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14 - 22
July 2018
17 Joel Parra I Lopez (ESP), 12 Osas Ehigitor (ESP)
15/07/2018
Review
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Spain figure it out against France; Serbia down Italy in end-to-end thriller

CHEMNITZ (FIBA U20 European Championship 2018) – Pol Figueras had no intentions of keeping Spain winless in the FIBA U20 European Championship 2018 any longer, taking matters into his own hands with the game against France on the line at the Richard Hartmann Halle on Sunday.

The 20-year-old team captain came up with the game-winning play in the clutch, converting an and-one situation with 13 seconds left on the clock to get Spain on the board in Chemnitz with a 76-74 victory over French opposition.

"It was all about reading the situation, looking at the pick-and-roll defense they were using and doing the best thing. I decided to go inside, took the contact and shot the ball," Figueras explained what was going through his mind. 


Pol Figueras made the game-winning basket, topping it with a free-throw

"This win was very important, because yesterday's loss was so unexpected. Now we just need to keep going from here."

Having got the most important basket of the game to fall, Figueras finished the contest with 10 points and 7 assists, while Aleix Font did most of the carrying before that with a game-high 28 points on 6-of-10 shooting from three-point range.

Bathiste Tchouaffe and Digue Diaware had 18 points apiece for France, who somewhat unexpectedly began the tournament with two defeats in a row.


Having played in Division B last year, Croatia are still undefeated in Group B

In the other Group B game, Croatia moved atop the standings with a 98-73 win over Ukraine, with Toni Perkovic and Toni Nakic collecting 18 points apiece.

Elsewhere, a pair of Novak Music free-throws earned Serbia a 79-78 victory over Italy in a down-to-the-wire contest in Group D. Davide Moretti went off for 29 points for the Italian side, but committed a silly foul down the stretch that ended up costing the game.

"Italy has a lot of quality and you cannot beat them in the first, second or third quarter. And the main thing, both from our and their side, was the fight. We had to hold the contact for 40 minutes and we did this," Serbia head coach Vlado Jovanovic said after the game.

In the other game, Sweden triumphed against Iceland 91-64 in an all-Nordic derby behind a 22-point, 6-rebound and 5-assist performance by Elijah Clarance.

After a close escape against Montenegro, Lithuania took no prisoners against Turkey in a 94-66 rout that guaranteed the Baltic side a first-place finish in Group A after improving to 2-0. Eimantas Stankevicius went a perfect 9-of-9 from the stripe for a game-high 17 points, while Matas Jogela added 16 points.

Meanwhile, Milos Popovic registered another massive double-double with 29 points and 17 rebounds, as Montenegro defeated Great Britain 80-70 to get their win count off the mark.


Milos Popovic had another big game in Chemnitz

"We feel relieved after this win, and more at ease," said the Montenegrin captain. "This for sure was the most important game in our group for us, as this win will likely land us a spot among the top three and potentially an easier opponent in the Round of 16."

Israel and Germany rounded out the second day of action in Chemnitz with wins in Group D, with Germany moving atop the standings after topping Greece 82-76 to move to 2-0.

After a heartbreaking defeat against Germany on Saturday, Israel unleashed all of their frustrations against Romania with a 95-48 victory that saw all 12 players get on the scoreboard.

FIBA