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19 - 25
July 2021
8 Gianmarco Arletti (ITA)
20/07/2021
Review
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Day 2 recap: Italy lock down Czechs late on; France, Germany make strong starts

MUNICH (Germany) - The second day of the FIBA U20 European Challengers saw a number of teams get their campaigns off to a winning start, while three sides stayed perfect in Heraklion.

Headlines:

- Italy use 10-1 close to overcome Czech Republic in Brno
- Germany, France convincing winners in Tbilisi
- Heraklion sees Greece, Israel and Slovenia at the double
- Belarus, Switzerland dominant; Hungary grind out win in Sopron

Day 2 Standout Performers:

Heraklion: Gregor Glas (SLO) - 27 PTS / 5 REB / 4 AST
Brno: Matej Bosnjak (CRO) - 20 PTS / 9 REB / 2 AST
Brno: Tomislav Buljan (CRO) - 20 PTS / 9 REB / 2 AST
Tbilisi: Milan Barbitch (FRA) - 20 PTS / 4 REB / 4 AST / 4 STL
Sopron: Ljubisha Dimitrovski (MKD) - 17 PTS / 4 REB / 6 AST / 4 STL

Brno Challenger:

Group A

3/15 games played

  GAMES STREAK GAME POINTS POINTS
# Team P W L % Last 5 For Agt +/- FA AA  
1 ESP Spain 1 1 0 100   73 36 37 73 36 2
2 CRO Croatia 1 1 0 100   89 66 23 89 66 2
3 ITA Italy 1 1 0 100   66 63 3 66 63 2
4 CZE Czech Republic 1 0 1 0   63 66 -3 63 66 1
5 POR Portugal 1 0 1 0   66 89 -23 66 89 1
6 ALB Albania 1 0 1 0   36 73 -37 36 73 1

Gameday 1 results: Italy held Czech Republic to a single point in the final 4:42 as they came from behind to secure a 66-63 success. Croatia enjoyed an 89-66 win over Portugal behind 20 points apiece from Matej Bosnjak and Tomislav Buljan to open the tournament, while Spain closed out the day by comfortably beating Albania, 73-36.

Tbilisi Challenger:

Group B

3/15 games played

  GAMES GAME POINTS POINTS
# Team P W L % For Agt +/- FA AA  
1 GER Germany 1 1 0 100 87 66 21 87 66 2
2 FRA France 1 1 0 100 84 63 21 84 63 2
3 TUR Turkey 1 1 0 100 78 71 7 78 71 2
4 BUL Bulgaria 1 0 1 0 71 78 -7 71 78 1
5 POL Poland 1 0 1 0 66 87 -21 66 87 1
6 GEO Georgia 1 0 1 0 63 84 -21 63 84 1

Gameday 1 results: Germany made a strong start with 57 first-half points to set the platform for an 87-66 victory over Poland, while France eased past hosts Georgia in a 21-point win of their own at 84-63.  Turkey also opened with a win as they were made to work in overcoming Bulgaria, 78-71, despite a combined 43 points from Emil Stoilov and Damyan Minkov.

Heraklion Challenger:

Group C

6/15 games played

  GAMES GAME POINTS POINTS
# Team P W L % For Agt +/- FA AA  
1 GRE Greece 2 2 0 100 172 119 53 86 59.5 4
2 SLO Slovenia 2 2 0 100 155 120 35 77.5 60 4
3 ISR Israel 2 2 0 100 153 121 32 76.5 60.5 4
4 RUS Russia 2 0 2 0 142 162 -20 71 81 2
5 BEL Belgium 2 0 2 0 108 149 -41 54 74.5 2
6 UKR Ukraine 2 0 2 0 110 169 -59 55 84.5 2

Gameday 2 results: Gregor Glas fired in 27 points to lead Slovenia past Ukraine for an 81-61 victory, while Greece also recorded their second success as they gradually pulled away from Russia to win 84-70. Israel then became the third side to move to 2-0 in the group as they proved too strong for Belgium as they prevailed 75-49 to round out the day.

Sopron Challenger:

Group D

2/6 games played

  GAMES GAME POINTS POINTS
# Team P W L % For Agt +/- FA AA  
1 SUI Switzerland 1 1 0 100 92 58 34 92 58 2
2 MKD North Macedonia 1 1 0 100 73 57 16 73 57 2
3 LUX Luxembourg 1 0 1 0 57 73 -16 57 73 1
4 ROU Romania 1 0 1 0 58 92 -34 58 92 1

Group E

2/6 games played

  GAMES GAME POINTS POINTS
# Team P W L % For Agt +/- FA AA  
1 BLR Belarus 1 1 0 100 101 60 41 101 60 2
2 HUN Hungary 1 1 0 100 79 74 5 79 74 2
3 SVK Slovakia 1 0 1 0 74 79 -5 74 79 1
4 KOS Kosovo 1 0 1 0 60 101 -41 60 101 1

Gameday 1 results: Switzerland had six players in double figures in their convincing 92-58 win against Romania, while North Macedonia put together a strong final quarter effort to overcome Luxembourg for a 73-57 success. In Group E, Hungary held off Slovakia for a 79-74 victory following a third quarter lapse to join Belarus in a winning start after they defeated Kosovo, 101-60.

FIBA