Serbia defended European Championship title !! - July 16, 2007
Serbian U20 National Team defended European Championship title celebrating over, until tonight, undefeated Spain in the final game 87:78. Serbia lost the opener on EC against Slovenia and it looks like they needed it because after that moment team played much better and won all games until the end. Serbia had very good shot percentage behind the arc 11/25 (44 %) but also lot of troubles with free throws, just 12/24. In the center of first quarter Spain had lead 11:6 and later 27:21 but in the last 4 minutes of second period Serbia made run 18:4 and went on the half time with plus 6. From the 25th minute until the end Serbia all the time had advantage of 5 or more points. Once again Milos Teodosic (196-G-87) was team leader. He collected 22 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds. Milenko Tepic (202-G-87, agency: Beo Basket) also showed great performance and finished game with 20 points and 5 rebounds. Sergi Llull (178-G-87) posted 24 while Pau Ribas (182-G-87) stopped on 13 points and 4 assists for Spain.

Point guard Milos Teodosic is voted to be the MVP of the European Championship while Dragan Labovic (208-C/F-87) is in the best five.

In the game for the third place co-host Italy outplayed Russia 74:63 and won bronze medal. Slovenia beat Israel 90:81 and finished on the 5th place.

Serbia - Spain 87:78
(10:12,29:21,25:26,23:19)

Serbia: Teodosic 22 (5 assists, 4 rebs), Tepic 20 (5 rebs), Nikolic Stefan 3, Djurkovic 8 (4 rebs), Labovic 13 (5 rebs), Kovacevic, Jereminov, Zivcevic, Stimac 2, Paunic 13, Dragovic 6 (9 rebs), Nikolic Uros.
Spain: Llull 24, Ribas 13 (4 as), Sol, Sanchez 2, Beiran 8, Fernandez 14, Teruel 9 (7 rebs), Rey 8, Andres
DNP: Lucas, Perez-Urruti, Gama

   Division B Semifinals: Ukraine faces Montenegro in the Final - July 15, 2007 Ukraine and Montenegro will fight for the Gold tonight in Division B of U20 European Championship. Both teams did not have any difficulties in reaching the Final. Their victories in the semifinals were too confident.

Ukrainian U20 team had successfully completed the task and drove into the European championship Final. A perfect start to the semifinal clash against Germany proved proved the difference and lifted Ukraine to an overall win.
Ukraine could not have dreamt of a better beginning as they knocked Germany out with a 14:0 run in the opening frame. They held Germany scoreless for more than 5 starting minutes before Frieder Diestelhorst (201-F-87) nailed a jumper. Ukraine reacted with another 14:4 run that saw Germany trail by 22 points after the first quarter 6:28.
Germany tried to find their way back in the seconf quarter as they cut the deficit to 18:30. But consecutive plays from Maxym Korniyenko (201-F/C-87) secured a safe distance for Ukrainian side. They were up 45:29 at halftime and posted first 4 points of the second half to maintain the gap. Sergiy Gladyr (196-G/F-89) and Oleksandr Sizov knocked down two straight three pointers to make it 62:38 for Ukraine midway through the third quarter. Germany struggled to get control of the game and could not get any closer. The teams went scoreless for more than 3 minutets in the final frame. Dmytro Gliebov finished the game with a perfect trey to mark a 80:56 victory for Ukraine. They will now play in the championship Final against Montenegro tonight.
Oleksandr Kolchenko (196-F-88) (196-F-88) topscored for Ukraine with 19 points. Sergiy Gladyr added 18 points in a winning effort. Frieder Diestelhorst had 20 points in defeat.
Ukraine outrebounded their opponents 40:33 and forced them to 19 turnovers.
Germany plays against Finland for the 3rd spot today.

Ukraine U20: Oleksandr Kolchenko 19 points, Sergiy Gladyr 18, Maxym Korniyenko 12
Germany U20: Frieder Diestelhorst 20, Tim Ohlbrecht (211-C-88) 8+14 boards.


Montenegro U20 - Finland U20 83:53
Montenegro is one step from the U20 European championship title after they edged Finland 83:53 in the semis yesterday. An impressive defence from Montenegrin team held Finland to just 1 point in the opening 7 minutes of the game and alowd them to spur off to a 16:1 advantage. They completed the first frame 21:5 ahead. Dasic play midway through the second frame marked a 20-point lead by Montenegro. Finland however tried to stay in race and Antti Vanjoki (188-G/F-88) crowned the first frame with a trey to come within 18 points.
Juho Nenonen drained five straight points at the dying stage of the third quarter to put Finland as close as 38:51 but Dasic and Martinic regained the lead with a couple of successful offensive plays. Finland had little chances to save this one in the final quarter and Montenegro cruised to a confident 83:53 victory keeping in mind today's Final against Ukraine.
Vladimir Dasic (208-F-88) was on fire scoring 25 points and grabbing 14 rebounds for Montenegro. Suad Sehovic (195-G-87, agency: Ultimate Sports Agency) ensured 15 points for the winners. Gerald Lee (206-F-87) was the only Finnish player to score in double-digits as he nailed 11 points. Antti Vanjoki produced 9 points in a loss.
Montenegro shot impressive 60.6% of field goals and outrebounded Finland 41:32.
Montenegro will clash with Ukraine in today's decisive game. Finland sees Germany to fight for Bronze.

Montenegro U20: Vladimir Dasic 25+14 boards, Suad Sehovic 15, Boris Savovic (207-F-87) 13
Finland U20: Gerald Lee 11, Antti Vanjoki 9.

   Division A Semifinals results. Serbia will face Spain in the Final- July 15, 2007
Spain U20 and Serbia U20 will meet each other in the Final of U20 European Championship Men. Both teams had fabulous wins over the opponents in the semifinals.
Spain started not in a good note against Russia. The latter won the opening quarter and lost only in the end. Spain celebrated 76:69 win and advanced to the Final. Pau Ribas (182-G-87) led the winners with 21 points. Russia were paced by 14 points and eight rebounds from Andrey Vorontsevich (204-C-87) while Alexey Shved had 13 points.

In another game Serbia upset co-hosts Italy 77:62. Nikola Dragovic (203-F-87, agency: Beo Basket) and Milos Teodosic (196-G-87) produced 40 points for the winners. Italy started better and won the opening tip with 8-2. Serbia answered with some good runs and won the first and the second quarters respectively. Marco Ammannato scored a break-away layup and Daniel Hackett (196-G-87) and Aradori drained back-to-back three-pointers to cut the deficit to 38:28.
The game with the result was clear before the whistle. Serbia stormed with 30:21 in the last and grabbed the final place.

   U20 NT of Slovenia finishes 5th on EC - July 15, 2007
In the last game for Slovenia U20 NT they managed to beat Israeli U20 NT 90:81. Israelis opened game with great performance hitting huge triples with great percentage and they were up already by 20 points in third quarter when Slovenians started making a comeback. Slovenia caught Israelis few minutes before the end of the game and closed the European Championship U20 which was held here in Slovenia (Nova Gorica) and in Italy (Gorizia) with a victory. The best scorers for Slovenia were Matej Krusic (211-F/C-87) with 16 points and 11 rebounds and Emir Preldzic (206-F-87, agency: Beo Basket) with 16 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists. They were followed by Rok Perko (178-G-87) with 14 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists, while Cigoja had 13, Jaka Klobucar (198-G-87) 11 and Gasper Vidmar (210-C/F-87) 10 points and 8 rebounds. The best scorer for Israeli NT was Omri Casspi (204-F/G-88, agency: Interperformances) with 25 points and 6 rebounds.

   EC U20: Serbia beat Italy 77:62 and advanced to the final! - July 15, 2007
After win against co-host Italy 77:62 Serbia will have a chance to defend European Championship title against Spain today at 19:00h. Serbia dominated in the first half having plus 13 on the half time. Third quarter brought different picture and small amount of points for both teams but still Serbia kept advantage and increased it until the end. Nikola Dragovic (203-F-87, agency: Beo Basket) shined scoring 21 points including 4 rebounds while point guard Milos Teodosic (196-G-87) netted 19 points for the winners. Italy got 14 points from Pietro Aradori (192-G-88).

For the title of European Champion will fight Serbia and still undefeated Spain. For the third place will meet Russia and Italy today at 16:00h.

Serbia - Italy 77:62
(17:14,24:14,6:13,30:21)

Serbia: Teodosic 19, Tepic 11 (6 rebs), Nikolic Stefan 4, Djurkovic 9 (5 rebs), Labovic 3 (5 rebs), Kovacevic, Jereminov 2, Zivcevic 2, Stimac 4 (12 rebs), Paunic 2, Dragovic 21 (4 rebs), Nikolic Uros.
Italy: Piazza 6 (5 rebs), Bruttini 10 (7 rebs), Tomassini, Cuccarolo, Filloy 2, Aradori 14, Ammannato 2, D'Ercole 8, Da Tome 7, Chiumenti 3 (5 rebs), Hackett 10
DNP: Giuri.

   U20 NT of Slovenia outscores Bulgaria - July 14, 2007
In the Classification Games for the 5th to 8th places on U20 European Championship here in Nova Gorica and Gorizia (Italy) Slovenian NT had no troubles beating Bulgarian NT 79:59. Slovenians were in control for whole game and didn't allow their opponets to come close. Gasper Vidmar (210-C/F-87) scored 23 points, 10 rebounds and Emir Preldzic (206-F-87, agency: Beo Basket) had 20, 5 rebounds while Matej Krusic (211-F/C-87) chipped in 14 and 6 rebounds points off the bench for the co-hosts, who will play vs. Israel U20 NT on Sunday for fifth place. Chavdar Kostov (190-G-88) paced Bulgaria with 20 points while Ivan Lilov (195-F-88) scored 17 points.

   Division B: the end of the Classification round - July 14, 2007
As the teams that will fight for the top places had a rest day, the Classification round had the last games in the groups. Now the teams will play for the specific places in European championship Division B in Poland.

Swiss U20 team finally enjoyed the first win at the classifiication round of the European championship Division B in Poland. They narrowly defeated Romania 81:74 to complete the action in Group H at 1-3 record. Romania meanwhile remained winless and suffered the third straight loss. Romanian team had a better start to this one as they rolled to a 22:16 lead after the opening frame. Andrei Ioan Dohi drained a trey and put Romania ahead 32:23 early in the second quarter. Romanian side maintained the advantage and finished the first half with a 42:36 dominance. The things seemed to change little as Romania opened the second half with a 5:0 run and established a 47:36 lead. But Switzerland gradually found the touch and capped the third quarter with an impressive 20:9 run that put surged them ahead 56:55 entering the final frame. They held on to a minimum advantage throughout the final stanza and led 72:71 with under two minutes remaining. David Ramseier (198-C-87) then knocked down a jumper and Reto Schwaiger delivered a three pointer to seal a win for Swiss squad. Westher Molteni (192-F-87) topscored for Switzerland with 19 points and 15 rebounds. David Ramseier had 16 points for the winners. Romania's Titus Nicoara was a usual contributor with 19 points and 10 boards. Vlad Jiscanu provided 18 points as Romania remained at 0-4 record.
Romanian team will now battle for the 17th-18th spot against Belarus. Switzerland plays versus Portugal in the game for 15th-16th place tomorrow.
In another game of Group H Belgium beat Netherlands 77:60. Thomas Dreesen top-cored for the winners with 23 points.

Czech Republic gained their second win in Group G of classification round at the U20 European championship in Poland. They rallied past winless Belarus 75:68 to finish in the third spot. Czechs opened up the game with a smashing 12:0 run to merely knock Belarus out. Belarus had little to contradict and the lead just kept growing and reached a 28:10 mark at the end of the first frame. Czechs confidently held on to the advantage throughout the second quarter not allowing Belarus to come any closer. However Raman Chervaneu scored consecutive 5 points before halftime to cut the deficit to 6 points 34:40. Siarhei Vabishchevich's trey at the start of the second saw the gap vanish and Aliaksei Patsevich (195-G-88) later put Belarus ahead 43:42. Czechs replied with a three pointer from Ales Zikmunda and entered the final frame leading 53:49. Jiri Jelinek (202-F-87, agency: PPGroup) nailed another 4 points for Czech team and they rushed ahead to a 57:53 advantage early in the fourth quarter. Pavel Hemmy (190-G-87) added another jumper to ignite Gzech Republic run 13:0 that cleared them off for good.
Tomas Hampl and Jiri Jelinek led the way for Czech Republic with 13 points. Pavel Hemmy contributed 12 points in a winning effort for Czech squad. Belarus were paced by Siarhei Vabishchevich's 18 points and 7 rebounds. Raman Chervaneu added 13 points in the fourth defeat for Belarus.
Czech team limited Belarus to just 23 rebounds and converted 47.4% from beyond the arc to ensure the win. They will now play against Netherlands for the 13th-14th spot. Belarus will clash with Romania for the 17th-18th place.
The Austrian U20 team also won their game against Portugal easily with 91:67. The team dominated in all areas and the man of the game was Thomas Schreiner (195-G-87) had a triple-double with 16 points, 17 rebounds and 13 assists. Austrian team is ranked second in the group and they will play tomorrow for the 11th place against Ireland.

   EC U20: Serbia will meet Italy in the semifinals! - July 13, 2007
Serbian U20 National Team qualified for the semifinals of European Championship from the top position of group E. They easy beat Lithuania 76:94 yesterday. From the start Serbia dominated and it was obvious that Lithuania won't have a real chance in this game. Tandem Vladimir Stimac (206-C-87, agency: Interperformances) who added double-double 19 points and 14 rebounds and Dragan Labovic (208-C/F-87) who posted 18 points and 5 rebounds led Serbia. Milenko Tepic (202-G-87, agency: Beo Basket) followed them scoring 16 points while Milos Teodosic (196-G-87) recorded one more double-double on the game 10 points and 10 assists. Remigijus Trakimas (204-C-87) scored 20 points for Lithuania.

Co-host Slovenia missed chance to reach semifinals. They lost against Russia 55:63 so Serbia finished on the top of group E and will meet Italy in the semifinals (Saturday 20:15). In the other semifinal game will play Spain and Russia (Saturday 18:00h).

Lithuania - Serbia 76:94
(15:25,27:26,13:23,21:20)

Lithuania: Dilys 10, Cerneckis, Kriaciunas, Ezerskis 13 (6 as), Baniulis 1, Ivanauskas 1, Labuckas 11 (4 rebs), Butkevicius 14 (7 rebs), Ruzgas 5, Trakimas 20, Petrukonis.
Serbia:Teodosic 10 (10 as), Tepic 16, Nikolic 7, Djurkovic 6, Labovic 18 (5 rebs), Kovacevic, Jereminov 3, Zivcevic, Stimac 19 (14 rebs), Paunic 11, Dragovic 8 (6 rebs), Nikolic 3.

   U20 NT of Slovenia loses vs. Russia in very bad moment! - July 12, 2007
Slovenian U20 NT note down their first loss on European Championship U20 here in Nova Gorica (Slovenia) by lossing to Russia U20 NT 55:63. The loss against Russians comes in a bad moment. Slovenians ruined their chances for semi-finals of this tournament. Slovenia started the game under a strain and also finnished it like that. The victory or even a loss by less than 4 points would lead Slovenians to semi-finals of EC U20. The top scorer for Slovenia was Emir Preldzic (206-F-87, agency: Beo Basket) with 19 points and 4 rebounds, he was also followed by Gasper Vidmar (210-C/F-87) with 12 points and 14 rebounds. The top scorer for Russians was Petr Gubanov (207-C-87) with 12 points, while Alexey Shved (195-G-88) and Krivosheev noted down 11 each.

   Division B Wednesday results - July 12, 2007
The Qualifying and the Classification Rounds had the following results and stats last night:

In the Qualifying Round Group E Montenegro stun Estonia midway through the game to celebrate a tough 80:71 victory yesterday. The win secured Montenegro a perfect 2-0 record on top of Group E. Both teams exchanged the blows early in the game and secured a 18:18 draw at the end of the opening quarter. Montenegro used a 10:2 run at the start of the second frame to grab a 28:20 lead and controlled the momentum. They capitalized on Estonian inaccuracy from the field and rushed to a 42:29 advantage with 1 minute left in the first half. Estonia cut the deficit a bit but still trailed by as many as 11 points at halftime. Another 12:3 stanza from Montenegrin team left Estonia far behind 58:39 with under 4 minutes remaining in the third quarter. However Estonia never surrendered and came back strong in the fourth. Illimar Pilk and Sten-Timmu Sokk (180-G-89) drained consecutive points to narrow the gap to just 5 points with 1 minute and 7 seconds left in regulation. But Suad Sehovic (195-G-87, agency: Ultimate Sports Agency)'s trey killed the intrigue in this one and sealed the win for Montenegro.
Suad Sehovic topscored for Montenegro with 20 points. Boris Savovic (207-F-87) added 14 points and 12 boards in a winning attempt for Balkan team. Sten-Timmu Sokk answered with 20 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists for Estonia. Ivar Tulit (202-F-88) chipped in 14 points in a defeat. Despite having an edge under the rims 33:31 Estonia had just 4 offensive boards. They also committed 22 turnovers.

In another game of the group Germnay beat Poland 85;68 and tied them in the group at 1-1. Nikita Khartchenkov led the winners with 28 points.

In Group F Slovakia suffered a dramatic defeat yesterday when they fell short to Finland 67:69 in Group F of the U20 European championship Division B. Teams were tied at 63 with under 4 minutes remaining in regulation. Cedric Latimer drove to the basket and dunked bal home to give Finland 65:63 lead. Maros Zuffa (196-G-87) got fouled and converted both free throws to draw the game with 2 minutes left on the clock. Cedric Latimer then replied with one free throw of his own to regain the lead for Finland 66:65. Justin Sedlak (203-F-87) missed a jumper in the next Slovakia's possession, but Jan Zavodny intercepted the ball and handed it to Maros Zuffa. Slovakia's leader was once again fouled and stepped to the charity line. He was perfect from free throw line to put Slovakia ahead 67:66 with 10 seconds left. However Finland found the way to deliver. Mikko Koivisto (193-G-87) used all 10 seconds to give away a perfect buzzer-beater and secured a win for Finland. The victory saw them impove to 2-0 record in Group F of the qualifying round. Slovakia meanwhile fell to 0-2.
Mikko Koivisto led Finland with 26 points. Gerald Lee (206-F-87) produced 11 points and 11 boards in a win. Maros Zuffa had an impressive night for Slovakia nailing 30 points. Justin Sedlak and Miroslav Vansa (195-F-87) poured in 13 points apiece in a loss. Slovakia were forced to as many as 20 turnovers. Both teams shot 50% of field goals.

Ukraine beat Great Britain 79:73 with Oleksandr Kolchenko (196-F-88) 's 28 points. Finland are on top of the Group F together with Ukraine and they face each other in leader's clash tonight. Slovakia will try to gain the first win of the qulifying round against Great Britain today.

In the Classification Round Sweden had a victorious start to the classification round of the U20 European championship in Poland. Jonas Jerebko (204-F-87) ensured an early lead 23:18 for Sweden. They maintained the lead through a bigger part of the second frame until Viachaslau Ostrykau (201-F-88) nailed 6 points and lifted Belarus ahead 36:31. Belarus held on to the advantage and won the first half 37:35. The leading teams changed for sixth times during the third quarter and Belarus came out on top entering the final frame with a 59:56 dominance. However 13:0 start to the fourth quarter gave Sweden a comfortable 69:59 advantage and they secured it till the end of the game. Jonas Jerebko was unstoppable with 25 points, 18 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals and 5 blocks for Sweden. Carl Lindqvist (187-G-88) added 18 points in a winning effort. Aliaksei Patsevich (195-G-88) answered with 16 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds for Belarus. Uladzimir Ostrykau had 11 points and 11 rebounds in the first loss for Belarus in classification round.
Belarus outrebounded Sweden 40:38 but knocked down just 46.7% of free throws. Sweden also forced them to 17 turnovers. Sweden climbed on top of Group G with a 2-1 record and will next play versus Portugal today. Belarus were dropped to the bottom of the Group with a 0-2 record. They take on Austria today.
Czech Republic U20 team started the classification round of the U20 European championship with a narrow win over Portugal. Heading into the final frame with a 2-point deficit Czech team managed to ensure a tough win at the dying stage. Portugal's Fernando Manuel Sico (202-F-88) converted a free throw to give his team a 63:58 lead with 1 minute and 10 seconds left in regulation. Michal Vocetka replied with a jumper to put Czechs back within 3 points. Pavel Hemmy (190-G-87) then knocked down a jump shot to make it 62:63 game. Jose Silva stepped out of bounds to give ball back to Czech Republic team. And Pavel Hemmy drained a long jumper to grab a 65:63 lead for Czechs as the clock showed 9 seconds left in this one. Portugal did not manage to give away a shot and lost the game.
Jiri Jelinek (202-F-87, agency: PPGroup) led Czech Republic with 18 points and 16 rebounds. Pavel Hemmy contributed another 18 points in a win. Fernando Manuel Sico paced Portugal with 25 points and 8 boards. Jose Silva added 13 points as Portugal fell to 1-1 record.

Ireland defeated Romania 60:45 to go on top of Group H in classification round of the U20 European championship in Poland. They improved to 2-1 record and climbed over Netherlands in the ladder.
Romania had a better start to the game as they established an early lead 14:11 after the opening frame. They maintained it through 8 minutes of the second quarter until Ireland used 10:0 run to clear off and posted a 30:22 advantage at halftime. Romania struggled to narrow the gap from now on and Ireland safely cruised through the third frame. Romanian team came as close as 5 points midway through the fianl frame but Ireland never allowed them to get closer. Gary Walsh capped the win for Ireland with two free throws at the end of regulation. Daniel Brady (200-F-87) led Irish team with 12 points. Cian Nihill (193-G-88) scored 11 points, while Eoin McDermott (194-C-87) provided 8 points and 11 rebounds for the winners. Titus Nicoara (200-F-88) was the top Romanian performer with 16 points and 16 rebounds. Romania shot just 32% from the field and miserable 36.4% from free throw line. They were also forced to 22 turnovers. Romania fell to 0-2 record and will next play against Netherlands today. Ireland sees Belgium later tonight. Meanwhile Belgium beat Switzerland 94:86 as Marnegrave ended up with 20 points.

   EC U20: Big step to the semis by Serbia! - July 12, 2007
Serbian U20 NT made big step to the semifinals of European championship beating Russia 71:65. After defeat against Slovenia on the start of EC Serbia had to win all other games and so far they recorded 4th in the row. Crucial moment of the game happened in period from 25th to 35th minute when Serbian team after 45:48 made run 21:5 and take bigger lead 66:53. Dragan Labovic (208-C/F-87) was the best for the winners adding 16 points and 5 rebounds. He was followed by Marko Djurkovic (206-C/F-87) who finished game with 13 points and 5 rebounds. Alexey Shved (195-G-88) posted 18 points for Russia.

Today at 15:15h Serbia will meet Lithuania and win will take them automatically to the semis.

Serbia - Russia 71:65
(19:14,22:25,10:11,20:15)

Serbia: Teodosic 11 (5 as), Tepic 4, Nikolic Stefan 3, Djurkovic 13 (5 rebs), Labovic 16 (5 rebs), Kovacevic, Stimac 5 (4 rebs), Paunic 8, Dragovic 9, Nikolic Uros 2
DNP: Jereminov, Zivcevic.
Russia: Urazmanov 13, Sergeev, Syrovatko 7, Shved 18, Vorontsevich 6 (9 rebs), Krivosheev 2, Sheleketo 7 (4 rebs), Gubanov 12 (7 rebs), Kashirov
DNP: Yakovenko, Smygin, Pushkin.

   Three teams stay undefeated in Division A, but only two of them advanced so far to the semis - July 12, 2007
Italy and Spain advanced to the semifinals of U20 European Championship Men from Group F even though there is one more playing day. Serbia defeated Russia in Group E to bring an intrigue to the group. Slovenia is 4-0 there however might be out of the semifinal if the loss will be big from Russia tonight.

In Group E Russia U20 lost an important game to Serbia in the U20 European Championship Men. The defending champions made a 20:15 push in the last quarter to celebrate 71:65 win. Dragan Labovic (208-C/F-87) paced the winners with 16 points. Marko Djurkovic netted 13 and Milos Teodosic (196-G-87) ended up with 11 points. Alexey Shved posted 18 points in the losing effort. As only two teams advance to the semifinals from the group Russia will have to beat Slovenia tonight. The latter is the only undefeated team in Group E. Serbia improved to 3-1, while Russia has the same record.
Serbia took a control from the first minutes of the game. They already had 8 points deficit (14:6) after Djurkovic's free throw. The first quarter ended up with 19:14 for Serbia. In the second quarter Russia came back to the game and after Artur Urazmanov (165-G-87) hit a three Russia stayed in front, 31:30. Serbia led 41:39 at the break when Dragovic made a lay-up. In the third quarter both teams dedicated too much time and attention to defense. Later, trailing just 55:53, Russia committed four turnovers as Serbia scored 11 straight points, 66:53. In the end of the game Russia did not stay closer than to 5 points.

In the game of two winless teams of Group E Lithuania was defeated by France 71:76. The latter improved to 1-3, while the Baltic team is 0-4. Today Lithuania will face the defending champions Serbia in the last game in the group of U20 European Championship Men. Marc Judith (192-G-87) led the winners with 13 points. Aaron Cel produced 12, while Nando De Colo ended up with 11 points and 7 steals. Povilas Butkevicius (202-F-87) top-scored for Lithuania with 13 points and 13 rebounds.
Lithuania won the opening tip nailing first four points of the game. The last lead however was at 13:12 in the center of the first. Meanwhile France had some baskets to go on 21:15 before the second. The latter increased to 38:34 at the break and looked forward not to stop. In the beginning of the second half France used a 14-4 run to enlarge to 55:45. Lithuania stayed behind with 55:49 after 30 minutes of the game. It was Butkevicius who cut the deficit to 73:69 with 23 seconds left but Marc Judith kept the score for the winners.
Slovenia overcame Turkey 82:74 keeping alive their excellent chances of advancing to the semifinals. Jaka Klobucar led the winners with 18 points, while Jan Mocnik added 12 points and seven assists. Slovenia face Russia on Thursday knowing they can afford a loss by three points against the Russians and still reach Saturday's semis.

In Group E Spain beat Georgia 96:68 with Xavier Rey's 21 points. Giorgi Shermadini led Georgia with 12 points and Giorgi Gaprindashvili (185-G-88) had 10 points in a losing cause. Spain take on Italy in a top-notch showdown on Wednesday while Georgia, who dropped to 1-3 in the group will face Croatia.
Croatia lost to Bulgaria 70:88 as Ivan Lilov (195-F-88) scored a game-high 25 points and his older brother Lyubomir Lilov (198-F-87) and Stoyo Cholakov each had 12 points.
Italy had an important but tough win over Israel to reach the semifinals. Co-hosts beat Israel 66:62 with 12 points from Alessandro Piazza (174-G-87). Giovanni Tomassini and Alberto Chiumenti each scored 11 for the winners.

   U20 NT of Slovenia defeats Turkey! - July 11, 2007
Slovenian U20 NT again outclassed their opponet, this time they beat Turkey 82:74. With this victory Slovenians moved even closer to the semi-finals of the U20 European Championship. Game was close untill last minutes when Slovenian quality decided the game. High scorer for Slovenia was Jaka Klobucar (198-G-87) with 18 points and 4 assists. He was followed by Emir Preldzic (206-F-87, agency: Beo Basket) 16 points and 8 rebounds, Gasper Vidmar (210-C/F-87) with 10 points and 7 rebounds, Dejan Mlakar (191-G-88) with 14 points, 5 rebounds while Jan Mocnik (174-G-87) had 12 points and 7 assists. Top scorer for Turkey was Mehmet Yagmur (188-G-87) with 22 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, but he also had 11 turnovers.

   Division B: the end of the Preliminary Round - July 11, 2007
Last day was the last for the Preliminary Round of U20 European Championship in Group B. Two teams from each group made another group E and F. The other teams will play in the Classification Round.
In Group A Montenegro and Germany finished with 3-1 record that gave them a possibility to advance. Germany did not play yesterday, while Montenegro beat Sweden 92:69. Boris Savovic (207-F-87) led the winners with 28 points and 9 rebounds. In another game of the group Czech Republic outscored Austria 70:64 and got the first win in the tournament.
Poland and Estonia grabbed the first two spots from Group B. Poland without any problems finished with 4-0, while Estonia even with a loss joined them. Estonia lost to Switzerland 57:69 and ended up with 2-2 record. Netherlands had the same record after beating Ireland 82:76. Kenneth van Kempen (206-F/C-87) led the winners with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
In Group C Ukraine and Slovak Republic reached the top. Ukraine stayed undefeated overcoming Portugal 87:80 in the last day. Slovak Republic satisfied with a win over Belarus 79:47 to join Ukrainians. Maros Zuffa (196-G-87) top-scored with 16 points for the winners.
Finland and Great Britain deserved the wins last night and both advanced from Group D. Finland destroyed Belgium 87:74 with 31 points and 11 rebounds from Gerald Lee (206-F-87). Great Britain beat Romania 79:62 with Daniel Clark (210-C-88) 's 24 points and 13 rebounds.

Group A
Montenegro-Sweden 92:69
Czech Republic-Austria 70:64

Group B
Switzerland-Estonia 69:57
Ireland- Netherland 76:82

Group C
Portugal-Ukraine 80:87
Belarus-Slovak Republic 47:79

Group D
Finland-Belgium 87:74
Romania-Great Britain 62:79

   EC U20: Serbia better than Turkey 83:88 - July 11, 2007
Serbian U20 National Team celebrated over Turkey 83:88 and currently has score 2-1 in group E on European Championship. Turkish NT opened game much better making 23:16 in the 10th minute and they kept advantage until the last offense of the first half when Serbia took lead 40:41. Third quarter was totally equalized while question about the winner of this game is decided in 37th minute when on the score 71:71 Serbia made run 8:0. Point guard Milos Teodosic (196-G-87) led Serbia adding 26 points and 5 assists. Dragan Labovic (208-C/F-87) also was good scoring 21 points with 8 rebounds. Turkish team got 26 points and 5 assists from Mehmet Yagmur (188-G-87).

Today at 15:30h Serbian U20 NT will meet Russia who is still without lost on EC.

Turkey - Serbia 83:88
(23:18,17:23,18:18,25:29)

Turkey: Akis 10, Mahmutoglu, Oner 7, Batuk 11, Yagmur 26 (5 as), Altintig 2, Pacun 2, Nalga 7 (7 rebs), Yetim 3, Savas 15 (11 rebs)
DNP: Goktas, Demir.
Serbia: Teodosic 26 (5 as), Tepic 9, Nikolic Stefan 2, Djurkovic 15, Labovic 21 (8 rebs), Kovacevic, Stimac 6, Paunic 2, Dragovic 7 (7 rebs), Nikolic Uros
DNP: Jereminov, Zivcevic.

   Division A: Qualifying Round begins - July 11, 2007
The Qualifying Round started last night in Division A of U20 European Championship. Four teams in both Group E and F stay undefeated in the tournament.
In Group E Slovenia overcame Lithuania 96:84. Gasper Vidmar (210-C/F-87) paced the winners with 22 points. Dejan Mlakar produced 21, while Jan Mocnik nailed 18 points and made 10 assists. Paulius Ivanauskas (194-G-87) top-scored for the Baltic team with 21 points.
Lithuania went on a 7-0 run after 4 points from Petrukonis. Unfortunately it did not help to stay even as Slovenia finished the first 27:19. The co-hosts of the tournament lost 1 point of the deficit at the half having 52:45.Lithuanian Vilmantas Dilys converted a three-point play to cut the deficit to 64:60 with four minutes to play in the third. The quarter however ended up with 74:66. Paulius Ivanauskas drained a three-pointer to make 76:71. Meanwhile Slovenia mounted in 12-3 run to finish the game on the happy end.
Russia U20 increased to 3-0 in Group E of U20 European Championship Men after a brilliant victory over France. Trailing by 17 points, Russia created a 24-0 run to reach the victory. Petr Gubanov (207-C-87) led the winners with 17 points. Andrey Vorontsevich (204-C-87) scored 16, while Ilya Syrovatko added 14. Nando De Colo was the best for France with 24 points. Russian team stayed with 2-0, while France did not have a win before the game with each other. Of course the favorite of the game was Russia, but France took a control of the game first. They won the opening quarter 18:13 with 2 points from Marc Judith in the end. The French created a 23-11 run to open a 46:35 lead at the break. France U20 had a great balanced game and with a three from Nando De Colo the score was 59:42.
A fantastic defense by Russia and 15 straight points closed the quarter at 59:57. That was the beginning of the 24-0 run of the Russian squad. Russia led 80:76 before France started to foul. It did not bring luck for the French as Russia celebrated 84:79 win.
Serbia beat Turkey 88:83 with 26 points from Milos Teodosic (196-G-87). Serbia improved to 2-1, while Turkey fell at 1-2.

In Group F Georgia U20 dropped to 1-2 in the Qualifying Round of U20 European Championship. In the first game of the new round Georgia lost to Israel 74:81. Israel went on a big lead, however Georgian team played the second half better. Yogev Ohayon (189-G-87) led the winners with 23 points. Elishay Kadir netted 16 and Tal Michael Dunne produced 15. Lasha Parghalava (190-G-87) top-scored for Georgia with 14 points. It was an easy start for Israeli team as they managed to go on a 27:15 lead. They increased to one more point deficit in the second quarter and had 43:30 at the half.
Chochua opened the third quarter with two free throws. Gaprindashvili's two made the score first 38:48 and then 40:50. Georgia could not scratch back into the game in the third quarter with Israel ahead 64:54 going into the final 10 minutes.
The last quarter was a great challenge for Georgian team. Lasha Parghalava drained a three-pointer to make it 70:68 with four minutes to play. Yogev Ohayon however scored some important baskets for Israel to lead his team to the victory.
Italy outscored Croatia 82:69 to stay at 3-0. Italy remained perfect at the U20 European Championship for Men.A 22:15 push in the last quarter proved the high level of the Italians. Giovanni Tomassini (186-G-88) and Pietro Aradori (192-G-88) top-scored for the winners with 17 points each. Ante Tomic collected 24 points in defeat, while Filip Vukicevic, Luka Drezga and Petkovic nailed 9 each.
In the opening quarter Croatia went on a 4-0 lead. Right after that Italy scored 11 points in a row to go on 11:4. The hosts finished with 20:17 after the first 10 minutes. In the second quarter Italian lead hesitated from 5 to 7 points. Pietro Aradori's three sent the teams to the interims with 42:33 for Italy. Croatia had a productive third quarter and managed to cut to 55:53 with 2:18 in the third. Croatia was also 1 point behind with 8 minutes till the end of the game trailing 61:62. Giovanni Tomassini's three and then two did not allow Croatia to have an intrigue in the end.
Spain beat Bulgaria 90:71. Marc Fernandez led the way with 24 points. Spain is 3-0, while Bulgaria is vice versa.

   U20 NT of Slovenia defeats Lithuania! - July 10, 2007
After beating Hungary on the last day of group stage 69:56 Slovenian U20 NT made fourth win on European Championship beating Lithuania 96:84 in the qualifying group stage.. The most impressive player on court for Slovenia was for sure Jan Mocnik (174-G-87) with 18 points and 10 assists. He was followed by his team mates Gasper Vidmar (210-C/F-87) with 22 points and 7 rebounds, Matej Krusic (211-F/C-87) with 14 points and 9 rebounds, while Dejan Mlakar (191-G-88) added 21 points and 4 rebounds. The best players for Lithuania were Povilas Butkevicius (202-F-87) with 15 points, 9 rebounds and Paulius Ivanauskas (194-G-87) who added 21 points and 5 assists. Tomorrow Slovenian NT will face Turkey.

   Division B does not need a break - July 10, 2007
Division B keeps the busy schedule every day. In comparison with Division A the games have been playing without a break. Last night was dedicated to Group A and B.
In Group A Sweden did not manage to maintain their winning ways at the U20 European championship Division B in Poland. After a confident start of the tournament when they rallied past Czech Republic 62:45 Swedish team slowed down and suffered two straight losses. The first one came from Austria, who narrowly defeated Sweden 78:75. Another one came yesterday as Germany came back from a halftime deficit to hand in the second defeat for Sweden.
Led by Jonas Jerebko (204-F-87) Sweden got off to a quick start and capped the opening frame with an 11:0 run to put themselves ahead 16:9. They rolled to a 23:13 advantage at the start of the second quarter and maintained the distance almost till halftime break. However Diestelhorst trey narrowed the gap for Germany to 26:28. And once again Jonas Jerebko spurred his team a better start of the second half as they extended the lead to 36:30. Germany bounced back with a 10:2 run and surged ahead 38:40. Dino Pita's free throw secured a one-point distance between Sweden and Germany entering the final frame. Sweden opened up the fourth frame with a 2-point play but it was their last lead of the game. Germany replied with a 9:0 run to set up a 5-point gap 52:47. They were up till the final buzzer not allowing Scandinavians to rush ahead.
Sajmen Hauer (190-G-88) and Nikita Khartchenkov (201-F-87, agency: Scorers 1st Sportmanagement) netted 21 points apiece to ensure the win for Germany. Tim Ohlbrecht added 10 points and 8 rebounds for the winners. Sweden were paced by 16 points, 13 rebounds and 2 blocks from Jonas Jerebko. Tom Liden (202-F-87) had 15 points and 8 rebounds in a loss.
Austrian U20 team won against Montenegro with 85:83. In a very close game the Austrian had the better end for them and they deserved this win and Richard Poiger (206-F-87) was the key player for Austria as he had 23 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals.

In Group B Poland beat Estonia to have a 4-0 perfect record in the group. Polish squad overcame Baltic team 67:48 with 15 points from Kulig. In another game Switzerland stayed winless with 0-3 after a loss from Netherlands 62:84. Nick Oudendag (209-C/F-87, agency: Court Side) led the winners with 18 points, while David Ramseier (198-C-87) scored 20 in the losing effort.

   Division A: Full coverage of Day 3 - July 09, 2007
Three days are over in U20 European Championship for Men. It left only 4 teams that stay undefeated- Slovenia, Russia, Spain and Italy.
In Group A Slovenia finished the Group on the first spot after a win over Hungary. The co-hosts won 69:56 to go on 3-0. Gasper Vidmar (210-C/F-87) led the way for Slovenia with 19 points and nine rebounds while Emir Preldzic added 15 points.
Dragan Labovic (208-C/F-87) and Milos Teodosic (196-G-87) combined for 50 points as reigning champions Serbia outlasted a resilent France side 96:81. Serbia finished with 2-1, while France failed at 1-2.

Russian U20 National team posted third consecutive win in Group B as they rallied past Turkey 88:74. This victory marked a perfect 3-0 record for Russia as they finished the preliminary round on top of Group B.
Turkey kept it close in the opening frame and trailed by just one point after it 20:21. Russia led throughout the second quarter but Oguz Savas secured a minimum advantage for Turkey as they entered the second half 44:43. The game remained very close before Russia spurred to a 10:2 run and surge ahead 65:62 at the end of the third frame. Russia controlled the game in the final stanza and set themselves comfortably 82:72 with less than 2 minutes to go in the game. Turkey never got closer and suffered their second loss of the tournament. Russia's guard Alexey Shved (195-G-88) scored game-high 22 points, dished out 7 assists and grabbed 4 rebounds. Pavel Sergeev (187-G-87) notched another 13 points in a win. Turkey had 5 players overstepping 10-point mark. Bora Pacun nailed 14 points to lead Turkey. Russia will play in Group E of qualification round together with Turkey. They tip off the next round against Serbia tomorrow. Turkey will play versus still undefeated Slovenia.
Lithuanian U20 team gained their first win at the U20 European championship in Slovenia and Italy. They outscored Greece in the third round of action and secured the Top 12 birth. The loss meanwhile meant Greece were eliminated from the Top 12 and will play in the relegation round. Greece grabbed an early 20:17 lead and opened the second frame with a 6:0 run to extend it to 26:17. Lithuania cut the deficit to 3 points 32:35 at halftime. And once again Greek team went out of the dressing room fast and furious and sparked to a 9:2 run to clear off to 44:34. Lithuania however maintained the distance and used a mini-spurt at the end of the third quarter to come back within a 1-point distance 52:53. Greece made another effort to leave Lithuania behind nailing 10 unanswered points at the start of the final frame. But Povilas Butkevicius consecutive baskets saw Lithuania cut the lead to 64:69. Then Vilmantas Dilys added 5 straight points to tie the score with 3 minutes to go in regulation. Lithuania never gave it up. Edvinas Ruzgas' perfect free throw shooting sealed a win for Lithuania and sent them to the qualifying round. Povilas Butkevicius topscored for Lithuania with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Ernestas Ezerskis (195-G-87) provided 13 points to ensure a win. Dimitrios Verginis had game-high 25 points and Georgios Trichopoulos added 15 in a defeat. Lithuania shot solid 55.6% from the field.

In Group C Macedonia were unable to advance to the qualifying round of the U20 European championship in Slovenia and Italy. They lost to Croatia in the third round of preliminary competition in Group C to finish the group action winless.
Macedonia led early in the game 24:20. They maneged to extend the lead to as many as 9 points midway through the second frame 37:28. Franko Filipovic helped Croatia cut the lead to 37:33 but Macedonia held on to it and went into the dressing room 42:36 ahead. They remained leading almost all the way through the third quarter but Vukicevic's jumper at the end of it put Craotia in front 55:54. Aleksandar Stefanovski (200-G/F-87) drained a long jumper to grab the lead back for Macedonia 57:55. But Croatia immediately replied with a 18:0 run that erased all possible hopes for Macedonia in this game. Setting up a comfortable 73:57 lead Croatia cruised to an overall win and secured a Top 12 birth.
Franko Filipovic topscored for Croatia with 19 points. Marin Han added another 13 points, while Filip Vukicevic finished with a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Kiril Nikolovski answered with 12 points for Macedonia. Nikola Karakolev (197-G-87) and Aleksandar Stefanovski had 11 points apiece in a loss.
Spain beat Israel 77:73. Xavier Rey led the winners with 23 points and 20 rebounds. Yogev Ohayon produced 19 points in the losing effort. Macedonia will now play in the relegation round and face Greece tomorrow. Croatia will battle in qulifying round Group F and take on Italy the same day.

Free throw shooting proved the difference as Georgia edged Bulgaria in the third round in Group D of the U20 European championship in Slovenia and Italy. Ival Lilov first put Bulgaria ahead 74:73 as he converted two free throws with 56 seconds left in regulation. Then Giorgi Gaprindashvili replied with two free throws of his own to regain the lead for Georgia 75:74. Ivan Lilov grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled with no time on the clock. He missed both of his attempts from the charity line to present Georgia with a victory.
Georgia looked more confident from the start of the game as they recorded a solid 22:12 first frame. Bulgaria however closed the gap in the second and went into the dressing room trailing by just 1 point 35:36. Misha Chochua (192-G-87) maintained the minimum advantage for Georgian side in the third quarter and throughout the fourth. But a final effort from Bulgaria almost brought them a win, but they fell just short of a victory. Misha Chochua led Georgia with 22 points. Lasha Parghalava contributed 17 points in a winning effort. Chavdar Kostov (190-G-88) and Ivan Lilov paced Bulgaria with 16 points each.
Georgia outrebounded the opponents 38:32 and shot impressive 61.5% from the field. Bulgaria lacked accuracy converting just 36.8% of field goals and 57.1% of free throws.
Both teams qualified to Top 16 and will now play in Group F. Georgia takes on Israel tomorrow. Bulgaria will try to improve their record against Spain.
Latvia did not secure a big lead in the third quarter to lose their third round encounter to Italy 65:72. Latvia performed a spectacular come back attempt at the start of the third quarter 22:2 to put themselves ahead 53:39 with 5 minutes left in the third frame. But timeouts and coach's advice helped Italy to pull back within one point entering the final frame 55:54. Both teams struggled to find the basket during first 4 minutes of the final quarter before Ariel Filloy broke the deadlock hitting a jumper and regaining the lead for Italy. The teams kept it close till the dying stage of the game when Italy spurred to a 7:0 run and cleared off to 67:60 distance. Rihards Kuksiks knocked down a trey and Reinis Strupovics added a basket to climb back to 65:67. However Pietro Aradori drained a long jumper and converted two free throws to seal a victory for Italy.
Luigi Datome (202-G/F-87) secured 13 points and 11 rebounds to lead Italian squad. Pietro Aradori had 11 points for the winners. Ronalds Zakis produced 25 points and 10 rebounds for Latvia. Reinis Strupovics and Rihards Kuksiks netted 10 points apiece in a loss. Latvia dominated the boards 46:38, but committed 22 turnovers.
Latvian team will now play in the classification round. They face Hungary tomorrow.

   Division B: Day 3 results - July 09, 2007
Division B closed Day 3 in the U20 European Championship for Men in Warsaw. Two games were played in each group yesterday.
In Group A Montenegro overcame Czech Republic 88:66. With a win in every quarter Montenegro dominated in the court. Vladimir Dasic (208-F-88) paced the winners with 29 points and 8 rebounds. Michal Vocetka (192-G/F-87) scored only 9 and was the top-scorer in defeat. Germany beat Austria 63:51 with 21 points from Per Gunther. Thomas Schreiner's 24 points and 12 rebounds were not enough for Austria.
In Group B Ireland had a thrilled over Switzerland and won 74:73 due to the win in the last quarter. Scott Kinevane produced 17 points for the winners. David Ramseier top-scored with 16 points and 10 rebounds for Switzerland.
Ukraine reached the second win in Group C beating Slovak Republic 95:54. Oleksandr Kolchenko (196-F-88) led the winners with 24 points. Portugal got the first win overcoming Belarus 77:72. Fabio Lima (178-G-88) scored 22 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Portugal. Dzmitry Shylovich ended up with 17 points and 11 rebounds in defeat.
In Group D all four teams has 1-1 record. Romania won an overtime battle over Finland 87:86. Vlad Jiscanu (-87) top-scored with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Great Britain did not have many problems against Belgium downing them 80:68. Daniel Clark (210-C-88) had one of the best games so far in the tournament. He poured in 33 points, made 15 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 block-shots.

   EC U20: Serbia beat France 96:81 in game #3 - July 09, 2007
Serbian U20 National Team made second win on European Championship beating France 96:81 so they finished on position 2 of group A. At the beginning of the game Labovic and Teodosic were unstoppable and after 9 minutes Serbian NT already made 24:14. In 25th minute, after Dragovic's dunk, Serbia had maximum advantage during the game 64:48. In the last quarter France started to play much better and came on 75:73, Serbian players didn't score any points four minutes but then on the scene came Nikola Dragovic (203-F-87, agency: Beo Basket) and for just one minute with two successful 3-pts shots decided winner of this game, 81:74 in 37th minute. Dragan Labovic (208-C/F-87) scored the most for Serbia 31 points with 6 rebounds. PG Milos Teodosic (196-G-87) added double-double 19 points and 10 assists while clutch player of the game Nikola Dragovic (203-F-87, agency: Beo Basket) collected 15 points and 4 rebounds. On the other side Nando De Colo (195-G-87) was very good posting 31 points including 7 rebounds.

Next game Serbian U20 NT will play tomorrow against Turkey. In group E are also Lithuania, Russia, Slovenia and France.

Serbia - France 96:81
(26:20,24:24,22:16,24:21)

Serbia: Teodosic 19 (10 as), Tepic 2 (4 as), Nikolic 2, Djurkovic 14 (9 rebs), Labovic 31 (6 rebs), Kovacevic, Stimac 9 (7 rebs), Paunic 4 (4 rebs), Dragovic 15 (4 rebs), Nikolic 7
DNP: Zivcevic.
France: Cel 8 (4 rebs), Marc 11 (4 rebs), De Colo 31 (7 rebs), Le Pellec 2, Sy, Curti 8, Causeur 7, Koma, Salmon 9 (7 rebs), Jonckheere, Kolb 5
DNP: Cheriet.

   Division B finishes Day 2 - July 08, 2007
Day 2 was played in Division B, however not in all groups as there different number of teams in 4 of them. Group A and B teams had the second game day.
In Group A Austria overcame Sweden 78:75. That was a battle between two players. Richard Poiger (206-F-87) led Austria with 26 points and 11 rebounds and was stronger than Swedish Jonas Jerebko (204-F-87) who produced 19 points and 10 rebounds. In another game Germany outscored Czech Republic 79:73. Per Gunther paced the winners with 16 points. Jiri Jelinek had 18 points and 8 rebounds in the losing effort.
In Group B Poland easily beat Ireland 78:44. That was the second easy win for the Polish squad in the Championship that is 2-0 in the Group. Marek Piechowicz (200-G/F-88) and Kamil Pietras (207-F-88) both scored 14 points for the winners. Estonia beat Netherlands 70:63 to go on 2-0 as well. Tanel Kurbas (195-F-88) top-scored for Estonia with 16 points.

Group A
Austria-Sweden 78:75 (20-25 27-15 14-15 17-20)
Czech Republic-Germany 73:79 (19-22 20-14 18-24 16-19)

Group B
Netherlands-Estonia 63:70 (16-25 12-24 19-6 16-15)
Ireland-Poland 44:78 (12-18 11-17 11-20 10-23)

   Second Day of the Division A - July 08, 2007
U20 European Championship Men proceed to the day 3 leaving the second behind.
In Group A Slovenia reached the second win beating France 84:78 to remain perfect at 2-0. Dejan Mlakar (191-G-88) led five Slovenia players in double figures scoring with 18 points. Mocnik had 17 points while Gasper Vidmar added 14, Jaka Klobucar 12 and Matej Krusic chipped in 10 off the bench. Cheikh Ibrahima Koma (205-F-87, college: Argenteuil) paced France with 20 points. The French are now 1-1 and shares the second with Serbia. The latter stormed Hungary 84:40. Hungary made just one of their first 25 shots and reached the worst result ever. Serbia led 40:3 and finished the half with 44:12. Marko Djurkovic (200-F-88) paced the Serbs with 19 points and Dragan Labovic added 14, while Kornel Kiss and Gergely Baki each had 11 points for Hungary.

In Group B Russia stayed undefeated at 2-0. In the second day they rolled over Lithuania 69:61 in Nova Gorica. In the other game Greece surprised Turkey 63-62 to leave the other three sides even with 1-1 records. Alexey Shved (195-G-88) led Russia with 15 points. Maxim Krivosheev (204-F/C-88) had 12 points and 13 rebounds, while Pavel Sergeev added 12 points. Tomas Cerneckis paced the Lithuanians with 15 points.
Greece got an important win over Turkey 63:62. Verginis trey pushed Greece up 63:62 with 53 seconds left and both teams stayed scoreless in the end of the game. Verginis scored 16 points for Greece, while Sigkounas posted 18 points in the losing effort. Greece, Turkey and Lithuania all even with 1-1 records.

Spain and Israel stay both undefeated at 2-0 in Group C. Rey Sanuy led Spain over Macedonia 93:60. Omri Casspi (204-F/G-88, agency: Interperformances) paced the way for Israel with 18 points and 10 rebounds in a 77:64 win over Croatia.

In Group D Latvian U20 team remained winless after the second round of the U20 European championship in Slovenia and Italy. After a hard defeat from Georgia Latvian team fell short to Bulgaria 89:96. Bulgaria did not wait for too long as they opened the fourth frame with a 14:4 run that cooled the intrigue off for a bit. Latvia made a desperate attempt to come back and Ronalds Zakis (207-F-87) kept the hopes alive as he drew the teams with 1 minute left in the regulation. Bozhidar Avramov and Lyubomir Lilov (198-F-87) remained calm and knocked down a couple of free throws at the dying stage to seal the first win for Bulgaria. Ivan Lilov led Bulgaria with 29 points. Chavdar Kostov added 17 points for the winners. Ronalds Zakis ensured game-high 30 points for Latvia. Rihards Kuksiks produced 20 points in a loss.
In another game Italy breezed to a 2-0 record after a 94:56 victory against Georgia. Georgia were unable to maintain their winning streak as they lost to co-hosts Italy in the second round of Group D of the U20 European championship in Italy and Slovenia. Cheered up by the local fans Italian squad easily dismantled Georgia 56:94 to remain undefeated. Georgia kept it levelled at the opening frame 15:15. But Italy secured some impressive runs to put themselves in front 49:33 at halftime. The second half started with a smashing 24:3 run of Italy which resulted in a 36:63 dominance of the hosts. The gap widened at the start of the final frame and Italian coach let the bench log some more minutes on the floor. Italy cruised to an overall 94:56 victory at the end and improved to 2-0 record. Luigi Da Luigi Datome netted game-high 21 points and 9 rebounds for Italy. Daniel Hackett (196-G-87) added 17 points in a win. Giorgi Shermadini and Misha Chochua (192-G-87) chipped in 12 points apiece for Georgia. Georgia were sloppy under the rims collecting just 15 rebounds. Italy answered with 45 boards and forced Georgian players to 22 turnovers. Italy also converted impressive 59.2% from the field.

   EC U20: Serbia outplayed Hungary 84:40 on day two - July 08, 2007
After defeat in the first round of European Championship U20 against Slovenia Serbian NT succeeded to record an easy win against Hungary 84:40. Hungarian players scored just 3 points in the first quarter. On the half time Serbia already made plus 32. At the end Marko Djurkovic (206-C/F-87) scored 19 points with 5 rebounds while Dragan Labovic (208-C/F-87) finished game with 14 points and 7 rebounds. Head coach Vlada Vukoicic gave chance to all players to spent at least ten minutes on the court. Next game Serbian U20 NT will play against France today at 15:30h.

Hungary - Serbia 40:84
(3:20,9:24,14:21,14:19)

Hungary: Veretics 2, Mate, Vesztergom, Supola, Kiss 11, Cseh 8 (5 rebs), Toth 2, Baki 11, Lekil 3, Fekete.
Serbia: Teodosic, Tepic 3 (4 as), Nikolic 3, Djurkovic 19 (5 rebs), Labovic 14 (7 rebs), Kovacevic 8, Jereminov 3, Zivcevic 2, Stimac 4 (9 rebs), Paunic 6, Dragovic 13 (5 rebs), Nikolic 9.

   Division B started in Warsaw - July 07, 2007
Division B of U20 European Championship for Men started in Poland.
In Group A Sweden won the opener beating Czech Republic 62:45. Jonas Jerebko (204-F-87) led the winners with 24 points. Montenegro survived in the first game over Germany 76:74. Vladimir Dasic (208-F-88) produced 15 points and made 12 rebounds. Germany was led by 13 points from Per Gunther and Sajmen Hauer (190-G-88).

Poland started Group B with an easy win over Switzerland 86:48. Kamil Pietras top-scored for the winners with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Estonia downed Ireland in another game of the tournament 71:47. Mihkel Kurg, Siim-Sander Vene, Timo Eichfuss (199-F-88) each scored 11 points for Estonia.

In Group C Ukraine ruined Belarus 107:60. Maxym Vil'khovets'kyy top-scored with 15 points as almost every other player contributed into the win. Slovak Republic due to the last quarter overcame Portugal 55:54. Justin Sedlak (203-F-87) ended up with 11 points in the winning effort.

Finland stayed on top of Group D thrashing Great Britain 84:58. Juho Nenonen (202-F-87) led the way with 17 points. Belgium beat Romania 65:55 with 16 points from Mikhail Linskens.

   Division A first day results - July 07, 2007
U20 European Championship Men started yesterday in two cities of Slovenia and Italy. Eurobasket introduces you the first day results.

In Group A the defending champs, Serbia had a chance to win the game but Nikola Dragovic (203-F-87, agency: Beo Basket) did not score a basket. Serbia lost to the hosts of the Championship, Slovenia 78:80. Jaka Klobucar (198-G-87) led Slovenia with 22 points. Gasper Vidmar (210-C/F-87) scored 17 points and Preldzic added 15 and Mocnik had 12 points and six assists. Milos Teodosic (196-G-87) scored 21 points and had six rebounds and six assists while Labovic had 19 points and Dragovic added 18 in a losing cause.
Hungarian National team started the U20 European Championship with a loss from a strong French squad 66:92. Hungary dominated the first minutes of the encounter as they rushed to an early 11:4 lead. French team recorded a 16:4 run to set a comfortable 51:35 advantage. France eased to a confudent win at the end 92:66. Aaron Cel paced France with 23 points. Aurelien Salmon delivered double-double of 16 point and 11 rebounds. Jozsef Lekli (205-F/C-87) answered with 12 points for Hungary. Balazs Mate (195-F-87) had 11 points and 4 rebounds in a losing effort. France topped Group A together with Slovenia. Hungary will seek to improve against Serbia today.

In Group B Turkey faced a Lithuania side which looked tougher than last year's team. Turkey knocked off Lithuania 90:85 in the first game of the U20 European Championship Men. Povilas Butkevicius (202-F-87) '25 points and 16 boards effort forced an overtime but Turkey sealed the deal with a 13-8 run. Mehmet Yagmur (188-G-87) produced 24 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds as Oguz Savas nailed 21 points and 5 boards just in 20 minutes.
Russia overcame Greece 78:70 with 27 points from Alexey Shved (195-G-88). Russia led 69:55 with 1:58 left before Greece made a final push. Verginis led Greece with 14 points while Tsairellis added 12 points and seven rebounds.

In Group C Spain beat Croatia 88:69. Pau Ribas (182-G-87) scored 20 points in leading Spain in the opening match of Group C. Sergio Llull chipped in 13 points and five assists for Juan Antonio Orenga's team, Marc Fernandez had 13 points and Javier Beiran Amigo scored 10 points while Albert Teruel collected 10 rebounds. Ante Tomic (217-C-87) scored 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
Macedonia were rallied by Israel 65:95. Israel controlled the game right from the start and cruised to a cosy 16:4 lead early in the game. By the end of the first frame Israel's advantage reached a 31:11 mark. The dominance grew bigger in the second quarter as Israel had enlarged the gap to 47:19. Macedonia struggled offensively and could not find the way stop the fast Israel's tempo. They were beaten in the third quarter 24:13 and limped far behind. Only in the fourth frame Macedonia managed to pull together and gained a 21:14 win, which though had little impact on the scoreline. Omri Casspi secured 35 points to lead Israel. Yogev Ohayon (189-G-87) finished with 12 points and 6 assists to provide help. Nikola Karakolev netted 18 points for Macedonia. Aleksandar Kostoski (188-G-88, agency: Octagon) chipped in 11 points in a loss.

In Group D the hosts Italy outscored Bulgaria 86:51. Pietro Aradori (192-G-88) led the way for Pino Sacripanti's team with 15 points while Gino Cuccarolo added 13 points and 21 rebounds as Italy were hardly ever threatened. Chavdar Kostov scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds and Stoyo Cholakov had 10 for Bulgaria.
Georgia had a tremendous night of atacking basketball as they opened the U20 European championship in Serbia and Italy. Georgian team thrashed Latvia 102:72 to deliver a surprising start of their campaign. Lasha Parghalava scored 19 points to lead Georgian side. Giorgi Shermadini added 17 points and 9 rebounds for the winners. Latvia were driven by 19 points from Ronalds Zakis. Aleksandrs Melniks (215-C-87, agency: FCM) produced 13 points and 6 rebounds off the bench in a defeat. Georgia dominated under the rims outrebounding Latvia 37:33. They also converted impressive 59.4% from the field and 57.7% from beyond the arc.
Latvia will next face Bulgaria today. Georgia will try to continue their winning streak against Italy.

   Turkey Conquer Lithuania In OT - July 06, 2007
In the first day of U20 EC in Italy Turkey faced a Lithuania side which looked tougher than last year's team. Despite struggling to score from beyond the arc during the entire game Turkey managed to stay in the match with the help of big guys such as Oguz Savas (208-C-87) and Cemal Nalga (208-C-87). Povilas Butkevicius' (202-F-87) 25 points&16 boards effort forced an overtime but Turkey sealed the deal with a 13-8 run. Mehmet Yagmur (188-G-87) who will play for Besiktas Cola Turka this season, stole the show in Gorizia, Italy with his 24 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds as Oguz Savas nailed 21 points and 5 boards just in 20 minutes. Turkey now takes the second place after Russia and will play Greece tomorrow.

Turkey( 90): Caner Oner 15, Birkan Batuk 5, Murat Goktas 2, Mehmet Yagmur 24, Bora Hun Pacun 8, Cemal Nalga 11, Erhan Yetim 4, Oguz Savas 21
Lithuania(85): Dilys 12, Cerneckis 4, Ezerskis 6, Maciulevicius 2, Baniulis , Ivanauskas 4, Labuckas 7, Povilas Butkevicius 25, Ruzgas 4, Trakimas 13, Petrukonis 8

(16-17, 31-29, 53-53, 77-77, 90-85)

   Nova Gorica, Gorizia and Warsaw open the doors tomorrow - July 05, 2007
U20 European Championship for men will start tomorrow in 3 cities: Nova Gorica, Gorizia and Warsaw. Division A and B will attract spectators' attention from July 6-15.

Nova Gorica is located in western Slovenia, on the Italian border. Nova Gorica's gym seats 1,100 spectators and there are two courts in this gym. The Gorizia arena in Italy seats approximately 5,500 spectators. The arenas above will host U20 European Championship for men in Division A. Sixteen teams are divided into 4 groups with 4 in each. Group A will consist of France, Hungary, Slovenia and Serbia. Greece, Lithuania, Russia and Turkey made up Group B. In Group C we will see Croatia, Spain, Israel and Macedonia. Bulgaria, Georgia, Italy and Latvia will play in Group D. The first three teams in each group will qualify for the Qualifying Round. The results between the teams from the same group in the Preliminary Round will be taken into account for the Qualifying Round.

U20 European Championship for men in Division B will be held in Warsaw. The situation differs from the one Division A will have as there are 18 teams here. First 2 groups will have 5 teams while two others 4. The teams placed first and second will advance to the Qualifying round.

   Nova Gorica, Gorizia and Warsaw open the doors tomorrow
U20 European Championship for men will start tomorrow in 3 cities: Nova Gorica, Gorizia and Warsaw. Division A and B will attract spectators' attention from July 6-15.

Nova Gorica is located in western Slovenia, on the Italian border. Nova Gorica's gym seats 1,100 spectators and there are two courts in this gym. The Gorizia arena in Italy seats approximately 5,500 spectators. The arenas above will host U20 European Championship for men in Division A. Sixteen teams are divided into 4 groups with 4 in each. Group A will consist of France, Hungary, Slovenia and Serbia. Greece, Lithuania, Russia and Turkey made up Group B. In Group C we will see Croatia, Spain, Israel and Macedonia. Bulgaria, Georgia, Italy and Latvia will play in Group D. The first three teams in each group will qualify for the Qualifying Round. The results between the teams from the same group in the Preliminary Round will be taken into account for the Qualifying Round.

U20 European Championship for men in Division B will be held in Warsaw. The situation differs from the one Division A will have as there are 18 teams here. First 2 groups will have 5 teams while two others 4. The teams placed first and second will advance to the Qualifying round.