YEREVAN (Armenia) - The Semi-Finals of the FIBA U20 EuroBasket, Division B are now set with Croatia, Latvia, Türkiye and Switzerland came through their Quarter-Finals matchups.
All those teams now are one win away from Division A promotion as three spots at the FIBA U20 EuroBasket 2026 are up for grabs.
Croatia have earned their place in the top four first as they smoothly sailed over Ireland with a 90-69 win. Once again Croatia showcased their trademark - a stellar defense which allowed only 12 points for their opponents in the third quarter that saw Croatia build a 24-point lead.
Dino Subasic tallied 17 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists in a match in which Croatian lead steadily increased. Niko Sare sinked 4 three-pointers for 15 points and 7 dimes, whereas Ryan Calo put up 17 points for the losing side.
The first Semi-Finalists of the day will clash against Türkiye on Saturday. The Turkish side ran over Netherlands 81-61, powered by a strong third quarter in which a three-point lead from the midpoint suddenly rose to a 21-point cushion and a solved game.
Emre Melih Tunca shined with a near triple-double. Only two rebounds were missing with 20 points and 11 assists for the playmaker. Ozgur Cengiz offered a helping hand with 17 points and 4 made three-pointers, also dishing out 5 dimes.
Latvia had their work cut out against Great Britain, but the third quarter proved to be crucial in this case also. Great Britain took a narrow 40-38 lead at the half, but would only score 21 points to the very end, not nearly enough to win this encounter.
Latvia went on a 14-7 run to finish the third stanza, separated themselves and never looked back to win it with 70-61 as the final score. Edvards Egle proved to be an unsolvable riddle for Great Britain's defense with 26 points, whereas Rolands Sulcs added 13 to the pile.
One of the closest games of the bunch came at the very end. Switzerland and Kosovo had themselves a real narrow thriller with Switzerland taking an early nine-point lead, only to spill nearly all of it by the half time that saw 40-38 at the scoreboard.
A low-scoring third period ensued with Switzerland just slightly pulling to a five-point edge ahead of the final 10 minutes. The first field goal of the fourth quarter wasn't made until after five minutes of play with teams making only a free-throw each to ensure a nervous and close finish to the game. However, Switzerland then broke through the barrier with a 8-0 for the biggest lead of the game, an 13-point advantage with three minutes to play.
The difference blew up at the end with Kosovo going for all-or-nothing so 72-61 is the final score with Kosovo managing to score only eight points in the fourth period.
Zachary Biku produced a big double-double of 24 points and 11 rebounds to push Switzerland into the Semi-Finals, with Diego Roman having an all-around showing of 15 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists. Erolt Rrahmani put up 12 points and 9 rebounds for Kosovo.
Quarter-Final Results
Croatia 90-69 Ireland Latvia 70-61 Great Britain Türkiye 81-61 Netherlands Switzerland 72-61 Kosovo
Semi-Final Pairings
Croatia vs Türkiye Latvia vs Switzerland
FIBA