Poland, Portugal and Croatia stay in victory lane on Saturday

ORADEA (FIBA U20 European Championship 2017, Division B) - Poland, Portugal and Croatia were the only three teams at the FIBA U20 European Championship, Division B to improve to 2-0 following an intriguing Saturday.

Poland moved into a firm pole position in Group A after topping Finland in a contest of two opening-day winners, while Belarus hit the ground running, starting their slightly delayed campaign on a positive note.

The guard-center combination of Jakub Musial and Aleksander Dziewa worked wonders for Poland who celebrated a 68-61 victory, Musial scoring a team-high 16 points and Dziewa adding 15 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks.

In the other game of the day in Group A, Belarus looked extremely fresh in their 67-56 tournament-opening victory against Armenia.

Dzianis Vikentsyeu registered a bold double-double with 17 points and 12 boards for the Belorussians, while Steven Enoch answered with a 22-point, 7-rebound game in a losing effort for Armenia.

Great Britain pull off surprise over Russia

Russia are no longer the team to beat in Group B after being handed an upset by Great Britain, while Slovak Republic kept Azerbaijan grounded at the bottom of the standings by inflicting upon them, their second defeat.

Having lost to the Netherlands the day before, Great Britain bounced back with a 64-57 victory against the Andrey Lopatin-led Russia to bring the sides level in the standings at 1-1.

Akwasi Yeboah was the only player in double figures for the British with 22 points and 5 rebounds, but Carl Wheatle also added a productive line of 9 points and 10 boards.

Meanwhile, it was all about offense for Slovak Republic, who outgunned Azerbaijan 86-78 to make their opener in Oradea taste sweet, with a 23-point and 9-rebound performance from Matej Drgon leading the way.

No man's land in Group C

There are now four teams with one win apiece in Group C, with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Georgia inscribing their first victories to join tournament hosts Romania and Albania.

Among the four teams to mark the start of the tournament a day later than the rest, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia stopped Albania in their tracks with a 62-54 in overtime victory behind a 25-point, 10-rebound performance by Damjan Robev.

For Albania, who dropped to a 1-1 mark, Daniel Lekndreaj filled the box-score with 17 points, 10 rebounds, 5 steals, 3 blocks and a pair of assists.

Aleksandre Phevadze and George Korsantia were the big scorers for Georgia after a 90-69 victory over Malta to also move to 1-1 in the standings, while the Maltese side dropped to 0-2.

Phevadze registered a double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds with 3 steals and 2 blocks, while Korsantia added 18 points, 9 boards and 3 steals for the winners.

Blown-out Kosovo back on track

Portugal and Croatia kept their records clean in Group D, while Kosovo bounced back from a 58-point blowout on opening day by inflicting a similar-sized defeat on Moldova.

The Jeton Nixha-coached Kosovo side might have learned a thing or two from Croatia on Friday, as they celebrated a 102-46 triumph after leading by as many as 59 points.

Rinor Peci was the game's leading scorer with 23 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocks, Bardhosh Kelmeni added 15 points on nearly perfect 7-of-8 shooting from the field, while Petru Romanov collected 21 points and 9 rebounds for Moldova.

Having registered a gutsy comeback win over Hungary in overtime on Friday, Portugal improved to a 2-0 mark with a rather nonchalant 81-53 victory over Ireland, who dropped to 1-1 in the standings.

Diogo Brito had 20 points for the winners, while the Portuguese savior in the first game, Goncalo Madureira, collected 14 points and 2 steals.

In the meantime, Croatia cruised past Hungary 78-57 behind another big game by Roko Badzim, who collected 24 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists, with the Division A hopefuls outscoring their Hungarian counterparts 44-20 inside the paint.

FIBA