PITESTI (Romania) - The FIBA U20 EuroBasket, Divison B, returns to Pitesti, a city that has become a recurring host for youth tournaments, including last year's edition of the FIBA U16 EuroBasket.
Croatia and Estonia are back after being relegated in last year's Division A tournament, and they'll have to battle several favorites like Ukraine, Sweden and Netherlands, all teams that finished in the top five in last year's Division B tournament. This edition will also see the return of Armenia and the host nation, Romania, who will play their first U20 competition since 2019, as well as Moldova, who returns to the U20 tournaments for the first time since 2018.
We have selected eight players who could make an impact in the tournament. You can vote below for which player you think will make the biggest impact in this year's competition.
Make sure to also check out the players to watch in the Division A tournament, which will be taking place in Gdynia, Poland.
Ivan Bogdanovic - Croatia
Guard
Birth Date: July 13, 2004 (19 years old) Height: 2.01m (6ft 7in) Club: KK Cedevita Junior (CRO)
Croatia is back in Division B for the first time in seven years. Bogdanovic was a part of Croatia's rotation in last year's FIBA U20 EuroBasket, and the 19 year old wing took a leap last season, becoming an important contributor off the bench for Cedevita Junior in the Croatian Premijer liga.
Bogdanovic is a long and athletic wing who stands out with his versatility, being able to drive to the basket, finish strong at the rim, convert jumpers and create defensive events with his length. This will be just the fourth year Croatia plays in Division B since their first U20 EuroBasket participation in 1998. With talents like Bogdanovic, Ivan Njegovan and Vice Zanki on the roster, Croatia should be one of the favorites to win it all in Pitesti.
Daniil Sypalo - Ukraine
Forward
Birth Date: August 16, 2005 (18 years old) Height: 2.09m (6ft 10in) Club: BC Dnipro (UKR)
Sypalo had a tremendous campaign over the last 12 months. He was one of Ukraine's best players in last year's FIBA U18 EuroBasket, Division B, where he averaged 14.1 points per game, led the team in rebounds and steals and was the tournament leader in blocks. Sypalo would then go on to become a starter for the Ukrainian champions BC Dnipro during the 2023-24 season.
Sypalo is a unique prospect who combines the size and length of a center, with the fluidity of a perimeter player, which allows him to handle the ball and attack the rim in both transition and half-court drives. Defensively, Sypalo utilizes his physical tools to protect the rim, secure rebounds and make plays in the passing lanes. Ukraine fell just short of promotion to Division A last year, finishing in third-place after a tough Semifinal loss against North Macedonia. This year, the Blue and Yellow will have a great opportunity to contend once again, with the talented frontcourt pairing of Sypalo and Nazarii Kulishenko.
Diogo Seixas - Portugal
Shooting Guard
Birth Date: May 11, 2004 (20 years old) Height: 2.03m (6ft 8in) Club: Central Arkansas Bears (USA)
Seixas is coming off a productive freshman season for San Jose State in the NCAA, where he quickly cracked the team's rotation and made an impact with his size and efficient scoring ability. The 20 year old is a strong power forward who can score around the basket as a roll man and add value as a rebounder, but he's also a willing shooter, having converted 37.9 percent of his three-pointers in last year's FIBA U20 EuroBasket.
Seixas will be playing in his eighth FIBA youth competition, and he was one of the leading scorers for Portugal in their only Division A appearance back in 2022. His experience will be extremely important for Portugal in their quest for the second Division B title.
Rasmus Andre - Estonia
Small Forward
Birth Date: May 26, 2004 (20 years old) Height: 1.98m (6ft 6in) Club: TalTech (EST)
Estonia is back in Division B after a short stint in the FIBA U20 EuroBasket top flight, and they will be one of the teams to watch at Pitesti, as they'll bring an experienced roster to the tournament, including their two leading scorers from last year in Karl Poom and Aleksander Tassa. Andre was also part of the rotation for last year's squad, and he's primed for a breakout tournament after a strong 2023-24 season for TalTech in the Estonian-Latvian Basketball League.
Andre is a versatile shooter who can convert jumpers both spotting-up or coming off screens. The 20 year old also makes an impact with his slashing ability, where he uses his combination of size and speed to get downhill and finish in traffic.
Nedas Cholevinskas - Great Britain
Forward
Birth Date: April 1, 2005 (19 years old) Height: 1.96m (6ft 5in) Club: Surrey Scorchers (GBR)
Cholevinskas was the leading scorer for Great Britain last year at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket, Division B, where he was both prolific and efficient, shooting 37.2 percent from three-point range and 87 percent from the free-throw line. The 19 year old wing is a factor around the basket with his smooth ball-handling and his ability to finish through contact, but he's also a sniper from distance, being able to convert jumpers with his compact and repeatable shooting stroke.
Last year, Great Britain played their first U20 EuroBasket competition since 2019. The team has been consistently competitive in Division B over the last decade and should be one of the obvious candidates for one of the promotion spots this year in Pitesti.
Nils Cooper - Sweden
Shooting Guard
Birth Date: February 18, 2005 (19 years old) Height: 1.92m (6ft 4in) Club: UC Davis (USA)
Cooper will be making his debut in FIBA competitions, but he's been making noise in the basketball world for a while, first as a four-star rated high school recruit in the state of California and last season, as a freshman who made an immediate impact for Pepperdine in the NCAA ranks. Cooper is a fluid and creative wing who can score in multiple ways. He's a shifty ball-handler who can drive to the basket and finish strong in the paint with his size and length. The 19 year old also shows the ability to self-create pull-up jumpers in the perimeter.
Sweden spent most of the 2010s competing in Division A, but they haven't been able to return to the top flight after their 14th-place finish in the 2018 edition of the tournament. With a talented roster, the Blue and Yellow will look to improve on their fourth-place finish in last year's edition and return to the FIBA U20 EuroBasket top Division.
Viljami Vartiainen - Finland
Guard
Birth Date: March 2, 2004 (20 years old) Height: 1.95m (6ft 5in) Club: Weber State (USA)
Over the last two years, Vartiainen has made an impact for Finland in FIBA competitions as a sharpshooter, having converted an incredible 47 percent of his 68 three-point attempts over his FIBA career. It's no wonder then that Vartiainen needed little time to adapt to the college game, becoming an important contributor off the bench for Weber State in his freshman season, mainly due to his ability to space the floor and attack closeouts.
Despite being one of the most consistently competitive teams in the division, Finland has earned promotion to Division A just once since the inception of the U20 EuroBasket Division B in 2005. Vartiainen will be one of the leaders of a Finland squad that contains a good number of NCAA talent in Texas Tech's Eemali Yalaho, Longwood's Leo Nordberg and Vartiainen himself.
Peteris Pinnis - Latvia
Center
Birth Date: August 17, 2004 (19 years old) Height: 2.13m (7ft 0in) Club: VEF Riga (LAT)
Over the past two seasons, Pinnis has become not only a staple of the Latvian youth national teams, but also has been able to crack the rotation for VEF Riga in the Estonian-Latvian Basketball League. Pinnis can make his presence felt in the paint for blocks, rebounds and dunks with his sheer size and length, but his most impressive moments come due to the combination of size, coordination, mobility and touch around the basket, as he's able to create his own shot in the post and convert tough finishes from a few feet away from the rim.
Pinnis was one of the best players in last year's Latvia squad, where he led the team in rebounds and blocks, this year he'll be one of the leaders for a Latvian team that will look to win their first-ever Division B title.
FIBA