Poland survive overtime to earn promotion; Macura takes Slovenia to Final

SOFIA (FIBA U20 European Championship 2018, Division B) - Slovenia and Poland booked their tickets to Division A next year and will fight for gold on Sunday, while Latvia and Russia will battle for promotion.

Poland and Latvia played out an overtime thriller on Saturday, with a silent last minute of the fourth quarter, leaving both teams at the 54-point mark. Poland took over in the extra five minutes, Adrian Bogucki's free throw inside the last ten seconds putting the game out of Latvian reach. 

It finished 66-62, and Bogucki was the man of the hour for Poland, with 19 points, 18 rebounds and 3 blocks in 37 minutes of playing time. Lukasz Kolenda led the scoring with 20 points on the night.

Poland will take on Slovenia in the Final on Sunday. Russia were hanging around after three quarters, trailing by just a point, but a 19-10 last stanza saw the game end in Slovenia's favor, 60-50.

Jurij Macura was even more impressive than Bogucki - 19 points, hitting 8-of-12 from the field, including 2-of-2 from beyond the arc, as well as 19 rebounds and 2 blocks. Urban Oman finished with 16, Gaber Ozegovic had 13, while the rest of the team scored 12 points combined.

Slovenia and Poland want to finish the tournament on a high, but the Third-Place Game will have a bit of extra importance. The winner of Russia v Latvia will join Slovenia and Poland in Division A in 2019.

Top scorer of the day: Goncalo Delgado had 27 points on 12-of-15 shooting, helping Portugal get a 71-64 win over Belarus in classification action.

Top rebounder of the day: Jurij Macura's 19 rebounds were the best mark in this department, with Adrian Bogucki coming dangerously close at 18 boards.

Top passer of the day: Matej Majercak collected yet another double-double, and against Azerbaijan he was getting his teammates involved, with 18 assists in 32 minutes of action. Majercak scored 11, Slovakia defeated Azerbaijan 109-69.

Top thief of the day: Majercak again, robbing Azerbaijan of possession six times.

Top blocker of the day: George Korsantia bloked 4 Albanian shots to help Georgia earn a 104-44 win.

FIBA