U18 Cedevita Olimpija overpowers U18 Mega to win Adidas NextGen Ulm

U18 Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana won the Adidas NextGen EuroLeague Ulm qualifier on Sunday with an impressive 82-73 victory over U18 Mega Super Belgrade. Cedevita led from tip to buzzer to win the event and claim a berth at the 2026 Adidas NextGen EuroLeague Finals, which will be held in Athens, Greece, in May in conjunction with the EuroLeague Final Four.
Maks Ciperle (200-SG-2008) starred for Cedevita with 29 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 blocks, Cameron Houindo (206-C-2008) added 24 points and 9 boards and Bine Pregl (187-G-2009) tallied 11 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Djordje Gnjato (202-F-2008) led Mega with 22 points and 7 rebounds and Vuk Danilovic (194-SG-2008) scored 21 in defeat.
Ciperle scored twice as Cedevita opened the game with 9 unanswered points and Samba Gueye (203-F-2008) and Pregl added threes in a 10-0 run to make it 23-7. Gnjato awakened the Mega attack to get within 26-16 at the end of the first quarter. Houindo heated up as Cedevita surged ahead to 36-19 midway through the second period only to see Danilovic rally Mega to 45-35 at the break.
Mega came even closer, 47-41, early in the second half, but Cedevita responded with the next 7 points. Free throws by Mega’s Benjamin Teletovic made it 58-50 through three quarters. Teletovic added a triple to make it a 7-point game early in the fourth, however, Cedevita answered again through Ciperle and Houindo to remain in control. Mega kept the pressure on and it was 78-71 after Petar Bjelica (208-F/C-2009)’s bucket with just over a minute remaining. In the end, Mega’s rally ran out of time and Cedevita celebrated.
Courtesy of: euroleaguebasketball.net