Day 2 preview: Russia and Turkey to battle for superiority in Group A
BRATISLAVA/PIESTANY (FIBA U18 European Championship 2017) - After getting their FIBA U18 European Championship 2017 campaigns to winning starts, Turkey and Russia will be looking to clear space in Group A.
BRATISLAVA/PIESTANY (FIBA U18 European Championship 2017) - After getting their FIBA U18 European Championship 2017 campaigns to winning starts, Turkey and Russia will be looking to clear space all for themselves at the top of the Group A standings.
In the opening day of action, the Serkan Erdogan-coached Turkish team held off a resilient German effort 70-61, while Russia put together a dominant display against Montenegro for an 81-71 victory.
Having played major roles for their respective teams, 2000-born big men Ragip Atar and Alexander Shashkov will likely be the key actors in Sunday's head-to-head clash once again, although not necessarily likely to match-up against each other directly.
Turkey’s five-man Atar registered an efficient 12-point and 10-rebound double-double, while Shashkov, more of a power forward, posted 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field with 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 three-pointers.
An equally intriguing battle in Piestany will take place in Group B between Italy, who started the tournament by defeating the turnover-prone Ukraine, and the not-so-lucky Serbia after their close loss to Spain behind a powerful individual showing by center Marko Pecarski, who might create problems for Italian big men as well.
Meanwhile, in the Bratislava-based Group C, Dimitrios Moraitis and Greece will come up against Finland, who enter a night-to-forget category in the eyes of Lithuania after handing last year’s runners-up an 82-62 beatdown behind the joint efforts of Mikael Juntunen and Miika Heinonen, who had 20 points apiece.
Other noteworthy contests include the undersized Germany trying to deal with Montenegro and their inside threat of Marko Simonovic in Group A, and big-name teams Lithuania and France looking to get back on track against Slovenia and Latvia in their respective groups.
You can follow Live Updates throughout each game day, watch all of the games for free on the FIBA YouTube channel and follow #FIBAU18Europe across social media.
Latvia v France
Italy v Serbia
Spain v Ukraine
Bosnia and Herzegovina v Slovak Republic
Montenegro v Germany
Lithuania v Slovenia
FIBA