SKOPJE (North Macedonia) - Hosts North Macedonia prevailed in a thriller on the opening day of the FIBA U16 European Championship 2023, while Lithuania grabbed a tough win and Spain, Germany and Greece all rolled.

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Key Storylines

- Hosts North Macedonia win nail-biter over Belgium
- Declan Duru swipes most steals since Ricky Rubio in 2006 as Germany cruise
- Dovydas Buika shines in Lithuania victory over France
- Spain drop 116 points on Israel - seven players in double figures

Top Performers

Germany rolled past Finland and the leading figure in that blowout was Mathieu Grujicic as the guard collected an efficiency of 30. He paced his side with 22 points as he converted 8-of-12 shots and 4-of-6 free throws and also had 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals.

While Grujicic's performance came in a win, Jayden Hodge also had an efficiency of 30 but in Belgium's loss to hosts North Macedonia. He scored 25 points on 11-of-24 shooting and also grabbed 19 rebounds to go with 1 steal and 1 block.

Adrian Mathis tallied a 28 efficiency in Italy's win over Turkey as he paced five players in double figures with 19 points. He made 7-of-11 field goals and 2-of-2 free throws and had 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals.

Ian Lazarevski helped Slovenia to a comfortable victory over Montenegro with an efficiency of 28 as he scored 19 points on 8-of-12 shots to go with 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 1 block.

Dovydas Buika

The final spot goes to Dovydas Buika of Lithuania for his 27 efficiency in his team's win over France. Buika made 8-of-14 shots and 9-of-12 free throws for 27 points and added 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 1 block.

Results of the Day

Group A

Slovenia 84-67 Montenegro
Italy 101-68 Turkey

Group B

North Macedonia 63-57 Belgium
Lithuania 102-94 France

Group C

Germany 96-57 Finland
Israel 61-116 Spain

Group D

Latvia 60-94 Poland
Serbia 55-75 Greece

FIBA