U18 Barcelona routs U18 Baskonia in NextGen EuroLeague Bologna first-place game

U18 FC Barcelona secured its place at the NextGen EuroLeague Finals by defeating U18 Fundacion Baskonia-Alaves 88-53 on Sunday to finish in first place at the adidas NextGen EuroLeague qualifying tournament in Bologna. Barcelona completed an undefeated run at the event and will now take its star-studded squad to the finals in Athens at the EuroLeague Final Four. Baskonia, which reached the first place game in its first-ever NextGen EuroLeague campaign, suffered its lone loss of the event in the first-place game.
Nikola Kusturica (202-SG-2009) paced a balanced Barcelona attack with 22 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists. Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje (210-F/C-2009) posted 18 points and 11 boards, Jakob Siftar (197-F-2009) added 12 points and Mohamed Dabone (208-F/C-2011) shined with 10 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks. Mate Khatiashvili (192-G-2008) led Baskonia with 15 points and 3 steals, Juom Maker Bol paired 14 points with 7 rebounds and Stefan Joksimovic (194-F-2008) posted 10 and 6.
Baskonia enjoyed a strong start and led 1-4 after 2 minutes. Kusturica helped Barca get going, 13-8. But Baskonia kept things close and Khatiashvili's free throws made it 18-16 after 10 minutes. Boumtje Boumtje scored twice in a 9-0 run to open the second quarter that gave Barcelona a double-digit lead. Barca kept the pressure on and extended the lead to 39-20 on a Nil Poza (172-G-2009) triple. Maker Bol and Joksimovic tried to revive Baskonia, however Siftar free throws made it 43-25 at halftime.
Baskonia traded baskets with Barcelona early in the second half and clawed its way to within 47-33 on a Khatiashvili three-pointer. Kusturica and Boumtje Boumtje turned the tables by leading Barcelona on an 11-3 run. The difference reach as high as 24 before settling at 67-46 at the end of the third quarter. Barcelona scored the first three buckets of the fourth quarter to all but put the game on ice. The lead peaked at 86-51 in the penultimate minutes as the celebrations started long before the final buzzer.
Courtesy of: euroleaguebasketball.net