Croatia, Poland, Russia and Albania headline opening-day winners in Oradea

ORADEA (FIBA U20 European Championship 2017, Division B) - After being painstakingly close to promotion last year, Croatia got their FIBA U20 European Championship 2017, Division B campaign underway with a statement victory, while Poland, Russia and Albania were Friday’s other big winners in Oradea.

The dominant Croatians dropped a century in their Group D opener against Kosovo, demonstrating their overwhelming superiority with a 100-48 victory, with Roko Badzim leading the way with 20 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals.

Their group rivals Ireland also got off to a victorious start, riding a 27-point, 7-rebound and 7-assist performance by Aidan Dunne to steamroll Moldova 103-65.

Matt Treacy contributed with 25 points, 6 rebounds, 5 steals and 4 assists, Eoin Rockall chipped in with 24 points and 5 assists, as Ireland’s big trio combined for 76 points.

Meanwhile, Hungary, who were among the three teams relegated to Division B last year, wasted a double-digit advantage in the final quarter, coming up short against Portugal 68-67 after a dramatic finish in overtime.

Carlos Cardoso and Diogo Brito starred with a shared team-high of 18 points for Portugal, but it was Goncalo Madureira who stepped up to hit the game-tying three-pointer at the end of regulation for his only points of the night.

The game could have gone in a different direction in the final possession of the extra period, but Gaspar Kerpel-Fronius and Attila Demeter missed excellent opportunities to swing the game Hungary's way.

Finland, Poland start loud, disappointment for Belgium

Having lost their Division A places last year, Finland and Belgium had mixed success to start the tournament in Group A, with the Aatu Kivimaki-led Finns registering a blowout victory and Belgium being on the receiving end of one against Poland.

Kivimaki posted a game-high of 26 points with 4 rebounds and 3 steals, as Finland inscribed a 95-69 victory over Armenia thanks to a huge contribution from the second unit, who collected an impressive 57 points.

Matthew Madoyan scored 22 points and the US-born Steven Enoch finished the game with 21 points, 13 rebounds and 7 turnovers in a losing effort for Armenia.

Meanwhile, Poland topped Finland‘s 26-point win by smashing Belgium 79-51 in the other game in Group A after a highly efficient night shooting the ball both from two-point and three-point range.

Deniel Golebiowski was the main man for the Tomasz Niedbalski-coached Poland with 18 points and 6 rebounds, while last year‘s Belgium standout Tim Lambrecht finished with 13 points and 5 boards.

Karpenkov the dominant factor for Russia

Division A hopefuls Russia got off to a running start in Group C, dismantling neighboring Azerbaijan 85-56 for a dream start in Group A behind a 24-point and 12-rebound double-double by Ilia Karpenkov, who only needed 23 minutes to rack up the digits.

Only four players got on the board for Azerbaijan and point guard Jordan Davis was responsible for 31 points and 7 boards, with the rest of the team combining for 25 points.

Despite a slow start in the first quarter, Netherlands did what they needed by oustcoring Great Britain 30-9 in the second period en route to a 74-65 victory in the second game of the day in Group B.

Terrence Bieshaar led the Dutch side in scoring with a game-high 24 points and 9 rebounds, Emmanuel Nzekwesi had 17 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks, while Carl Wheatle was the top scorer for Great Britain with 13 points and 9 rebounds.

Albania, Romania too strong for Cassar, Bitadze

Albania got the tournament rolling in Oradea by taking care of business against Malta in the only morning game at the Partenie Cosma Economic College Arena in Group C, while Romania soon followed suit by downing Georgia.

It did not seem that the early start bothered the Albanians in the slightest, who got up by double digits already in the opening quarter and cruised to a 92-61 victory against the helpless Malta.

Oresti Beli double-doubled with 20 points and 12 rebounds for the winners, Klein Strazimiri chipped in with 18 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals, while Jacob Formosa finished with 16 points and 5 assists for Malta.

After picking up the MVP honors at the FIBA U18 European Championship 2017, Division C last week, Kurt Cassar had a tough game, fouling out in just 15 minutes of action and finishing with 2 points and 5 boards.

Georgia’s rising star Goga Bitadze also couldn't save his team from defeat against Romania, with the tournament hosts coming out triumphant 63-51 in their opening game in Group C.

Nandor Kuti paced the winners with 20 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists, Emanuel Cate also had a solid game with 12 points and a tournament-high 18 rebounds, while 17-year-old Bitadze collected a team-high 15 points for Georgia.

FIBA