ensured 21 points for Turkey.
Birkan Batuk (198-F-90) poured in 14 points for the winners.
Hristo Zahariev fired 22 points and pulled down 7 rebounds for
Bulgaria.
Bozhidar Avramov (194-G-90) had 21 points in a loss.
Bulgaria will next play against Greece in the second round. Turkey
faces Israel tomorrow.
Israel- U18-Greece U18 70:75
Greece took the first win in U18 European Championship beating Israel 75:70.
The first official game of
Konstantinos Koufos (216-C-89) with the Greek National team was out of
this world. The young talented all around center scored 21 points, dashed
down 15 rebounds and block his rivals 6 timeswith one assist and three
steals to voted as the MVP of the Day 1 for the Hellenic team in the
Euroepan Championship which takes place in Madrid. Israel was led by
Sean
Daniel who posted 16 points.
GROUP C Russia U18-Serbia U18 56:69 (17-17, 23-15, 10-27, 6-10) In the opener of group C Serbia outscored Russia 69:56. A 7
points lead before the half did not help Russian team that failed in
the third quarter. Serbia used a 27:10 and then showed a great
defense to go on top of the group.
Milan Macvan (206-F/C-89) led the winners with 21 points and 15
rebounds.
Dusan Katnic (193-G-89) finished with 14 points, while
Nikola Markovic (207-F/C-89) chipped in 12. Russia was led by
Valentin Novikov (195-F-89) who poured in 14 points.
Serbia took a lead from the first minutes of the game and held it
throughout the first quarter. Thanks to Zaytsev's three with no time
left Russia tied at 17:17. That gave Russian team more confidence in
the second and again Zaytsev's three put Russia to 20:17 lead. The
team was hardly caught by the Serbians who already trailed 32:40 at
the half.
The third quarter was a disaster for Russian squad. Mijatovic's side
swang the balance in their favour 59:50 by the end of the third.
That meant that Serbia outscored the opponents with 27:10 in the
period. In the end of the game the winning team used a tough defense
to finish at 69:56.
Romania U18-Spain U18 46:95 (13-24, 10-28, 10-21, 13-22)
Spain U18 being the hosts of U18 European Championship in Division A
celebrated the win in the opener. With 0-5 start Spain reinforced and
smashed Romania 95:46.
Pere
Tomas (201-F-89) and Sergio De La Fuente produced 17 points each.
Ricard Rubio (191-G-90) supported them with 16 points with just 16
minutes played.
Mihai Urichianu (198-C-89) top-scored with 16 points and 7 rebounds in
the losing effort.
At the start of the game Romania looked like they had come to make a game of
it, running up a 5-0 lead in the first minutes. It took Spain less than 10
minutes to finish the first at 24:13. Some slick Spanish play saw the hosts
score 15 unanswered points, ending the half with a 52:23 advantage. Already
at that time there were no questions as for the winner of the game. The
favorites increased to 30 points with 10 minutes remaining. Before Romania
scored a free throw in the end of the quarter
Pere
Tomas nailed a three to have 73:32. Spain won the fourth quarter 22:13
and smashed the opponents in the first game 95:46.
Today
Spain will meet Russia that lost to serbia in the opener. Romania will be
tested by another favorite of the group, Serbia.
Romania U18:
Mihai Urichianu 16+7 rebs,
Andrei Bercean (188-G-89) 11 Spain U18:Pere
Tomas 17, Sergio De La Fuente 17,
Ricard Rubio 16
GROUP D
Croatia U18-Slovenia U18 62:72 (21-14, 9-19, 14-23, 18-16) Slovenia U18 gets one in the win column defeating Croatia
thanks to a 17-years old boy. Trailing 14:21 after the first quarter
Slovenia won 72:62.
Dino Muric (198-F/C-90) (198-F/C-90) destroyed Croatia with 37
points and 13 rebounds.
Zoran Dragic (194-G-89)added 13 points and made 11 rebounds, while
Marko Vranjkovic (201-F/C-90) netted 10.
Marino Sarlija top-scored for Slovenia with 18 points and 11
rebounds.
Croatia had a better start and went on a 11-3 spurt.
Marino Sarlija (205-F/C-89) made an 11-points deficit with 21:10 in
the end. Muric with a two and a free throw reduced to 21:14 after the
first 10 minutes.
In the second quarter however the game swung the way of Slovenia, as a
number of defensive fouls on Croatia's part gifted them a number of free
shots which the Slovenians obligingly converted, in the process taking a
33:30 lead into the second half.
Marino Sarlija's jump shot gave Croatia their last lead at 37:36.
After that Slovenia dominated in the court and controlled the game. The
team increased to 12 points before the last ten minutes.
In the last quarter
Dino Muric desired to score at least 40. He made however the last
lay-up with 36 seconds remaining and left the game with 37 points.
Lithuania U18 started with a win in U18 European Championship destroying
Germany 85:56. It was not a big deal for the team to win all the quarters
and control the game.
Vaidas Cepukaitis (207-C-89) led the winners with 14 points and 9
rebounds.
Zygimantas Janavicius (192-G-89) nailed 12, while
Donatas Motiejunas (213-C-90) added 11. Harris and
Robin Benzing (208-F-89) posted 12 points each in defeat.
Lithuania U18 had a fantastic start in the game and took the lead from the
first minutes. The team never looked behind and scored first 4 points of the
game. The first quarter was ended when the teams had 21:8 for the Baltic
team. In the second quarter Germany scored as much as Lithuania in the first
quarter, 21, however got 28 from the opponent. As a result Lithuania stayed
in front with 49:29.
The game was done as the second half was only the repetition for the next
game.
The next game Lithuania will play today with Croatia. The latter lost the
opener to Slovenia 62:72. Germany will face Slovenia and should change
completely the strategy in order to get the first win.
Sofia welcomes to Division B - Aug. 3, 2007
Division B
will be settled down this year in Bulgaria. A great interest brought 20 teams
that are divided into 4 groups with 5 teams in each. Group A will consist of
Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark and Slovak Republic. Armenia, Finland,
Netherlands, Poland and Sweden made up Group B. In Group C we will find Bosnia
and Herzegovina, Ireland, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Ukraine. England, Hungary,
Montenegro,Norway and Portugal were sent to Group D.
Last year Champion Romania went to Division A and now many teams have
good chances to lift the trophy. Estonia that played in the Final with Romania
will start in Division A as well. 2006 Tournament MVP Vlad Moldoveanu of Romania
celebrated both triumphs.
The tournament in Division B will last from August 3 to August 12. In comparison
with Division A it will not have any day-offs. The Qualifying round will start
on the August 8th. The final is set up for the August 12, 19.00.
Eurobasket will be informing you about the news, stats and the results of the
competition.
Spain invites to U18 European Championship - Aug. 3, 2007
U18 European
Championship has just started in Madrid region, Spain. Sixteen teams are divided
into four groups with four teams in each. The hosts of the tournament made up
Group C together with Romania, Serbia and Russia. The 2006 Champions France is
in Group A with Italy, Estonia and Latvia. Lithuania that finished second in the
previous tournament settled down in Group D with Croatia, Germany and Slovenia.
And Group B consists of Turkey, Bulgaria, Greece and Israel.
Some games are already finished in the first day of the tournament. In group A
Latvia had a victorious start to their European championship campaign. They came
from behind in the second half to narrowly edge Italy in Group A opener.
Italian team controlled the game in the first half. They took a 22:20 lead at
the end of the first frame on Luca Tardito's jumper.
Marco
Portannese (-G-89) connected from the outside midway through the second
frame to give Italy their biggest lead 39:33. Italy secured a 45:39 advantage at
halftime. Latvia though spurred ahead after the break. Dairis Bertans converted
a long jumper to regain the lead for Latvia three minutes into the quarter
47:46. The lead changed 7 times till the end of the third quarter but Latvia
emerged leading 61:59.
The teams were tied at 73 with 90 seconds to go in the game. Later
Roberts
Mednis (204-C-89) nailed a jump shot to put Latvia in front 75:73 with 33
seconds left.
Marco
Portannese responded with one free throw to cut the deficit to 74:75 with 16
seconds remaining. Lauris Mizis got fouled and knocked dowm one of two free
throws. Italy had 11 seconds to save the encounter but
Marco
Portannese committed a turnover and Italy had to surrender. Roberts
Mednis led Latvia with 18 points.
Janis
Kaufmanis (184-G-89) added 15 points for the winners.
Niccolo
Martinoni (202-G/F-89) paced Italy with game-high 22 points and 9 rebounds.
Andrea Renzi had 13 points and 8 rebounds in a losing clause.
Turkey beat Bulgaria in the opening game of Group B. Bulgaria drove to a narrow
19:18 advantage after the first frame. However Turkey started the second quarter
with a 14:0 run and maintained the lead throughout the frame. Mukremin Kilicli
dropped a jumper to give Turkey a maximim 54:37 advantage early in the third
quarter. Bulgaria though responded with a 14:0 of their own and cut the deficit
to just 3 points midway through the third stanza.
Can
Ozcan (200-F-89) (200-F-89) capped the third quarter with a trey to
establish a 65:55 advantage for Turkey.
Hristo Zahariev scored 12 consecutive points for Bulgaria to get them back on
track 5 minutes into the frame 74:77. The teams exchanged a couple of free
throws to stay within three points with 4 minutes remaining. Dogus Balbay then
scored two pointer to lift Turkey to 81:76 distance.
Dimitre
Marintchechki (198-F-90) answered with a jumper to keep the distance at
three points. However the teams then kept it scoreless for 2 last minutes and
Turkey celebrated their first win at the tournament. Can
Ozcan ensured 21 points for Turkey.
Birkan
Batuk (198-F-90) poured in 14 points for the winners. Hristo Zahariev fired
22 points and pulled down 7 rebounds for Bulgaria. Bozhidar Avramov had 21
points in a loss.
The results, stats and all the news will be available from Eurobasket daily
reports.
Scotland reigns in Division C - Jul. 21, 2007Â
Group D
Scotland and Wales both comfortably beat Moldova and faced each other in the
decisive game in Group D of the European championship in Wales. Sotland left no
chances for the home side handing them a 86:62 defeat. Daniel Donelly chipped in
20 points and grabbed 9 rebounds for Scotland. Daniel Sutherland added 19 points
to help Scotland clinch the top spot. Wales responded with 19 points from
Christopher Ian Pierce.
Moldova U18 - Wales U18 62:57
Moldova: Mihail Isac 16 points
Wales: Jordan Seeley 31
Scotland U18 - Moldova U18 80:55 Scotland: Daniel Donelly 24+12 boards
Moldova: Alexandr Popov 15+15 boards
Scotland U18 - Wales U18 86:62
Scotland: Daniel Donelly 20+9 boards
Wales: Christopher Ian Pierce 19
Group E
In the first game of this round Monaco thrashed Gibraltar 80:65 to stay on top.
Posint strong first half Monaco faced little problems on their way to the
victory. Kevin Bolla ensured 28 points and 9 rebounds for Monaco. Dylan Gomez
replied with 30 points anb 13 boards for Gibraltar.
In the next day encounter Andorra needed some heroics to edge Monaco 86:84. They
trailed by 3 points at the start of the final frame but survived dramatic dying
seconds to come out victorious. Jose Del Castillo provided 22 points and 5
assists for Andorra. Monaco were paced by Mauri Tepa with 39 points and 8
rebounds.
Andorra then crushed Gibraltar in the last round game to claim the top spot in
Group E. Andorra faced little obstacles on the way to their second win as they
led by as many as 35 points at halftime. Jose Del Castillo once again topscored
for Andorra with 37 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Sam Buxton had 25 points
and 14 boards for Gibraltar.
Andorra U18 - Monaco U18 86:84
Andorra: Jose Del Castillo 22+12 boards, Daniel Morfeita 20+12
Monaco: Maui Tepa 39
Andora U18 - Gibraltar U18 129:79
Andorra: Jose Del Castillo 37+11 boards +10 assists
Gibraltar: Sam Buxton 25+14 boards
Group F
In Group F Azerbaijan grabbed their first win at the tournament against San
Marino 74:66. The teams kept it close in the first half but Azerbaijan rushed
ahead in the fourth and clebrated a victory. Rufat Mahmudzade finished with 18
points and 12 boards for the winners. Enrico Zanotti responded with 12 points
for San Marino.
Malta then proved their strength against San Marino handing them a 95:76 loss.
Samuel
Deguara (223-C-91) netted 26 points and collected 17 boards for Malta.
In the decisive game in Group F Malta edged Azerbaijan 78:72. Azerbaijan led
comfortably 41:29 at halftime but Malta revived in the second half and clinched
a narrow win at the end.
Azerbaijan U18 - San Marino U18 74:66 Azerbaijan U18: Rufat Mahmudzade 18+12 boards
San Marino U18: Enrico Zanotti 16+14 boards
Preliminary round wraps up in Wales - Jul. 19, 2007Â
Moldova U18 - San Marino U18 83:64 Moldova U18 National team outscored San Marino in their second game at
the European championship in Wales. Moldova thus imroved to 2-0 record and
qualified to Group D, where they will play together with hosting Wales and
Scotland.
The victory came due to an impressive performance in the center of the game when
Moldovian players overwhelmed their opponents to ensure necessary advantage. San
Marino were ahead after the first frame 15:14 but 10 points from Denis Aculov
lifted Moldova up and they posted a 39:36 lead at halftime. Aculov added another
4 points and 2 steals at the start of the third quarter to ignite Moldova to a
20:2 run that cleared them off for good. Leading comfortably 62:43 at the start
of the fourth frame Moldova never allowed San Marino to perform any sort of
comeback and celebrated a victory.
Alexandr Popov produced 17 points and 16 rebounds, while Vladimir Iziumov added
another 17 to lead Moldova. Maxim Petrenco and Denis Aculov contributed 16
points apiece for the winners. San Marino responded with 19 points, 7 rebounds,
5 assists and 4 steals from Teodoro Casadei. Enrico Zanotti had 13 points in a
loss. Moldova outrebounded San Marino 60:37 and forced them to 30 turnovers. San
marino also knocked down miserable 30.8% from free throw line.
Moldova will now face Wales today. San Marino takes on Azerbaijan in Group F.
Moldova U18: Alexandr Popov 17+16 boards, Vladimir Iziumov 17 San Marino U18: Teodoro Casadei 19, Enrico Zanotti 13.
Azerbaijan U18 - Andorra U18 84:119
Azerbaijan U18 team had another unsatisfactory result as they received a severe
blow from Andorra 84:119. The loss saw them fell to 0-2 record in Group A at the
European championship in Wales.
Azerbaijan struggled defensively and virtually could not stop Andorra in any
way. Daniel Mofreita was on fire for Andorra team as he poured in 41 points and
pulled down 13 rebounds to reign on the court. Azerbaijan committed massive 43
turnovers and could not find the touch from free throw line converting just 50%.
Andorra led by 13 points after the starting frame 32:19 and remained in front at
halftime 47:35. Azerbaijan had a momentum midway through the third quarter when
they cut the lead to just 4 points 54:58 but Andorra reacted immediatelly and
cleared off to a safe 74:60 distance entering the final frame. Azerbaijan
defence collapsed in the fourth stanza allowing Andorra to fly over the court
nailing 45 points and sealing their first win at the tournament.
Jose Del Castillo finished with 28 points and 11 rebounds for Andorra. Jordi
Alfaya Garcia had 14 points for the winners. Azerbaijan were paced by Rufat
Mahmudzade with 36 points and 22 rebounds. Goshgar Ibadullayev chipped in 14
points in defeat. Azerbaijan will continue their action in Group F where they
first meet San Marino today. Andorra will play in Group E and faces Monaco
tomorrow.
Azerbaijan U18: Rufat Mahmudzade 36+22 boards, Goshgar
Ibadullayev 14 Andorra U18: Daniel Mofreita 41+13 boards, Jose Del Castillo
28+11 boards.
Scotland U18 - Malta U18 102:68
Scotland faces no problems as they faced Malta in their second game at the
Europaen championship in Wales. The win saw them occupy the top spot in Group C.
They will now play in Group D alongside wales and Moldova.
U18 European championship in Division C continues - Jul. 18, 2007
Scotland U18 - Monaco U18 81:64 Scotland started the U18 European championship with a confident win
over Monaco yesterday. Scotland struggled to find the rhythm at the start of the
game but delivered a nice performance at the end to celebrate a 81:64 victory.
Monaco played their second game at the tournament seemed to be more adjusted at
the beginning of this one as they rolled to a 22:12 lead after the opening
frame. Olivier Fantino nailed 9 points in the first quarter to help Monaco
dominate. Monaco maintained the advantage early in the second frame but Scotland
took the initiative midway through the quarter and posted 14:0 run to surge
ahead. Scottish team ensured a 36:29 lead at halftime and continued to mount the
gap after the break. Scotland were up 63:49 entering the final frame and never
allowed Monaco to perform any sort of comeback. Daniel
Donnelly (-F-90) (-F-90) topscored for Scotland with 22 points and 12
rebounds.
Daniel
Sutherland (183-G-89) produced 17 points in a win. Monaco replied with
game-high 31 points from Olivier Fantino. Kevin Bolla chipped in 16 points for
losing side.
Monaco were limited to just 26 rebounds, while Scottish team pulled down 46
boards. Scotland also knocked down 57.1% of field goals and 90.9% of free
throws.
Monaco remained on top of Group D with 1-1 record. Scotland are now at 1-0 and
faces Malta today.
Scotland U18:
Daniel
Donnelly 22+12 boards,
Daniel
Sutherland 17, Martin Lipton 14 Monaco U18: Olivier Fantino 31, Kevin Bolla 16.
Azerbaijan -
Wales 36:103 Azerbaijan would better forget the start of the U18
European championship in Division C. In their oepning game of the
tournament they faced hosting Wales and suffered a massive blow.
Wales simply destroyed Azerbaijan team 103:36 and recorded the
second straight win.
The game started as a nightmare for Azerbaijan squad as they were
kept scoreless for almost 7 starting minutes and trailed 0:20. Wales
drove to a 27:8 advantage after the first frame and never stopped on
the way to their next victory. They opened the second quarter with
another 9:0 run to maintain an overwhelming dominance. Establishing
a 50:16 lead at halftime Wales entertained the fans with a
spectacalar attacking basketball and cruised to an impressive win at
the end.
Christopher Pearce (-89) (-89) delivered 26 points and 16 boards
to lead the action. Adam Rickwood added another 26 points, while
Scott Seeley (191-G-81) (191-G-81) recorded the first
triple-double of the tournament finishing with 14 points, 14 assists
and 10 rebounds for the winners. Azerbaijan responded with 13 points
and 15 boards from
Amil Hamzayev (200-C-90). Wales had a huge advantage in every
aspect of the game. They outrebounded their opponents 66:39 and
forced them to 34 turnovers. The home side held Azerbaijan to just
14.3% from the field.
Wales remained on top of Group A with 2-0 record. Azerbaijan will
now face Andorra in the battle for the second spot in the group.
Moldova had a
victirious start to the U18 European championship in Cardiff. In
the first game at the tournament Moldovian team easily overcame
their opponents from Gibraltar 85:62. The teams kept it leveled
for about starting 4 minutes before Moldova sailed away. Mihail
Isac drained a trey and then added a jumper to put Moldova ahead
for good. Moldova established a 20;12 advantage after the
opening quarter and never gave it up. They extended the lead to
42:23 at halftime and faced little problems in the second half
desite giving away the final frame. The win saw Moldova improve
to 1-0 record, while Gibraltar remained on top of Group B with
1-1 record.
Alexandr Popov produced 20 points and 11 rebounds for Moldova.
Mihail Isac added 16 points and 6 assists for the winners.
Gibraltar were paced by Sam Buxton with 26 points and 14 boards.
Dylan Gomez had 14 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists in a loss.
Moldova dominated the boards 51:29. They also capitalised on
Gibraltar low shooting percentage as they converted just 56.5%
of free throws. Moldova at the same time committed 26 turnovers.
Moldova plays against San Marino today.
Moldova U18: Alexandr Popov 20+11 boards,
Mihail Isac 16, Vladimir Iziumov 11 Gibraltar U18: Sam Buxton 26+14 boards, Dylan
Gomez 14.
Wales welcomes U18 European championship in Division C - Jul. 17, 2007
The action
in European U18 basketball tipped off yesterday as Division C got under way.
Nine teams were divided into three groups where thay will play round-robin
format and the winners of the groups will comprise another group to fight for
the title. All the teams that occupy the second place will be placed in another
group that will hold classification games for the 4th-6th spots. Remaining three
teams will battle for the 7th-9th place.
The tournament began yesterday in Cardiff and will continue for 5 days. Wales
opened the competition against Andorra. The home side faced little problems on
the way to their first victory 96:68. Setting a comfortable lead 46:33 at
halftime Wales never allowed Andorra to come closer. Christopher Ian
Christopher Pearce (-89) led all scorers with 29 points and 10 rebounds for
Wales. Jordan Seeley provided 19 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds for the
winners. Andorra responded with 27 points and 12 boards from Jose Del Castillo.
Wales climbed on top of Group A standings and faces Azerbaijan today.
In Group B Gibraltar celebrated Day 1 win over San Marino 78:66. Gibraltar
trailed early in the game but managed to change the cource of the game in the
second quarter and secured an overall success. Gibraltar will play against
Moldova in Day 2 action.
In Group C Malta suffered a stunning defeat in the opening game. They were
rallied over by Monaco 49:72 to fell to 0-1 record. Malta had a slow start to
the game and Monaco capitalized on it. They spurred to a 20:13 lead early in the
game and actually never gave it up. Piling up a double digit advantage at
halftime 44:25 Monaco cruised to an overall victory at the end of this game.
Monaco topped Group C with a 1-0 record. They will next take on Scotland later
tonight. Malta will wait till tomorrow to try to improve their record against
Scottish team.
Wales U18 - Andorra U18 96:68
Gibraltar U18 - San Marino U18 78:66 Monaco U18 - Malta U18 72:49
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