Day 2 recap: Italy lock down Czechs late on; France, Germany make strong starts

MUNICH (Germany) - The second day of the FIBA U20 European Challengers saw a number of teams get their campaigns off to a winning start, while three sides stayed perfect in Heraklion.

Headlines:

- Italy use 10-1 close to overcome Czech Republic in Brno
- Germany, France convincing winners in Tbilisi
- Heraklion sees Greece, Israel and Slovenia at the double
- Belarus, Switzerland dominant; Hungary grind out win in Sopron

Day 2 Standout Performers:

Heraklion: Gregor Glas (SLO) - 27 PTS / 5 REB / 4 AST
Brno: Matej Bosnjak (CRO) - 20 PTS / 9 REB / 2 AST
Brno: Tomislav Buljan (CRO) - 20 PTS / 9 REB / 2 AST
Tbilisi: Milan Barbitch (FRA) - 20 PTS / 4 REB / 4 AST / 4 STL
Sopron: Ljubisha Dimitrovski (MKD) - 17 PTS / 4 REB / 6 AST / 4 STL

Brno Challenger:

Group A

3/15 games played

		GAMES				STREAK	GAME POINTS					POINTS
#	Team	P	W	L	%	Last 5	For	Agt	+/-	FA	AA
1	Spain	1	1	0	100		73	36	37	73	36	2
2	Croatia	1	1	0	100		89	66	23	89	66	2
3	Italy	1	1	0	100		66	63	3	66	63	2
4	Czech Republic	1	0	1	0		63	66	-3	63	66	1
5	Portugal	1	0	1	0		66	89	-23	66	89	1
6	Albania	1	0	1	0		36	73	-37	36	73	1

Gameday 1 results: Italy held Czech Republic to a single point in the final 4:42 as they came from behind to secure a 66-63 success. Croatia enjoyed an 89-66 win over Portugal behind 20 points apiece from Matej Bosnjak and Tomislav Buljan to open the tournament, while Spain closed out the day by comfortably beating Albania, 73-36.

Tbilisi Challenger:

Group B

3/15 games played

		GAMES				GAME POINTS					POINTS
#	Team	P	W	L	%	For	Agt	+/-	FA	AA
1	Germany	1	1	0	100	87	66	21	87	66	2
2	France	1	1	0	100	84	63	21	84	63	2
3	Turkey	1	1	0	100	78	71	7	78	71	2
4	Bulgaria	1	0	1	0	71	78	-7	71	78	1
5	Poland	1	0	1	0	66	87	-21	66	87	1
6	Georgia	1	0	1	0	63	84	-21	63	84	1

Gameday 1 results: Germany made a strong start with 57 first-half points to set the platform for an 87-66 victory over Poland, while France eased past hosts Georgia in a 21-point win of their own at 84-63.  Turkey also opened with a win as they were made to work in overcoming Bulgaria, 78-71, despite a combined 43 points from Emil Stoilov and Damyan Minkov.

Heraklion Challenger:

Group C

6/15 games played

		GAMES				GAME POINTS					POINTS
#	Team	P	W	L	%	For	Agt	+/-	FA	AA
1	Greece	2	2	0	100	172	119	53	86	59.5	4
2	Slovenia	2	2	0	100	155	120	35	77.5	60	4
3	Israel	2	2	0	100	153	121	32	76.5	60.5	4
4	Russia	2	0	2	0	142	162	-20	71	81	2
5	Belgium	2	0	2	0	108	149	-41	54	74.5	2
6	Ukraine	2	0	2	0	110	169	-59	55	84.5	2

Gameday 2 results: Gregor Glas fired in 27 points to lead Slovenia past Ukraine for an 81-61 victory, while Greece also recorded their second success as they gradually pulled away from Russia to win 84-70. Israel then became the third side to move to 2-0 in the group as they proved too strong for Belgium as they prevailed 75-49 to round out the day.

Sopron Challenger:

Group D

2/6 games played

		GAMES				GAME POINTS					POINTS
#	Team	P	W	L	%	For	Agt	+/-	FA	AA
1	Switzerland	1	1	0	100	92	58	34	92	58	2
2	North Macedonia	1	1	0	100	73	57	16	73	57	2
3	Luxembourg	1	0	1	0	57	73	-16	57	73	1
4	Romania	1	0	1	0	58	92	-34	58	92	1

Group E

2/6 games played

		GAMES				GAME POINTS					POINTS
#	Team	P	W	L	%	For	Agt	+/-	FA	AA
1	Belarus	1	1	0	100	101	60	41	101	60	2
2	Hungary	1	1	0	100	79	74	5	79	74	2
3	Slovakia	1	0	1	0	74	79	-5	74	79	1
4	Kosovo	1	0	1	0	60	101	-41	60	101	1

Gameday 1 results: Switzerland had six players in double figures in their convincing 92-58 win against Romania, while North Macedonia put together a strong final quarter effort to overcome Luxembourg for a 73-57 success. In Group E, Hungary held off Slovakia for a 79-74 victory following a third quarter lapse to join Belarus in a winning start after they defeated Kosovo, 101-60.

FIBA