High fives for Belgium, Germany with Quarter-Finals set

SOFIA (Bulgaria) - Belgium, Germany and the hosts Bulgaria all came through the Group Phase unscathed at the FIBA U16 European Championship, Division B as the promotion push now picks up pace.

The three sides are joined by Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Finland, Iceland and Sweden in the Quarter-Finals after the completion of the first five gamedays of the tournament.

Group A

Belgium sent out a statement with an impressive 5-0 record in the group, while the runners-up spot was keenly contested as it came down to the final game on Tuesday.

In a winner-goes-through encounter, it was Austria that prevailed with a 91-88 triumph over Hungary in an overtime thriller. Fynn Schott put up 32 points on 12-of-14 shooting along with 21 rebounds, 4 assists and 7 blocks with crucial plays at both ends to seal the win.

Schott had also produced another insane statline with 22 points, 23 rebounds and 8 blocks - the second time in the tournament - in a win over Georgia that helped set up the decisive encounter.

Belgium had eased past Austria in a 32-point success, but had to battle past Hungary for a six-point victory on their way to five wins from five before dominating against Estonia to complete the job.

Group B

Bulgaria claimed top spot in the group with four wins from four including a dramatic 66-64 triumph over Iceland, which would prove decisive. They had seen a 19-point advantage wiped out before Stanislav Hinkov beat the buzzer with an offensive putback for the win.

Aleksandar Gavalyugov has been a leading light for the hosts with 26 points and 25 points coming in wins against Switzerland and Czech Republic, while Bulgaria eased past Luxembourg 98-69 to stay perfect in style.

Iceland bounced back from the agonizing loss to Bulgaria with a crucial 81-74 triumph over Czech Republic to secure second spot and a place in the Quarter-Finals. Birkir Eythorsson led the way again with a second 28-point haul of the tournament with Birgir Halldorsson adding 21 points.

Group C

In what proved to be the closest group, the top two spots were claimed by Bosnia and Herzegovina and Sweden.

Bosnia and Herzegovina had edged out their fellow Quarter-Finalists on Day 1 of the competition with a 72-69 success before suffering a heavy 73-54 loss at the hands of Portugal. They managed to bounce back with wins over Great Britain and Norway to make it through.

Portugal were unable to back up their big win over the eventual Group C victors as they were edged out 71-69 by Sweden as well as slipping to a 59-52 defeat to Great Britain on Tuesday. GB also missed out on the Quarter-Finals as they were beaten 64-59 by Sweden despite 16 points, 13 rebounds and 9 blocks from Kofi Asare.

Sweden ensured there was to be no drama late on Tuesday as they saw off the challenge of Norway with the 69-52 victory sending them through to the last eight.

Group D

Germany have been in a ruthless mood in Group D with five dominant wins on the bounce including an 84-59 victory over second-placed Finland. Looking for an immediate return - albeit three years later - to Division A, they passed the 100-point mark on three occasions.

Seven players reached double figures in an emphatic 116-57 success over Ireland as Christian Anderson top scored with 22 points and leads the team with 15.4 points per contest.

Finland bounced back with two comfortable wins to advance with a 4-1 record having made a strong start to their campaign. They defeated Ukraine 82-65 on the opening day before an 84-68 win followed against Romania as neither side were able to push for a top-two spot.

Quarter-Finals (Thursday, August 18):

Belgium v Iceland
Germany v Sweden
Bulgaria v Austria
Bosnia and Herzegovina v Finland

FIBA