Russia, Portugal join the party in time for Quarter-Finals

ORADEA (FIBA U20 European Championship 2017, Division B) - Russia and Portugal grabbed the last remaining Quarter-Finals tickets in the FIBA U20 European Championship 2017, Division B on the last day of the Group Phase in Oradea.

Russia are now set to face Belgium in the Quarter-Finals, Portugal will test tournament hosts Romania, while Croatia and Georgia, as well as Poland and Great Britain, make up the other pairs.

Needing a win in their final fixture against Slovak Republic, the Russians made it a convincing one by delivering an 86-68 blowout to come out as the biggest beneficiaries of a three-way tie with Great Britain and Netherlands at the top of Group B.

Igor Volkhin had a game-high of 24 points for coach Zakhar Pashutin, while Ilia Karpenkov turned in another solid performance, scoring 22 points and grabbing 8 rebounds for the victorious Russia.

With Great Britain having locked in their spot in the Quarter-Finals a day in advance, it was the Dutch side who were left as the odd team out, finishing third in spite of an 85-54 win over Azerbaijan.

Meanwhile, Portugal held on to the second place in Group D with a 77-63 victory over Kosovo. Nuno Sa had 17 points for Portugal, while Rinor Peci collected 16 points in a losing effort for the Kosovar side.

Having already guaranteed the top spot in the group, Croatia did not take their foot off the gas and steamrolled Moldova 150-47 with nine players scoring in double figures, while third-place Hungary got a 58-46 win over Ireland.

Having upset the previously undefeated Group A leaders Poland only a day prior, Armenia also fought well against the second-placed Belgium, but ultimately fell short 87-74, with Belgium's star Tim Lambrecht recording his best individual performance of the tournament with 27 points, 16 rebounds, 9 assists and 6 steals.

In the other game in the group later in the day, Finland stomped Belarus 113-68 to secure third spot in the standings with a 2-2 record.

Tournament hosts Romania finished the Group Phase with a clean record in Group C after improving to a 4-0 mark with a lopsided 74-47 win against Albania even without the rested team leader Emanuel Cate.

Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, meanwhile,  improved their positions ahead of the Classification Games by defeating Malta 99-60 and claim third place in the group.

FIBA