NOVI SAD (FIBA U16 European Championship 2018) - The Quarter-Finals are in the bag, and we are all set for fireworks in the Semi-Finals in Novi Sad, coming up on Friday.

Croatia were in search of a hero late in the game, and team captain Matej Bosnjak showed up at a perfect moment. The center swatted away the last-second layup attempt by the Lithuanians, protecting Croatia's 80-78 win.

Bosnjak finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds, finishing off what the other three members of the Connect Four squad started for Croatia. Boris Tisma was the best of them, the lefty forward coming up with 25 points, on 4-of-7 shooting from deep, while Roko Prkacin and Ivan Perasovic combined for 40 points and 18 rebounds for Croatia.

Mile Karakas' team will now face France in the Semi-Finals on Friday. A packed SPENS saw suspense late in the game, but Serbia could not overcome the rebounding gap of 52-38, and a 4-of-19 shooting day from beyond the arc did not help the hosts either, ending up with a 78-71 loss.

Serbia made it to -6 late in the game, but Juhann Begarin sank back-to-back three-pointers to silence the crowd and secure a rendezvous with the Croats in the Semis. Begarin finished with 11 points to his name.

Yvan Ouedraogo had 23 and 15 rebounds, Moussa Diabate also had a double-double of 16 points and 17 rebounds, but there was bad news for France to start the game, as starting big guy Daniel Batcho had to be taken out of the game because of an injury.

In the other Semi-Final, it will be the unbeaten Spain against Group C winners Turkey. Spain were tested, Greece had an 11-point lead in the first half, collected through aggressive defense and double-teaming of Usman Garuba on the low block.

"Greece played so well. They defended us very well, we had to suffer a lot for this win. They are the first team that double-teamed me on defense, and it was really difficult for me at the start of the game. But I think that was good for me, I learned a lot from this game," Garuba said after having 13 points and 12 rebounds.

It was the defense that won the game, but the one from the Spanish side. They allowed just 14 points in the second half, good enough for a 61-41 win and a date with Turkey in the Semis. Hector Alderete was in fine form with 18 points and 12 rebounds for Spain.

Turkey had the easiest task of all the Semi-Finalists, or at least made it look that way. A 92-63 blowout against a tired-looking Latvian side, as Sarper David Mutaf scored 21 points for the winning team, going 5-of-11 from beyond the arc.

Top scorer of the day: Sasha Grant helped Italy to an 80-45 win in the Classification Games 9-16, reaching 32 points, becoming the first player to record 30+ in Serbia. Slovenia's Alen Malovcic followed his example with a 30-point showing against Germany.

Top rebounder of the day: Azuolas Tubelis had all the boards, a massive number of 17, but he would probably trade each and every one of them for a Lithuanian place in the Semi-Finals. The big man also scored 22 points, but he's moving to the Classification Games 5-8 now. Diabate of France matched his total in the final game of the day.

Top passer of the day: Israel defeated Georgia 72-63, and Amit Aharoni was flirting with a triple-double. The point guard finished with 14 points, a day-high 13 assists, and 8 rebounds.

Top thief of the day: Augustas Marciulionis was on every Croatian passing lane, with 7 steals often leading to easy points. But Croatia held on, despite his torment, sending him and Lithuania to the the Classification Games 5-8.

Top blocker of the day: Georgia lost their matchup with Israel, but Roman Tchintcharauli was not to blame for it. In just 15 minutes of playing time, he had 5 blocks, the most on the day.

FIBA