U18 Men’s Games: Wednesday 21 December
SAMSUN (FIBA U18 European Championship 2016) – The stakes get higher and higher as the Semi-Finals highlight a day full of drama at the FIBA U18 European Championship 2016.
In addition to the determining who will meet up in the Final, we will know the first two teams relegated to Division B from the Classification 13-16 games. And the teams from Classification 5-8 will be fighting to stay alive in the battle for the final spot in the FIBA U19 World Championship 2017.
Watch all of the action live on FIBA’s YouTube channel.
Follow the action live throughout the day on the FIBA U18 European Championship live feed.
SEMI-FINALS
This is rare territory for Germany, whose only previous appearance in an U18 Semi-Final was in 1986, when they lost to Yugoslavia and finished fourth. Lithuania are shooting for their sixth U18 Final and first since 2012. These countries have only played once since 2007, in the 2015 Quarter-Finals where Lithuania won 73-71. Five players from that game will be playing in this game, which promises to be a battle. Both teams have loads of weapons and also get at it on defence. Isaiah Hartenstein will need another big game against a number of Lithuania players who he knows from playing with Zalgiris Kaunas. Germany have loads of depth offensively with seven different players having scored in double figures in a game thus far. Lithuania continue to struggle from the outside, hitting just 24% of their three-pointers in this tournament. Getting that part of their game going would be a huge lift for Lithuania, who are led by Tadas Sedekerskis and Gytis Masiulis, not to mention Arnas Velicka, whose three-pointer at the buzzer got Lithuania into this game.
Italy's last Semi-Final dates back to 2011 and the Italians are shooting for their sixth Final - and first since 1992. France haven't reached this far since 2009, when they also went to the Final and lost to Serbia. Italy have not lost yet in the tournament and have been doing it with great guard play from Davide Moretti and Lorenzo Penna with Tommaso Oxilia playing a key role as well. The Italians will have to figure out a way to deal with the much longer and more athletic French if they want to reach the Final. France are also undefeated coming into the game and have been overwhelming teams with their athleticism on defence. Part of that has been Sekou Doumbouya, who also leads the team in scoring and rebounding. Adam Mokoka and Frank Ntilikina will be asked to neutralise the Italian guards.
CLASSIFICATION 5-8
Spain have competed in the last two FIBA U19 World Championships and they must beat Russia in order to still have a chance to reach next summer's spectacle. Spain played valiantly against the longer Germans but couldn't quite get the job done. Spain, who will need big games from Aleix Font and Sergi Martinez, have won nine of the last 10 U18 match-ups with Russia. Russia would like to return to the FIBA U19 World Championship after missing out in 2015. They will have to rebound from their heart-breaking loss in the Quarter-Finals on a three-point heave at the buzzer by Lithuania. Agasiy Tonoyan has played a great tournament and Grigory Motovilov has been a real outside threat.
Finland v Bosnia and Herzegovina
This will be a battle of teams who have never reached the FIBA U19 World Championship with the winner being just one win short of their first appearance. Finland have never lost to Bosnia and Herzegovina in three U18 games but will need to rebound from a tough loss to Italy in the Quarter-Finals. Edon Maxhuni has been tremendous for Finland and he will be needed again against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bosnia and Herzegovina for their part were beaten comfortably by France in the final eight but still have a chance to reach the U19 global event next summer. Dzanan Musa will have a sour taste in his mouth after a sub-par showing against France while Amar Gegic will also need another strong all-around game.
CLASSIFICATION 9-12
Both of these teams can breathe a sigh of relief after winning in Classification 9-16 to secure their spots in Division A next summer. Turkey have actually won four of the last five U18 match-ups with Serbia and will have the home fans on their side as well. Ragip Atar has played well in the blocks all tournament to help point guard Omer Al for Turkey. Serbia star Borisa Simanic hurt his ankle in the second minute of Tuesday's game and never returned. Unless he is fully healthy, it seems likely he will sit. That means Milos Glisic will probably get big minutes again after hitting for 20 points against Israel.
Another two teams who can relax a bit more in Samsun after their wins in the Classification 9-16 games, Greece and Slovenia have split their 10 U18 games since 1994. Greece are happy that they did not go from reigning champions to Division B and look for more of the same from Vassilis Christidis. The Slovenians, meanwhile, are just two wins from their best U18 showing since 2002. Gaber Ozegovic will need a big game for the Slovenians to knock off the Greeks.
CLASSIFICATION 13-16
Nervous times ahead for these two teams, who need two wins in two days to save their Division A status with Latvia having won their two previous U18 games. Sweden were the U18 Division B winners in 2015 and would love to stay up after having spent five years in the lower division. Olle Lundqvist will be crucial to any chances for the Sweden. Latvia have been part of Division A at the FIBA U18 European Championship continually since 1998. Arturs Strautins will need a big game if the Latvians expect to win.
The loser of this game will also be headed to Division B next summer with Israel needing their first-ever U18 win over Croatia to stay alive for top-flight status. Croatia have never played in Division B at this level and Karlo Uljarevic will need another strong game against a tough Israel team. The Israelis, who returned to Division A for the first time since 2009, have played extremely well despite four losses to show. They went to overtime against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Lithuania, lost in the final seconds to Latvia and gave Serbia all they could handle. Yovel Zoosman must find a way to win as he leads the Israelis in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks.
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