Turkey battle past dominant De Ridder, Belgium; Spain stay unbeaten in style
HERAKLION (Greece) - Turkey's heroes from their third place finish at the recent FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2023 stepped up on Day 2 of the FIBA U20 European Championship 2023 to carry the country to their first win, while Spain showed their class by beating Serbia.
Check out the latest results, group standings and competition system for all the information you need to stay up to date with the tournament.
Key Storylines
- Samet Yigitoglu, Karahan Efeoglu and Berke Buyuktuncel - who helped Turkey to third place at the U19 World Cup - all scored in double figures in first win
- Spain smashed Serbia to remain undefeated; France, Lithuania also still perfect
- Ivisic twins Tomislav and Zvonimir both register double-doubles in Croatia's first victory
Top Performers
The top performance of the day - and of the tournament thus far - came from Thijs De Ridder, who had his second great showing in as many games for Belgium. The forward had an efficiency of 28 in the opening game but increased that number to 37 with 26 points, 15 rebounds and 6 assists against Turkey - albeit in a loss.
A complete package. 📦
— NextGen Hoops (@NextGenHoops) July 9, 2023
Another terrific performance from Belgium's Thijs De Ridder in #FIBAU20Europe.
📊 26 PTS | 15 REB | 6 AST | 2 STL | 🇹🇷 70-67 🇧🇪 pic.twitter.com/htIiRrMFgS
Estonia wasted a 16-point lead but still beat Montenegro thanks to a strong showing from Gregor Kuuba, who totalled 19 points, 18 rebounds - 8 of them from the offensive glass - 3 assists and 3 steals for an efficiency of 33.
Zvonimir Ivisic came off the Croatian bench and collected 17 points on 7-of-12 shots, 10 rebounds, 1 assist and 8 blocks for an efficiency of 28 in helping the team knock off Poland. The 8 blocks tied Ivisic for second place all-time for most swats in a U20 European game.
Luka Bogavac did all he could for Montenegro but his 25 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists for an efficiency of 26 were not enough as the Balkan side lost to Estonia.
The fifth-best efficiency of 21 was delivered by Motiejus Krivas with 9 points, 12 rebounds and 3 assists in Lithuania's victory over Greece.
Results of the Day
Group A
Italy 66-50 Israel
Turkey 70-67 Belgium
Group B
Montenegro 74-81 Estonia
Serbia 54-76 Spain
Group C
Croatia 64-53 Poland
Greece 62-80 Lithuania
Group D
Germany 83-81 Iceland
Slovenia 61-81 France
FIBA
