Ireland freeze Slovakia at -32; Sweden's Pelle Larsson does it all to take them to 2-0

ORADEA (Romania) - The picture is getting a bit clearer in Groups A and C, but Groups B and D could get complicated in the hunt for the Quarter-Finals in the FIBA U18 European Championship, Division B.

Ireland scored a 32-point win over Slovakia, which ties them with Ukraine at 1-1 in their group, as North Macedonia held their nerves late in the game against the Ukranians. Pavel Danailovski split a pair of free throws inside the last ten seconds to make it a two-point game, meaning the yellow-and-blue team had a chance to win the game.

However, Ukraine failed to get a shot off, helping North Macedonia and Georgia run away to 2-0 records in Group B. A lot could happen over the remaining three group Game Days, but Slovakia and Denmark are down at 0-2 and looking far away from challenging for a place among the elite eight.

Elsewhere, Romeo Myrthil scored a team-high 20 points for Sweden against Kosovo, but it was all about Pelle Gustav Gosta Larsson, who stars in the day-high part of this review. Estonia are also a 2-0 team, 64-60 against Switzerland, who were down 18 at one point, and almost made it all the way back.

Israel and Czech Republic were the best offenses on the day, again. Israel defeated Luxembourg 100-31, and Czech Republic handed Iceland a 103-65 defeat. 

Top scorer of the day: Hugo Morais Ferreira scored 22 points to lead Portugal to a 73-62 win over Hungary, but he shot only 4-of-16 from the field. Ferreira made up for it by going 13-of-15 from the free throw line.

Top rebounder of the day: Ukraine's Maksym Shulga had a 21-point, 16-rebound double-double in a slim 73-71 defeat to the hands of North Macedonia.

Top passer of the day: Christopher Fulton dished out 7 assists in Ireland's 89-57 win over Slovakia, Emmanuel Musemana had the same amount for Belgium to take down Bulgaria 80-68, and Pelle Larsson joined them with 7 assists in Sweden's 76-60 win over Kosovo. Larsson also had 15 points, 12 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 blocks in his all-round performance.

Top thief of the day: Fulton again, 6 steals.

Top blocker of the day: Poland held the hosts Romania to just 52 points in their 66-52 triumph, thanks to their big guy Kacper Klaczek, who denied 5 shots on the day. He also had 3 blocks back on Friday, giving him a tournament average of 4.0 blocks per game so far.

FIBA