Turkey slide past Russia to stay undefeated; Spain survive overtime thriller against Ukraine
BRATISLAVA/PIESTANY (FIBA U18 European Championship 2017) - Turkey have now got the first place in Group A all to themselves after getting a win against the also previously undefeated Russia in the FIBA U18 European Championship 2017.
After a back-and-forth tussle with their Russians rivals throughout the contest, the Serkan Erdogan-coached Turkey broke away in the fourth quarter to register a 90-77 victory.
Great W!🇹🇷 #FIBAU18Europe pic.twitter.com/2roaxiw5LX
— Mert Akay (@mert_akay6) July 30, 2017
Muhaymin Mustafa led all scorers with 17 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocks, Ragip Atar scored 16 points and grabbed 5 boards, while Alexander Shashkov scored 13 points for Russia.
Montenegro also got on the board in Group A with an 81-73 victory over the winless Germany behind a 30-point fourth quarter, with Pavle Titic leading the winners with 16 points and 8 assists.
Spain improved to a 2-0 record in Group B with a harder-than-expected 84-72 overtime victory against Ukraine in spite of a 24-point, 9-rebound, 6-assist, 4-block and 3-steal performance by Issuf Sanon, who kept the numbers large in the turnover category as well with 8 giveaways.
¡Dos de dos para la #U18M en el #FIBAU18Europe
— SeBaloncesto - FEB (@baloncestofeb) July 30, 2017
📸 Galería Flickr 👌https://t.co/IxSOsFqoY2 pic.twitter.com/ye9q8jNfza
In the other game of the group, Serbia locked down Italy defensively for a 63-46 victory after coming back from an early double-digit deficit, with Marko Pecarski scoring 15 points and grabbing 7 rebounds.
The Serbian side found themselves down by double figures in the first quarter, but battled back and sealed their win by allowing Italy to score just 11 points after the interval.
Greece got their second win in Group C despite nearly wasting a 16-point advantage against Finland, hanging on to take an 81-78 victory, while Lithuania opened their victory count by downing Slovenia 75-57 after outscoring their opponents 45-19 after intermission.
Bravo !!!#FIBAU18Europe #BiH pic.twitter.com/rS2ldg42Oy
— Salko Bijedić (@Salko_Bijedic) July 30, 2017
Meanwhile, Bosnia and Herzegovina rose to the top of the standings in Group D with a 73-68 victory against the tournament hosts Slovak Republic behind a 15-point, 9-rebound and 4-assist performance of Emir Cerkezovic.
After a close loss to the group leaders Bosnia and Herzegovina, France bounced back in the best possible way, blowing out Latvia with a 93-49 scoreline. Niasse was the leading scorer for the victors with 14 points, with all 12 players getting on the scoreboard.
FIBA