FIBA Basketball

    Hungary claw their way into the Quarter-Finals, Bulgaria extend Ukraine a helping hand

    SOFIA (FIBA U16 European Championship 2017, Division B) - Belgium, Ukraine, Great Britain, Georgia and Hungary snatched up Play-Offs tickets in FIBA U16 European Championship 2017, Division B.

    SOFIA (FIBA U16 European Championship 2017, Division B) - Belgium, Ukraine, Great Britain, Georgia and Hungary snatched up the last remaining Play-Offs tickets in the FIBA U16 European Championship 2017, Division B on Tuesday evening in Sofia.

    These five national teams will join the already qualified Czech Republic, Greece and Netherlands in the Quarter-Finals, where they will battle for the medals, with a podium finish also earning promotion to Division A.

    Hungary was the last team to jump aboard after coming out on top 79-65 in a head-to-head battle for a place in the next round against Bosnia and Herzegovina to claim second place in Group C behind Czech Republic in the standings.

    After being behind for most of the game, the Hungarians turned the tables around with a strong fourth-quarter performance, outscoring their opponents 32-13 in the final frame of the contest. 

    Peter Filipovity was instrumental for the winners with 17 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists in just 18 minutes of playing time, while Tamas Pallai and Benedek Kovacs chipped in with 13 and 11 points respectively.

    U16 s přehledem postupují ze skupiny #fibau16europe #rvisejakolev

    A post shared by Czech Basketball Federation (@ceskybasketbal) on

    The Czechs inscribed their fifth victory in as many tries by defeating Ireland with a closer-than-expected 66-62 scoreline, while Slovak Republic downed Norway 73-47 to avoid a last-place finish.

    Belgium did more than enough to lock up second place in Group A with an 89-63 victory against Iceland, Niels De Ridder leading the way with 25 points, 17 rebounds and 5 assists.

    After losing close-fought games against Greece and Belarus, Iceland finished only fourth in the standings and will play in the Classification Games for 9-16th places.

    Belarus ended the Group Phase on a high note by taking care of business 85-43 against the winless Romania, while Greece moved their marker to 5-0 with an impressive 111-39 hammering of Switzerland.

    Ελβετία-Ελλάδα 39-111 #FIBAU16Europe #HellasU16M @fiba

    A post shared by Hellenic Basketball Federation (@hellenicbf) on

    Tournament hosts Bulgaria handed Ukraine a massive favor in Group B by forcing a three-way tie for second place in the standings with a 75-72 victory over Poland, who were consequently denied a place in the Quarter-Finals.

    Ukraine were the main beneficiaries in this situation, sliding in to secure a Quarter-Finals spot with a convincing 96-64 win against Denmark with Serhii Melnyk turning in a great all-round performance of 13 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals.

    Having locked in the top seed in advance, Netherlands capped their Group Phase performance with a 98-43 blowout against Cyprus, who finished rock bottom after failing to record a single win.

    Group D leaders Great Britain formalized their place in the next round by eliminating Portugal with a 64-54 victory behind an 18-point and 10-rebound double-double by Tomiwa Sulaiman, while team captain Mate Okros also chipped in with 18 points.

    Georgia joined the undefeated Brits into the Quarter-Finals with a one-sided 77-48 win over Kosovo, while the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia registered a 75-71 victory over Luxembourg to climb to fourth place.

    Quarter-Finals pairings:

    Greece v. Ukraine Great Britain v. Hungary Netherlands v. Belgium Czech Republic v. Georgia [/unordered]

    FIBA