Four teams still perfect in Skopje after Czech Republic sink Israel

SKOPJE (FIBA U18 European Championship 2018, Division B) – Belarus, Czech Republic, Estonia and Slovenia are the only undefeated teams in the FIBA U18 European Championship 2018, Division B after making it three wins in a row in Skopje on Sunday.

Czech Republic inscribed a notable 85-74 victory over Israel, with Vit Krejci outdueling the highly touted Deni Avdija with an impressive 23-point and 5-rebound performance to take the Lubos Barton-coached Czechs to the top of Group C.

David Bohm collected 19 points in the win, while Lubos Kovar chipped in with 13 points, 14 rebounds and 4 assists. Tomer Levinson finished the contest as Israel's top scorer, having put up 19 points and 14 rebounds, as Avdija added 14 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists in a losing effort.

Czech legend Lubos Barton has guided his team to a 3-0 start in Skopje

In the other games of Group C, the Netherlands defeated Iceland 90-68 to move their marker to 2-1, while Ben Kovac helped Luxembourg to a 73-63 win over the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (MKD) with 25 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals.

Elsewhere, Artur Konontsuk maintained Estonia's perfect status in Group B with a clutch go-ahead bucket from downtown to score the Baltic side a 71-70 victory against Belgium. Konotsuk, who had a team-high 18 points, was one of four Estonians in double figures.

Meanwhile, Hungary's scoring machine Adam Somogyi stayed red-hot in Skopje with a 26-point, 7-rebound, 6-assist and 3-steal effort against Azerbaijan in a 64-55 triumph. Austria, like Hungary, improved to 2-1 on Sunday after besting Georgia 88-76 late in the evening.

No one has been able to stop Dzmitry Ryuny so far in Group A

Having been one of the most dominant forces in the tournament, Dzmitry Ryuny outdid even himself with a 31-point and 18-rebound double-double to give Belarus an 82-74 victory over their western neighbors Poland in Group A.

After winning the first two games in the group, Portugal missed their opportunity to join Belarus at the top, slipping up against the previously winless Norway in an 80-79 upset.  Tobias Rotegard got the Scandinavians on the board with 19 points and 10 rebounds on 5-of-10 shooting from three-point range.

In the only other Group A fixture on Sunday, Romania topped Switzerland 82-76, despite a big performance of Nicolas Max Hulliger, who paced the Swiss with 28 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists. Mihai Maciuca was the key man on the Romanian side with 21 points and 6 boards.

Romania improved to a 2-1 mark and kept Switzerland winless

In Group D, Slovenia had to put in a considerable amount of effort to get a 70-67 win over Sweden in a contest between two previously undefeated teams, but 23 points by Gregor Glas was enough to tip the scales in Slovenia's favor.

In the meantime, their group rivals, Slovakia and Bulgaria, registered walk-in-the-park wins over Denmark and Albania. The Slovaks blew out Denmark, 88-50, while Bulgaria handed Albania another massive defeat, 93-49.

FIBA