U18 Zalgiris Kaunas was crowned 2024-25 Adidas NextGen EuroLeague Finals champion by beating U18 EA7 Emporio Armani Milan 81-89 in Sunday’s Championship Game. The Lithuanians have joined Real Madrid and CSKA Moscow in an exclusive group of only three clubs to have ever lifted three or more Championships. A game of runs saw the Italian side take a 51-49 edge into the second half, when Zalgiris’s defence tightened up to contain Milan’s offensive weapons, handing their rivals its first defeat of the tournament. Kajus Mikalauskas (191-PG-2007) paced Zalgiris with 20 points and Majus Bulanovas (193-G-2007) scored 19, having gone 5-for-8 from deep. Ilja Kurucs (200-F-2007) bagged 15 points, Dovydas Buika (197-F/G-2007) netted 12 and Dominykas Grunkis (164-PG-2007) added 11. For Milan, Achille Lonati (196-G-2007) had 26 points, with Luigi Suigo (218-C-2007) completing a double-double of 21 points and 11 rebounds. Diego Garavaglia (201-F/G-2007) registered 13 points and Guglielmo Youssef (187-G-2007) got 10 in a losing effort. Milan netted the first two buckets of the game, but Zalgiris responded with a 0-7 run fueled by Mikalauskas. The Italian side went on a 11-2 surge to take a 18-12 lead after a Lonati triple. The Italian guard drilled another one from deep, taking his tally to 14 first-quarter points, but Majus Bulanovas answered from beyond the arc, trimming the deficit to 31-25 after 10 minutes. A 9-3 spurt allowed Milan to grab a double-digit lead early in the second quarter, but Zalgiris tightened up its defense and replied with a 4-19 run to grab a 44-47 cushion. Yet, another triple from Lonati was followed by buckets from Garavaglia and Suigo, who gave Milan a 51-49 edge at halftime. Zalgiris opened the third quarter with a 2-12 surge, as Milan went scoreless for the first 5 minutes of the second half. Michele Catalani’s side fought back, with Youssef adding 6 points to his tally, but Zalgiris maintained a 64-69 advantage heading into the closing quarter. The game turned into a back-and-forth affair before a three by Lonati brought Milan within 74-76. Kurucs and Buika replied from downtown, making it 76-84. Then, Omar Karem (186-G-2007) nailed one of his own on the other end, but it wasn’t enough for Milan to turn the game around.
Courtesy of: euroleaguebasketball.net

U18 Pole France INSEP Paris clinched a berth at the Adidas Next Gen EuroLeague Finals with a 60-74 victory over U18 EA7 Emporio Armani Milan in the first-place game of the NextGen EuroLeague Qualifying Tournament in Belgrade. INSEP completed a perfect weekend while handing Milan its lone defeat. After winning the Next Gen crown in 2010 and 2017, INSEP joins U18 Mega MIS Belgrade and U18 FC Barcelona as the automatic qualifiers for the NextGen Finals, which will be held from May 22 to 25 in Abu Dhabi. Hugo Moukouri (205-SF-2008) scored 19 points and grabbed 9 rebounds to lead INSEP. Noa Kouakou-Heugue (206-SF-2007) posted 15 points and 9 boards and Cameron Houindo (205-F/C-2008) added 10 and 6 for the winners, who outrebounded Milan 49-39. Achille Lonati (196-G-2007) and Omar Karem (186-G-2007) paced the Milan attack with 13 points apiece and Diego Garavaglia (201-F/G-2007) tallied 12 points, 6 assists and 3 steals in defeat. INSEP, which never trailed, jumped out to a 5-20 lead as Yimga Hugo Moukouri scored 8 in a 0-14 run. Milan closed the gap to 11-21 after 10 minutes and was within 29-37 at halftime. The INSEP defense put the clamps on in the third quarter when it held Milan to just 9 points. INSEP then pulled away to lead by as many as 26 points in the fourth quarter and even a late 12-0 Milan run was not enough to threaten the final result.
Courtesy of: euroleaguebasketball.net

U18 FC Barcelona held off U18 Zalgiris Kaunas 89-91 in a thriller in the final game at the Adidas NextGen EuroLeague 2024-25 event in Ulm, Germany, to clinch a spot at the NextGen EuroLeague Finals in May at the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in Abu Dhabi. Barcelona finished off a perfect weekend, while Zalgiris finished as the runner-up despite losing only once. Mathieu Grujicic (196-G-2007) shined for the winners with 22 points, Raul Villar (191-G-2007) tallied 19 points and 7 assists, Lluc Pluvinet (193-G-2007) scored 13, Arturas Butajevas (208-C-2007) 11 and Mohamed Dabone (208-C-2011) posted 8 points and a game-high 12 rebounds for Barcelona. Dovydas Buika (197-F/G-2007) was Zalgiris’s top man with 26 points, 10 boards and 7 assists. Dominykas Grunkis (164-PG-2007) contributed 19 points, Ignas Stombergas (198-F-2008) had 14 and Kajus Mikalauskas (191-PG-2007) 13.
Courtesy of: euroleaguebasketball.net

U18 Next Gen Team Munich is the winner of the Adidas NextGen EuroLeague Munich tournament after defeating U18 Valencia Basket 88-100 in the first-place game. NGM became the second selection team to win a qualifier following last year’s NextGen Paris event. Mathias Vazquez (201-F/G-2008) scored a team-high 19 points with 6 rebounds, Arminas Vilkas (200-C-2007) and Guillermo Del Pino (193-PG-2007) both scored 16 points and Reino Saivosalmi (188-G-2008) added 13 points. Valencia missed a chance to win its second qualifier in club history after it had claimed first place at the NextGen Valencia in 2018-19. Tomas Talcis (195-F-2007) had 22 points for Valencia and Pau Torrens (188-G-2007) had 15 points, but the team’s two leading scorers - Javier Viguer (202-F-2008) and Nicolas Gomez (203-C-2007) - were held to a combined 13 points - 14.7 points below their combined average.
Courtesy of: euroleaguebasketball.net

U18 Mega MIS Belgrade booked its ticket to the Adidas NextGen EuroLeague Finals after defeating U18 Next Gen Team Istanbul 86-70 in the NextGen Istanbul first place game. The 2022 continental champion Mega, which also reached the 2017 and 2019 NextGen Championship Game, has now advanced to the season-ending tournament in each of the last nine editions. Mega hit a barrage of three-pointers in the fourth quarter to blow the game open. Ognjen Srzentic (202-SG-2007) paced Mega with 25 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 blocks for an index rating of 33 and Pavle Backo (211-C-2007) collected 18 points and 10 rebounds for a PIR of 29. Vuk Danilovic (194-SG-2008) chipped in 10 points including a couple of big triples. NGT dropped its first game of the tournament despite Isaac Guedegbe (176-PG-2007) scoring 16 points with 4 assists and Jahel Trefle (205-C-2007) adding 15 points and 5 rebounds in the loss.
Courtesy of: euroleaguebasketball.net