Opening the record books: Can anybody get to 55 points or 26 rebounds in a game?

VOLOS (Greece) - FIBA U18 European Championship 2019 is already in progress, and we have seen some huge numbers on the first day of the competition. But, how far were they from the all-time records?

We took a dive into the archives and looked for the most impressive single game performances over the course of the previous 35 editions of the FIBA U18 European Championship and the FIBA European Championship for Junior Men. Here are the records in each of the big five statistical categories, with a side note that the blocks entered the stats in 2000, and up until 1996 only the points went into the official score sheet.

Blocks: Andriuskevicius and Rey the kings of the stops

In 2004, Martynas Andriuskevicius used his 7ft 2 in (2.18m) frame to destroy Israel's hopes of getting a win over Lithuania. The Lietuva big guy finished the game with 10 blocks, becoming the first man to do so in the Final Round of this competition.

Just a year later, Xavi Rey had 10 blocks for Spain against Serbia and Montenegro, but the hosts in Belgrade celebrated a 70-54 victory.

Steals: Two NBA greats stole the show at U18 level

Latvia must have thought they have a good shot of defeating Russia in 1998, as they forced overtime in Bulgaria. However, it was just five more minutes of pain for them, as Andrei Kirilenko collected 27 points, 10 rebounds and 10 steals.

The only other player to have 10 steals in one game in a Final Round game of this event was another NBA star. Danilo Gallinari helped Italy to a 60-56 win over Bulgaria with 13 points, 10 steals and 9 rebounds in 2005.

Assists: The Bulgarian point guard sets the new mark

Liepaja saw a magnificent tournament in 2012, and among all the big men dominating, there was a record set by one of the shortest guys in the tournament. Deyan Karamfilov, the 5ft 11in (1.80m) tall Bulgarian point guard, dished out 15 assists in an 84-81 defeat to Slovenia.

Rebounds: Ohlbrecht still untouchable

Enes Kanter had 25 rebounds in a game in 2008 and then repeated the feat in 2009, but he was one rebound short of the record on both occasions. It was Germany's Tim Ohlbrecht who had 22 points and 26 rebounds against Israel in 2006. Amazingly, not even that was enough for Germany, Israel won 79-76.

Points: 31 years later, the record still stands

There have been some unreal scoring performances in recent years, with Dario Saric scoring 39 in 2012 and Alessandro Gentile counting to 42 in 2010. But they weren't even close to what Gerrit Hendrik Hammink did in 1988.

The flying Dutchman, 6ft 10in (2.10m) tall, had 55 points against Israel 31 years ago, connecting on 23-of-27 free throws in the game. However, he suffered the same destiny as Rey, Karamfilov and Ohlbrecht - the record did not mean a thing for his team, as it came in a defeat. Israel won that game 102-99.

FIBA