Italy down Slovenia in unbeaten battle, Duru carries Germany as Round of 16 is set

SKOPJE (North Macedonia) - Italy used a balanced attack to hand Slovenia their first loss and remain one of four undefeated teams after the Group Phase of the FIBA U16 European Championship 2023.

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Key Storylines

- Achille Lonati paces five Italians in double figures to hand Slovenia first defeat
- Duru, Grujicic carry Germany past determined Israel
- Greece survives battle with Poland, join Lithuania, Spain with 3-0 records
- Montenegro keep FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024 hosts Turkey winless

Top Performers

The top performance went to Montenegro's Djordje Djukanovic as he came up with an efficiency of 34 in the team's victory over Turkey. The 14-year-old scored 27 points on 9-of-12 shooting and 8-of-10 free throws while also finishing a double-double with 13 rebounds as well as 2 steals.

Djukanovic's teammate Vladimir Komnenovic wasn't far behind with 26 points on 9-of-17 shots and 7-of-8 free throws as well as 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 1 block for an efficiency of 28.

Lithuania were paced by Arturas Butajevas in the blowout of North Macedonia as he also registered an efficiency of 28. The big man scored 21 points as he made 10-of-12 shots and 1-of-2 free throws to go with 9 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block in less than 19 minutes.

Ignacio Campoy of Spain also notched an efficiency of 28 in a rout of Finland. The power forward tallied 21 points on 8-of-10 shots and 2-of-2 foul shots, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 1 block - all in less than 13 minutes.

One day after grabbing 10 steals but not managing a double-double, Germany's Declan Duru did the job against Israel with 16 points on 5-of-14 shooting and 6-of-8 free throws and 14 rebounds along with 5 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks for an efficiency of 26. 

Results of the Day

Group A

Slovenia 74-83 Italy
Turkey 71-79 Montenegro

Group B

France 79-61 Belgium
North Macedonia 52-95 Lithuania

Group C

Germany 59-56 Israel
Spain 97-52 Finland

Group D

Latvia 56-83 Serbia
Greece 80-73 Poland

Round of 16 pairings

Italy vs Belgium
Germany vs Poland
France vs Montenegro
Greece vs Finland
Slovenia vs North Macedonia
Spain vs Latvia
Lithuania vs Turkey
Serbia vs Israel

FIBA