Slovenia, Turkey come up clutch to advance; Spain-Turkey last eight showdown set

NIS (Serbia) - Slovenia and Turkey both had to sweat out close fourth quarters to advance at the FIBA U18 European Championship 2023 as the Quarter-Finals lineup was confirmed on Wednesday.

Stay up to date with the tournament and check out the latest results, group standings and competition system for all the information you need.

Key Storylines

- Slovenia stopped Italy in its tracks with a 28-11 fourth quarter run

- Spain and Turkey set up a rematch of last year's U18 Final

- Germany out-rebounded Sweden to book first QF appearance since 2018

Top Performers

Finland ultimately couldn't keep up with one of the tournament's highest-scoring teams in Greece, however, Olavi Suutela sure did his part as the center put together a performance of 24 points on spectacular 11-of-12 shooting from the field, while also grabbing 3 rebounds and 3 steals for an efficiency of 27.

France had all hands on deck in a 40-point win over Poland, yet the 16-year-old Noa Essengue stood out with 20 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and an efficiency rating of 25 in only 20 minutes.

Omer Mayer was also good for a 25 efficiency, showcasing his handle in Israel's victory against Croatia and putting up 24 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists.

Meanwhile, Bogoljub Markovic was right there in efficiency with Mayer as he needed only 17 minutes of playing time to reach a statline of 16 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists.

Turkey might have had the biggest nail-biter of the day in a close win over Lithuania, but it didn't faze Yagiz Aksu. The proof is in the pudding as the guard accumulated 17 points, 5 assists and 4 steals, which resulted in an efficiency of 23.

Results of the Day

Turkey 76-72 Lithuania
Germany 93-77 Sweden
Spain 77-64 Czech Republic
Greece 88-70 Finland
France 94-54 Poland
Israel 84-66 Croatia
Slovenia 86-73 Italy
Serbia 107-62 Denmark

Quarter-Finals Pairings

France vs Slovenia
Turkey vs Spain
Israel vs Serbia
Germany vs Greece

FIBA