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 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.

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.

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