Day 1 recap: Greece outlast Estonia in overtime battle, Buyuktuncel drops 29 in Turkey win
MUNICH (Germany) - There was a mixture of dramatic contests and incredible individual displays on the opening day of the FIBA U18 European Challengers with 30 teams in action on Tuesday across the five cities.
Headlines:
- Serbia red-hot early on way to beating Germany in Skopje
- Overtime success for Greece in Tel Aviv, Israel finish strong
- Turkey triumph in Konya as Buyuktuncel shows out
- Slovakia defeat Ukraine for winning start in Levice
- Luxembourg signal intent in Tirana with dominant win
Day 1 Standout Performers:
Skopje: Andrija Jelavic (CRO) - 24 PTS / 8 REB / 82% FG
Tel Aviv: Ron Zipper (ISR) - 28 PTS / 4 REB / 3 AST
Tel Aviv: Athanasios Bazinas (GRE) - 20 PTS / 14 AST / 4 STL
Tel Aviv: Henri Veesaar (EST) - 23 PTS / 13 REB / 5 BLK
Konya: Berke Buyuktuncel (TUR) - 29 PTS / 8 REB / 3 AST
Levice: Luca Andrei Colceag (ROU) - 18 PTS / 12 REB / 7 AST / 5 STL
Tirana: Miguel Marti Chamorro (AND) - 14 PTS / 14 REB / 3 BLK
Skopje Challenger:
Group A
3/15 games played
| GAMES | GAME POINTS | POINTS | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Team | P | W | L | % | For | Agt | +/- | FA | AA | |
| 1 |  Spain |
1 | 1 | 0 | 100 | 74 | 42 | 32 | 74 | 42 | 2 |
| 2 |  Croatia |
1 | 1 | 0 | 100 | 108 | 77 | 31 | 108 | 77 | 2 |
| 3 |  Serbia |
1 | 1 | 0 | 100 | 91 | 78 | 13 | 91 | 78 | 2 |
| 4 |  Germany |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 78 | 91 | -13 | 78 | 91 | 1 |
| 5 |  North Macedonia |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 77 | 108 | -31 | 77 | 108 | 1 |
| 6 |  Georgia |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 74 | -32 | 42 | 74 | 1 |
Gameday 1 results: Spain made a strong start to their campaign with a 74-42 victory over Georgia which included an 18-2 fourth quarter. Meanwhile, Serbia put up 35 points in the first period on their way to a 91-78 success against Germany with Croatia also off to a winning start as they defeated North Macedonia, 108-77, having poured in 58 points through the middle periods.
Tel Aviv Challenger:
Group B
3/15 games played
| GAMES | GAME POINTS | POINTS | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Team | P | W | L | % | For | Agt | +/- | FA | AA | |
| 1 |  Israel |
1 | 1 | 0 | 100 | 100 | 71 | 29 | 100 | 71 | 2 |
| 2 |  France |
1 | 1 | 0 | 100 | 78 | 68 | 10 | 78 | 68 | 2 |
| 3 |  Greece |
1 | 1 | 0 | 100 | 85 | 83 | 2 | 85 | 83 | 2 |
| 4 |  Estonia |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 83 | 85 | -2 | 83 | 85 | 1 |
| 5 |  Portugal |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 68 | 78 | -10 | 68 | 78 | 1 |
| 6 |  Lithuania |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 71 | 100 | -29 | 71 | 100 | 1 |
Gameday 1 results: Greece needed an extra period for an opening victory; eventually securing an 85-83 triumph against Estonia with a clutch three from Ioannis Mermigkis in overtime. France claimed a double-digit win as they battled past Portugal, 78-68, while Israel were impressive in beating Lithuania with Ron Zipper and Nevo Sommerfeld combining for 52 points in the 100-71 success.
Konya Challenger:
Group C
3/15 games played
| GAMES | GAME POINTS | POINTS | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Team | P | W | L | % | For | Agt | +/- | FA | AA | |
| 1 |  Slovenia |
1 | 1 | 0 | 100 | 84 | 44 | 40 | 84 | 44 | 2 |
| 2 |  Russia |
1 | 1 | 0 | 100 | 66 | 48 | 18 | 66 | 48 | 2 |
| 3 |  Turkey |
1 | 1 | 0 | 100 | 81 | 74 | 7 | 81 | 74 | 2 |
| 4 |  Poland |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 74 | 81 | -7 | 74 | 81 | 1 |
| 5 |  Czech Republic |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 48 | 66 | -18 | 48 | 66 | 1 |
| 6 |  Latvia |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 44 | 84 | -40 | 44 | 84 | 1 |
Gameday 1 results: There was Day 1 joy for the hosts as Turkey secured an 81-74 victory against Poland behind a huge 29-point haul from 16-year-old Berke Buyuktuncel. Elsewhere, Russia overcame a slow start to see off Czech Republic for a 66-48 win, while Slovenia closed out the action with a convincing 84-44 success against Latvia with 19 points off the bench from Jaka Klobucar.
Levice Challenger:
Group D
1/3 games played
| GAMES | STREAK | GAME POINTS | POINTS | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Team | P | W | L | % | Last 5 | For | Agt | +/- | FA | AA | |
| 1 |  Bulgaria |
1 | 1 | 0 | 100 | 82 | 51 | 31 | 82 | 51 | 2 | |
| 2 |  Hungary |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 51 | 82 | -31 | 51 | 82 | 1 | |
| 3 |  Ireland |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Group E
2/6 games played
| GAMES | GAME POINTS | POINTS | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Team | P | W | L | % | For | Agt | +/- | FA | AA | |
| 1 |  Romania |
1 | 1 | 0 | 100 | 93 | 78 | 15 | 93 | 78 | 2 |
| 2 |  Slovakia |
1 | 1 | 0 | 100 | 79 | 73 | 6 | 79 | 73 | 2 |
| 3 |  Ukraine |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 73 | 79 | -6 | 73 | 79 | 1 |
| 4 |  Switzerland |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 78 | 93 | -15 | 78 | 93 | 1 |
Gameday 1 results: Bulgaria won all four quarters as they defeated Hungary, 82-51, to open up Group D with Ireland getting underway tomorrow. In Group E, Slovakia secured a six-point success against Ukraine with Matus Malovec posting 23 points in the 79-73 win, while Romania started strong with 54 first-half points setting the platform for a 93-78 victory against Switzerland.
Tirana Challenger:
Group F
1/3 games played
| GAMES | GAME POINTS | POINTS | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Team | P | W | L | % | For | Agt | +/- | FA | AA | |
| 1 |  Kosovo |
1 | 1 | 0 | 100 | 85 | 62 | 23 | 85 | 62 | 2 |
| 2 |  Albania |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 62 | 85 | -23 | 62 | 85 | 1 |
| 3 |  Moldova |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Group G
2/6 games played
| GAMES | GAME POINTS | POINTS | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Team | P | W | L | % | For | Agt | +/- | FA | AA | |
| 1 |  Luxembourg |
1 | 1 | 0 | 100 | 97 | 45 | 52 | 97 | 45 | 2 |
| 2 |  Andorra |
1 | 1 | 0 | 100 | 62 | 51 | 11 | 62 | 51 | 2 |
| 3 |  Gibraltar |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 51 | 62 | -11 | 51 | 62 | 1 |
| 4 |  Malta |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 45 | 97 | -52 | 45 | 97 | 1 |
Gameday 1 results: Kosovo defeated tournament hosts Albania, 85-62, as Visar Ejupi led the way with a game-high 28 points. In Group G, Luxembourg set the tone as they brushed aside Malta in a 97-45 victory with three players scoring 15+ points, while Andorra did enough to overcome Gibraltar as they prevailed 62-51.
FIBA
