Day 1 recap: Greece outlast Estonia in overtime battle, Buyuktuncel drops 29 in Turkey win

MUNICH (Germany) - There was a mixture of dramatic contests and incredible individual displays on the opening day of the FIBA U18 European Challengers with 30 teams in action on Tuesday across the five cities.

Headlines:

- Serbia red-hot early on way to beating Germany in Skopje
- Overtime success for Greece in Tel Aviv, Israel finish strong
- Turkey triumph in Konya as Buyuktuncel shows out
- Slovakia defeat Ukraine for winning start in Levice
- Luxembourg signal intent in Tirana with dominant win

Day 1 Standout Performers:

Skopje: Andrija Jelavic (CRO) - 24 PTS / 8 REB / 82% FG
Tel Aviv: Ron Zipper (ISR) - 28 PTS / 4 REB / 3 AST
Tel Aviv: Athanasios Bazinas (GRE) - 20 PTS / 14 AST / 4 STL
Tel Aviv: Henri Veesaar (EST) - 23 PTS / 13 REB / 5 BLK
Konya: Berke Buyuktuncel (TUR) - 29 PTS / 8 REB / 3 AST
Levice: Luca Andrei Colceag (ROU) - 18 PTS / 12 REB / 7 AST / 5 STL
Tirana: Miguel Marti Chamorro (AND) - 14 PTS / 14 REB / 3 BLK

Skopje Challenger:

Group A

3/15 games played

		GAMES				GAME POINTS					POINTS
#	Team	P	W	L	%	For	Agt	+/-	FA	AA
1	Spain	1	1	0	100	74	42	32	74	42	2
2	Croatia	1	1	0	100	108	77	31	108	77	2
3	Serbia	1	1	0	100	91	78	13	91	78	2
4	Germany	1	0	1	0	78	91	-13	78	91	1
5	North Macedonia	1	0	1	0	77	108	-31	77	108	1
6	Georgia	1	0	1	0	42	74	-32	42	74	1

Gameday 1 results: Spain made a strong start to their campaign with a 74-42 victory over Georgia which included an 18-2 fourth quarter. Meanwhile, Serbia put up 35 points in the first period on their way to a 91-78 success against Germany with Croatia also off to a winning start as they defeated North Macedonia, 108-77, having poured in 58 points through the middle periods.

Tel Aviv Challenger:

Group B

3/15 games played

		GAMES				GAME POINTS					POINTS
#	Team	P	W	L	%	For	Agt	+/-	FA	AA
1	Israel	1	1	0	100	100	71	29	100	71	2
2	France	1	1	0	100	78	68	10	78	68	2
3	Greece	1	1	0	100	85	83	2	85	83	2
4	Estonia	1	0	1	0	83	85	-2	83	85	1
5	Portugal	1	0	1	0	68	78	-10	68	78	1
6	Lithuania	1	0	1	0	71	100	-29	71	100	1

Gameday 1 results: Greece needed an extra period for an opening victory; eventually securing an 85-83 triumph against Estonia with a clutch three from Ioannis Mermigkis in overtime. France claimed a double-digit win as they battled past Portugal, 78-68, while Israel were impressive in beating Lithuania with Ron Zipper and Nevo Sommerfeld combining for 52 points in the 100-71 success.

Konya Challenger:

Group C

3/15 games played

		GAMES				GAME POINTS					POINTS
#	Team	P	W	L	%	For	Agt	+/-	FA	AA
1	Slovenia	1	1	0	100	84	44	40	84	44	2
2	Russia	1	1	0	100	66	48	18	66	48	2
3	Turkey	1	1	0	100	81	74	7	81	74	2
4	Poland	1	0	1	0	74	81	-7	74	81	1
5	Czech Republic	1	0	1	0	48	66	-18	48	66	1
6	Latvia	1	0	1	0	44	84	-40	44	84	1

Gameday 1 results: There was Day 1 joy for the hosts as Turkey secured an 81-74 victory against Poland behind a huge 29-point haul from 16-year-old Berke Buyuktuncel. Elsewhere, Russia overcame a slow start to see off Czech Republic for a 66-48 win, while Slovenia closed out the action with a convincing 84-44 success against Latvia with 19 points off the bench from Jaka Klobucar.

Levice Challenger:

Group D

1/3 games played

		GAMES				STREAK	GAME POINTS					POINTS
#	Team	P	W	L	%	Last 5	For	Agt	+/-	FA	AA
1	Bulgaria	1	1	0	100		82	51	31	82	51	2
2	Hungary	1	0	1	0		51	82	-31	51	82	1
3	Ireland	0	0	0	0		0	0	0	0	0	0

Group E

2/6 games played

		GAMES				GAME POINTS					POINTS
#	Team	P	W	L	%	For	Agt	+/-	FA	AA
1	Romania	1	1	0	100	93	78	15	93	78	2
2	Slovakia	1	1	0	100	79	73	6	79	73	2
3	Ukraine	1	0	1	0	73	79	-6	73	79	1
4	Switzerland	1	0	1	0	78	93	-15	78	93	1

Gameday 1 results: Bulgaria won all four quarters as they defeated Hungary, 82-51, to open up Group D with Ireland getting underway tomorrow. In Group E, Slovakia secured a six-point success against Ukraine with Matus Malovec posting 23 points in the 79-73 win, while Romania started strong with 54 first-half points setting the platform for a 93-78 victory against Switzerland.

Tirana Challenger:

Group F

1/3 games played

		GAMES				GAME POINTS					POINTS
#	Team	P	W	L	%	For	Agt	+/-	FA	AA
1	Kosovo	1	1	0	100	85	62	23	85	62	2
2	Albania	1	0	1	0	62	85	-23	62	85	1
3	Moldova	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Group G

2/6 games played

		GAMES				GAME POINTS					POINTS
#	Team	P	W	L	%	For	Agt	+/-	FA	AA
1	Luxembourg	1	1	0	100	97	45	52	97	45	2
2	Andorra	1	1	0	100	62	51	11	62	51	2
3	Gibraltar	1	0	1	0	51	62	-11	51	62	1
4	Malta	1	0	1	0	45	97	-52	45	97	1

Gameday 1 results: Kosovo defeated tournament hosts Albania, 85-62, as Visar Ejupi led the way with a game-high 28 points. In Group G, Luxembourg set the tone as they brushed aside Malta in a 97-45 victory with three players scoring 15+ points, while Andorra did enough to overcome Gibraltar as they prevailed 62-51.

FIBA