Undefeated tournament hosts Romania close out the weekend in style

ORADEA (FIBA U20 European Championship 2017, Division B) - Romania picked up where they left off in the FIBA U20 European Championship 2017, Division B after their day off, moving to the top of Group C standings with a 2-0 record on Sunday.

The tournament hosts dictated all of the terms in the 84-65 victory over the still winless Malta, Georges Darwiche leading the way with a team-high 18 points, and Emanuel Cate double-doubling with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Jacob Formosa's 23-point scoring output was not enough for Malta, who are now 0-3, to even contemplate the possibility of a win, with Romania pulling away in the opening quarter and never looking back.

In the other game of the group, Georgia, paced by David Aphkhazava with 27 points, inscribed their second win in a row, blowing out the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia with a 78-48 scoreline to improve to a 2-1 mark.

Poland stayed in fine form in Group A, inscribing their third victory of the tournament after beating their neighbors Belarus 76-45 in a one-sided affair, orchestrated to perfection by guard Marcel Ponitka, who finished the game with 15 points and 5 assists.

Having both already been scalded by group leaders Poland, Belgium and Finland squared off in the other game of the day with the Sigfredo Casero Ortiz-led Belgians coming out on top 76-64 after getting a game-changing break in the second period.

Meanwhile in Group B, Russia bounced back from the Great Britain-inflicted upset in a big way, defeating Netherlands 67-48, which sets them up nicely in case of a possible three-way tie between the three teams.

Grigory Motovilov was the game's leading scorer with 13 points, 5 assists and 4 steals in what was a great all-around team performance for Russia, with 11 different players coming up with scoring contributions.

Joint-top of the standings with Russia, Great Britain also improved to a 2-1 record, putting together a convincing 67-53 display against Slovak Republic behind a 16-point, 7-rebound performance by the currently on-fire Akwasi Yeboah.

With two big wins already in their bag, Croatia faced their toughest challenge in Oradea yet in the also-undefeated Portugal, but passed the test with a breeze, taking a 75-61 victory and improving to a 3-0 record in Group D.

Roko Badzim had a game-high 19 points and 5 rebounds for the winners, while Diogo Brito filled the boxscore with 19 points, 5 steals, 4 rebounds and 3 assists for the Portuguese side.

After losses to both Portugal and Croatia to start the tournament, Hungary finally got on the board with a 91-42 hammering of Moldova, while Kosovo registered their second win in a row, snatching a 76-69 victory over Ireland.

FIBA