Montenegro battle with Serbia for spot in Final; can surging Croatia snap France's streak?

PODGORICA (FIBA U16 European Championship 2017) - Montenegro face the biggest youth game in their history against rivals Serbia with a spot at stake in the Final of the FIBA U16 European Championship 2017 while Croatia hope their magical ride can continue as they take on unbeaten France in the other Semi-Final.

Hosts Montenegro have already made history by just reaching this point - their first European youth top-four showing and their first berth at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup. The faithful Podgorica fans hope to carry their heroes on to another thrilling win. 

Montenegro celebrate beating Serbia last year at the U16 level.

Montenegro won their last U16 matchup against Serbia in the Round of 16 in 2016. The Serbians had won the previous four games against Montenegro and are looking to reach their first Final since 2013. Otherwise, Serbia have claimed two third-placed finishes since their one and only crown in 2007.  

Both teams can score the ball as Serbia have averaged the third-most points and Montenegro rank one spot lower. Montenegro are second in both overall field goal percentage and from three-point range. One area which could impact the game is the glass as Serbia are the fifth-best rebounding team while Montenegro are the second-worst rebounding team. Both teams also handle the ball well, Serbia being third in assists while committing the third-fewest turnovers. Montenegro have given up even fewer (14.4 to 13.8 for Montenegro).

Stefan Vlahovic (No. 11) is one of Montenegro's main leaders.

Montenegro rely on a four-headed monster as Bojan Tomasevic, Stefan Vlahovic, Jovan Kljajic and Viktor Vujisic combine for 73 percent of the team's points, 74 percent of the shots taken, 60 percent of rebounds, 56 percent of their assists, 82 percent of their blocks and 62 percent of the steals.

Montenegro will need to find a way to slow down Serbia's Djordje Pazin.

Serbia's main man is Djordje Pazin, who has poured in 17.0 points a game on 40 percent from three-point range while also chipping in 5.2 rebounds and 2.2 steals. Stevan Karapandzic has been excellent all-around with 10.8 points, 5.4 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.8 steals; while Aleksandar Langovic showcased what he can do with his monster double-double of 18 points and 20 rebounds versus Germany. Power forward Marko Pavicevic has also shown that he can score in double figures for the Serbs.

 

The first Semi-Final will be France taking on Croatia. The French own the all-time series advantage at 10-6 and won in the 2012 Quarter-Finals and the Fifth-Place Game in 2013. But Croatia beat the French in the 2016 Quarter-Finals. France have two titles from 2004 and 2014 and this is the first Semi-Finals since the last trophy and ninth top-four showing. Should France win, they will have played in their third Final in the last six years after losing to Turkey in 2012. Croatia are back in the Semi-Finals for a second straight summer while the last Final came in 2011, which was the backend of the back-to-back crowns in 2010 and 2011. Croatia's first of three U16 crowns came in 1995. Croatia also were fourth in 2006.

The Croatians lost all three games in the Group Phase but have since beaten Slovenia and Latvia. They still struggle scoring with the third-fewest points and the third-worst three-point shooting and free throw percentages. Croatia are also the second-worst rebounding team with the second-fewest blocks and the fewest steals. Oh, and they have turned the ball over the fourth-most times at 20.8 per game. France are fourth-worst from long range but they are second in free throw percentage and have the third most steals. Croatia have been carried in the Final Phase by Matej Rudan, who has averaged 22.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists in the Round of 16 and Quarter-Finals. Viktor Saric has chipped in with 17.0 points and 9.5 rebounds to give Croatia a second major force. Knowing those two stars will show up, Croatia's chances will be helped if others can step up. Ivan Gulic is averaging 11 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists in the knockout stage while Sandro Rasic has double figure scoring in his last two games.

Theo Maledon has been a major factor in France remaining undefeated.

Mr. Do-It-All for France is Killian Hayes, who leads the team in points, rebounds, assists and steals. Theo Maledon has been superb as well, averaging 12.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists, and Timothe Crusol has scored and played defense. Essome Miyem is slowly picking up his production in the last two games while Daniel Batcho gave the French a good input for the Turkey game.

There is plenty of action before the Semi-Finals. Finland face Germany and Sweden take on Russia in the Classification 13-16 knowing the losers will be relegated to Division B with the winners needing one more win on Saturday to stay in the top flight. 

Lithuania face Spain and Turkey play Latvia in the Classification 5-8 with the winners needing one final victory on the last day of games to qualify for the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup.

And in the Classification 9-12, Italy take on Estonia and Israel play Slovenia.  

The action from Podgorica is just a click away as you can follow Live Updates throughout each game day, watch all of the games for free on the FIBA YouTube channel and follow #FIBAU16Europe across social media.

Semi-Finals 

France vs Croatia 

Montenegro vs Serbia 

Classification 5-8

Lithuania vs Spain

Turkey vs Latvia

Classification 9-12

Italy vs Estonia

Israel vs Slovenia

Classification 13-16 

Finland vs Germany

Sweden vs Russia 

FIBA