Lithuania win another thriller, Latvia and Serbia pick up first wins
LIEPAJA/VENTSPILS (FIBA U18 European Championship 2018) - Lithuania came back for another thrilling win while reigning champs Serbia and hosts Latvia were among those picking up their first victories on Day 2 of the FIBA U18 European Championship 2018.
A day after coming back from 15 points down to edge out Serbia, Lithuania pulled a miracle finish, out-scoring Montenegro 8-0 in the final 30 seconds to win 79-77 - with Simas Jarumbauskas providing the winning three-pointer with 11 seconds to play.
GAME-WINNER!!! #FIBAU18Europe @musukrepsinis 🇱🇹
— FIBA (@FIBA) July 29, 2018
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"Amazing, I just feel amazing. It is the first time that I made such an important shot. When we fell behind, we started to play more aggressive and up the pressure on defense. It is very important for us that we start building a winning mentality; it will help us going into the knock-out games," said Jarumbauskas, who had 8 points in the win, which moved Lithuania to 2-0 in Group D.
Erikas Venskus paced Lithuania with 20 points and 12 rebounds while Rokas Jokubaitis picked up 14 points. Jovan Kljajic scored 22 points in the loss for Montenegro, who fell to 0-2.
The other Group D game saw reigning champs Serbia bounce back from their loss to Lithuania with a dominant 102-71 victory over Great Britain. Marko Pecarski had 23 points and 13 rebounds and his big man partner Filip Petrusev chipped in with 22 points and 7 rebounds.
.@KSSrbije's 🇷🇸 twin tower connection: @marko_pecarski ➡️ @filip_petrusev! #FIBAU18Europe
— FIBA (@FIBA) July 29, 2018
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“I think that yesterday’s loss was good on one hand, as it made us more serious. We were mentally ready for today’s game and entered it on a more serious note. We showed our quality and gave our maximum from the start, without underestimating our opponent," Pecarski said.
Great Britain dropped to 1-1 despite 15 points from Mate Okros.
Day 2 action saw hosts Latvia enter the win column for the first time, beating Greece 80-74 in Group A. The game in Ventspils was tight throughout as the biggest lead for either team was Latvia's 9-point advantage in the second quarter. Arturs Zagars scored 25 points for Latvia while Arturs Kurucs picked up 18 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 blocks.
Greece are also 1-1 in the group as Chrysostomos Sandramanis tallied 20 points in the loss.
All four teams in Group A are 1-1 after Italy came back from an 11-point deficit to knock off Croatia 74-67 for their first win. Mattia Palumbo collected 20 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals while Federico Miaschi added 20 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Croatia were paced by Luka Samanic with 23 points and 9 rebounds.
Both groups in Ventspils are wide open as all four teams in Group B are 1-1 as well.
Germany came back from a 14-point third-quarter deficit to beat Russia 75-72 as Jason George and Bruno Vrcic both knocked down three-pointers in the final 1:01 minutes to give Germany the win. George paced Germany with 15 points while Jonas Mattisseck had 14 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists.
"We had to bounce back because we lost many games before the tournament. This is a big one tonight because it also gives us confidence for the next games," George said.
Also in Group B, France did not struggle with Turkey in grabbing a 78-67 win as Mathis Dossou Yovo led four French players in double figures with 18 points and 6 rebounds. Turkey were paced by Omer Can Ilyasolu and Eray Akyuz with 13 points each. Both teams now stand at 1-1.
.@mathis_dyovo is not taking any prisoners! #FIBAU18Europe @ffbasketball 🇫🇷
— FIBA (@FIBA) July 29, 2018
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Spain took sole possession of first place in Group C with a 78-55 victory over Finland, pulling away in the second half. Carlos Alocen and Didac Cuevas both scored 11 points and combined for 12 assists and 8 steals as well. Finland dropped to 1-1 despite Mikael Jantunen scoring 20 points.
Markovetskyy kissing the rim! #FIBAU18Europe @UkrBasket 🇺🇦
— FIBA (@FIBA) July 29, 2018
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Also at 1-1 in the group is Ukraine after an 80-67 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina. Andriy Grytsak paced five Ukrainians in double figures with 17 points to go with 6 steals, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks and Volodymyr Markovetskyy added 13 points, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 steals for the winners. Vojin Ilic totalled 17 points for Bosnia and Herzegovina, who are 0-2 in the group.
The tournament takes a day off on Monday and will resume on Tuesday.
FIBA
