Netherlands regain Division A status after 28 years, will play Slovenia for gold

SKOPJE (FIBA U18 European Championship 2018, Division B) – Slovenia and the Netherlands earned promotion at the FIBA U18 European Championship 2018, Division B by qualifying for Sunday's title clash with victories in the Semi-Finals on Saturday evening.

Having stopped the previously undefeated Estonia with a 79-68 win, the Paul Vervaeck-coached Dutch side obtained Division A status in this age category for the first time since 1990, when they hosted the tournament in Groningen and Emmen.

Morgan Stilma paced the winning effort with a game-high 18 points in just 18 minutes of playing time, Nathan Kuta collected 16 points, 13 rebounds and 6 steals, while Jacco Fritz was the only other double-digit scorer with 11 points.

Estonia had not lost a game in Skopje before Saturday's defeat to Netherlands

For Estonia, Henri Drell and Hendrik Eelmae finished the contest with 17 and 16 points, respectively.

In the other Semi-Final, Slovenia outlasted Belgium for a 73-70 victory to bounce right back up to Division A after last year's unfortunate and unexpected relegation.

Greogor Glas and Petar Vujacic combined for 39 points in the win, with Glas leading the way with a game-high 20 points and Vujacic chipping in with 19 points and 5 boards.

Slovenia returned to Division A in their first attempt

Slovenia will take on Netherlands for Division B gold on Sunday, while former Group B rivals Estonia and Belgium will meet in the Third-Place Game.

In the Classification Games 5-8, Lubos Kovar led Czech Republic to an 82-66 victory over Portugal with 23 points and 7 rebounds, while Dzimitry Ryuny posted his sixth doubled-double of the tournament in a 79-66 win against Sweden, collecting 22 points, 16 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks.

Hungary and Israel notched up wins in the Classification Games 9-12, defeating Bulgaria and Poland, respectively. Adam Somogyi had 26 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists and 6 steals, as the Hungarians nipped Bulgaria 78-72, while Israel downed Poland 95-87 later in the day.

Estonia will play Belgium for the last remaining promotion slot

Lower down the table, Norway picked up an 88-80 win in a Nordic derby against Iceland; Slovakia prevailed 80-65 against their neighbors from Austria; the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia got a 65-50 win over Azerbaijan; and Switzerland destroyed Luxembourg with 90-47 scoreline.

Denmark and Georgia avoided the wooden spoon by coming out victorious in the Classification Games 21-24, with the Danes racking up a 76-64 win over Romania and the Georgians besting Albania 93-47.

FIBA