Game Day, Saturday: Zvezda, ASVEL reach first place game
Host side U18 Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade and U18 ASVEL Villeurbanne are the two teams left standing as they won their respective groups and will face off in the first place game for a ticket to the ANGT Finals at the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four.
U18 Mega Mozzart Belgrade 87-64 U18 Lietkabelis Panevezys
U18 Mega Mozzart Belgrade grabbed its second victory in two games at the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Belgrade as it defeated debutant U18 Lietkabelis Panevezys 87-64 in Group B. Mega, which finished first in the ANGT Belgrade in 2019 and 2021, pulled away for good with an 11-0 run in the fourth quarter for a 2-0 mark. Asim Djulovic led the way with 28 points and 8 rebounds and Aleksa Milenkovic tallied 17 points and 6 rebounds. Rokas Jocys poured in 30 points with 6 rebounds and 6 assists for an index rating of 38 for Lietkabelis, which fell to 0-2 in the group.
U18 Next Generation Team Belgrade 93-87 U18 ASVEL Villeurbanne
U18 Next Generation Team Belgrade collected its first-ever win at the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Belgrade after fending off U18 ASVEL Villeurbanne 93-87 for a 1-1 record in Group B. Zinedin Mulic poured in 22 points, Luka Krajnovic collected 19 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists and Ilija Milijasevic picked up 18 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists in the win. The victory was also the first as a coach for Vassilis Spanoulis, who is coaching the NGB team. ASVEL dropped to 1-1 despite Killian Malwaya scoring 19 points, Francois Wibaut hitting for 17 and Zaccharie Risarcher, Yaacov Noam and Kymany Houinsou all chipping in 14 points.
U18 Partizan NIS Belgrade 82-105 U18 Valencia Basket
U18 Valencia Basket collected its first victory of the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Belgrade by knocking off U18 Partizan NIS Belgrade 82-105 and will play for fifth place. Sergio De Larrea poured in 31 points to go with 7 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 steals for an index rating of 41 while Pablo Luengo scored 17 points and Lucas Mari added 16 points, 2 rebounds, 7 assists, 6 steals and 2 blocks for Valencia, which finished Group A play with a 1-2 record. Partizan, which finished first in the ANGT Belgrade in 2020, will play for seventh place after finishing round robin play with a 0-3 record. Viktor Mikic collected 19 points and 12 rebounds, Ognjen Stankovic and Savo Drezgic both had 15 points and Bogdan Zagradanin had 11 points in the loss.
U18 Tofas Bursa 50-81 U18 Crvena zvezda mts Belgrade
U18 Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade booked its ticket to the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Belgrade first place game by rolling past U18 Tofas Bursa 50-81 to finish Group A play undefeated. Zvezda took control of the game with a 0-15 third quarter run for a 3-0 record. Vladimir Pavlovic led the way with 14 points and 6 assists and Nikola Topic scored 13 points for the winners, who saw all 11 players who played score. Tofas finished group stage with a 2-1 record - including its first two victories in its ANGT history. Berke Buyuktuncel, Kerem Konan and Arda Konuk all tallied 10 points in the loss.
U18 Lietkabelis Panevezys 73-90 U18 Next Generation Team Belgrade
U18 Next Generation Team Belgrade secured its second straight victory at the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Belgrade by knocking off U18 Lietkabelis Panevezys 73-90 in Group B. NGB, which is making its debut in this event, reeled off 13 straight fourth quarter points to finish group play with a 2-1 record. David Pavin and Zinedin Mulic both scored 18 points pace five NGB players in double figures. Luka Krajnovic had 14 points and 7 assists, Filip Jovic picked up 13 points and Samet Yigitoglu chipped in 11 points and 12 rebounds. Tournament debutant Lietkabelis dropped to 0-3 and will face off against U18 Partizan NIS Belgrade for 7th place on Sunday. Arunas Rimkus led Lietkabelis with 19 points, Rokas Jocys added 18 points and 8 assists and Kajus Leliukas tallied 13 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks.
U18 ASVEL Villeurbanne 88-52 U18 Mega Mozzart Belgrade
In the final game of Saturday's slate, U18 ASVEL Villeurbanne secured its spot in the first place game with a breathtaking 88-52 victory over U18 Mega Mozzart Belgrade 88-52. ASVEL needed to win by at least 13 points to finish atop a three-way tiebreaker in Group B with Mega and U18 Next Generation Team Belgrade also at 2-1. ASVEL scored the first 18 points of the fourth quarter to get the job done. Killian Malwaya led all scorers with 26 points while Yaacov Noam had 15 points, Romain Parmentelot collected 12 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals and Kymany Houinsou tallied 8 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Mega, which had won the ANGT Belgrade in 2019 and 2021, could not get enough scoring as Asim Djulovic was the only player in double figures with 15 points.