U18 Mega MIS Belgrade booked its ticket to the Adidas NextGen EuroLeague Finals after defeating U18 Next Gen Team Istanbul 86-70 in the NextGen Istanbul first place game

Mega downs NGT to book ticket to NextGen Finals

U18 Mega MIS Belgrade booked its ticket to the Adidas NextGen EuroLeague Finals after defeating U18 Next Gen Team Istanbul 86-70 in the NextGen Istanbul first place game. The 2022 continental champion Mega, which also reached the 2017 and 2019 NextGen Championship Game, has now advanced to the season-ending tournament in each of the last nine editions. Mega hit a barrage of three-pointers in the fourth quarter to blow the game open. Ognjen Srzentic paced Mega with 25 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 blocks for an index rating of 33 and Pavle Backo collected 18 points and 10 rebounds for a PIR of 29. Vuk Danilovic chipped in 10 points including a couple of big triples. NGT dropped its first game of the tournament despite Isaac Guedegbe scoring 16 points with 4 assists and Jahel Trefle adding 15 points and 5 rebounds in the loss.

Game News

The Next Gen pulled ahead early 2-8 with Trefle scoring 4 points. After being limited to 14 points in the last group stage game, Srzentic started hot for Mega with 7 points in a 12-0 run to lead 16-10. A Stratos Papastavrou triple snapped the rut but Mega followed with the next 7 points for the first double-figure lead, 23-13. NGT finished the quarter with the final 4 points to trail 23-17 after 10 minutes. 

A Backo layup to start the second quarter had the Serbian side ahead 25-17. Papastavrou knocked down another triple and Louka Letailleur added a three-point play as NGT got the gap down to 29-28. NGT was twice able to tie the game but the select team could not handle Backo, who had 6 straight points for a 44-37 Mega lead. Te score was 44-40 at the break. 

The combo of Srzentic and Backo carried Mega to a 54-44 lead about 4 minutes into the second half. NGT punched right back with back-to-back three-pointers from Lucas Sanchez and Papastavrou and it was a two-point game again. Mega answered with an 11-1 surge to finish the third quarter with a 65-53 advantage.

Nikola Karalic stepped up early in the final frame with 3 points to establish a 13-point lead 68-55. And Srzentic, Danilovic, Vuk Krunic and Vukasin Musikic all hit three-pointers in a span of 3 minutes and the Mega cushion was 80-63 with less than 3 minutes to play.

2022 champion reaches season-ending tournament for ninth straight edition

Mega downs NGT to book ticket to NextGen Finals 

U18 Mega MIS Belgrade v U18 Next Gen Team Istanbul (2024-12-01T13:45:00.000Z)

U18 Gran Canaria clinched third place at the Adidas NextGen EuroLeague Istanbul after rolling past U18 Panathinaikos Athens 53-80. Gran Canaria made things clear by allowing just 8 points in the second quarter in matching its third place result from the NextGen Paris last season. All 12 Gran Canaria players scored with Mervedi Miteo leading the way on 17 points and 12 rebounds while Jaime Llabres scored 12 points. Georgios-Angelos Tsakiris finished with 18 points and Christos Georgas had 14 points for Panathinaikos, which finished in fourth place. That is the club’s best ever finish, topping the fifth place at the NextGen Munich in 2023. 

The game was tight for the first quarter with four points being the biggest lead until Tsakiris hit a three-pointer to give Panathinaikos a 17-12 lead and the score was 19-12 after 10 minutes. Tsakiris scored again and the Greeks were ahead 21-12. Gran Canaria shut down the Panathinaikos offense and went on a 1-14 run to lead 22-26. And back-to-back triples increased the cushion to 26-36. The teams went into the break with Gran Canaria leading 27-36. 

Gran Canaria started the second half with the first five points and the margin swelled to 14 points. Panathinaikos tried to get back into the game but couldn’t get closer than nine points and Gran Canaria tallied the final seven points of the third quarter for a 41-58 lead. The run continued with the first four points of the final frame and the score was 41-62. And it would not get closer than 18 points the rest of the way. 

Gran Canaria finishes third at qualifier for second straight season 

Gran Canaria too strong for Panathinaikos in blowout 

U18 Panathinaikos Athens v U18 Gran Canaria (2024-12-01T11:30:00.000Z)

U18 Umana Reyer Venice clinched fifth place at the Adidas NextGen EuroLeague Istanbul by defeating U18 Anadolu Efes Istanbul 83-76 for its second win in the tournament

Reyer defeats Efes for fifth place 

U18 Umana Reyer Venice clinched fifth place at the Adidas NextGen EuroLeague Istanbul by defeating U18 Anadolu Efes Istanbul 83-76 for its second win in the tournament. Reyer matched its club-best fifth-place performance from NextGen Podgorica last season. Francesco Eramo collected 27 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists, Francesco Corato scored 19 points and Francesco Carnevale and Davide Marini both contributed 10 points in the win. Mert Kocagozaglu led Efes with 24 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists and Aldin Turkoglu added 14 points and 8 rebounds. 

Reyer scored the first 6 points and led 8-2 before Efes charged back to claim its first lead 10-12. The Italian side netted the next 7 points to go back ahead but trailed 20-21 after one quarter. Edoardo Bonivento opened the second quarter with the first 4 points to put Reyer back up and they never allowed Efes to get back in front and were leading 36-31 and pushed the gap to 42-36. Efes however was down 42-40 at halftime. 

Efes was behind 45-44 when Reyer reeled off an 11-0 run for a 56-44 cushion and the advantage was 60-47. After 30 minutes, Reyer was up 60-50 and the Italians opened the fourth quarter with the first 2 points for a 12-point gap. Efes fought its way back into the game and pulled within 68-64 with 4 minutes to go. Reyer was back up 77-68 with 109 seconds to play but Efes trailed just 78-76 at the 32-second mark. Carnevale, however, banked in a three-pointer for the dagger with 10 seconds remaining.

The Italian club matches its best-ever NextGen showing 

U18 Umana Reyer Venice v U18 Anadolu Efes Istanbul (2024-12-01T09:15:00.000Z)

U18 Fenerbahce BEKO Istanbul scored the final 15 points of the game to beat host U18 Bahcesehir College Istanbul 67-70 and take seventh place at the Adidas NextGen EuroLeague Istanbul

Fenerbahce grabs seventh place with win over city rival Bahcesehir 

U18 Fenerbahce BEKO Istanbul scored the final 15 points of the game to beat host U18 Bahcesehir College Istanbul 67-70 and take seventh place at the Adidas NextGen EuroLeague Istanbul. Fenerbahce was winless in the group stage before shocking tournament host and debutant Bahcesehir with the comeback. Omer Ziyaettin scored 10 of his game-high 22 points in the final stretch and Urus Urunlu chipped in 14 points. Ahmet Aydin led Bahcesehir with 15 points, Yavuz Kara had 14 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 steals and 2 blocks and Kartal Simsek added 14 points in the loss.

The game was tight for the first 5 minutes with 4 points being the biggest lead until Fenerbahce went up 13-18. It stayed close and Bahcesehir was up 22-21 after the first quarter. The hosts led most of the beginning of the second quarter and went ahead 32-27 and then 37-30. The teams went into the locker rooms with Bahcesehir leading 40-39. 

Fenerbahce reclaimed the lead to start the second half but Bahcesehir moved back in front 47-41 before taking a 53-44 advantage. The debutant took the first double-digit lead at 57-46 and held a 59-48 cushion after 30 minutes. The lead grew to 13 points with the first score of the final frame and the score was 67-55 with 4:51 minutes left in the game. But Fenerbahce was not done yet, finishing the game on a 0-15 run with Yagiz Aggez’s layup tying the game with 67 seconds left and Ziyaettin draining the game-winner with 3.5 seconds remaining. 

Fenerbahce rallies with final 15 points for first victory

U18 Bahcesehir College Istanbul v U18 Fenerbahce BEKO Istanbul (2024-12-01T07:00:00.000Z)

U18 Next Gen Team Istanbul will face off against U18 Mega MIS Belgrade in the first place game of the Adidas NextGen EuroLeague Istanbul today after both teams went a perfect 3-0 record on Friday and Saturday at the newly renovated Basketball Development Center where the continent’s top young talents battle at the first in a series of four NextGen EuroLeague Qualifying Tournaments.

Watch LIVE: Day 3 of NextGen EuroLeague Qualifying Tournament in Istanbul

### Sunday, December 1, 2024

**7th place**: [U18 Bahcesehir College Istanbul 67-60 U18 Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/ngt/game-center/2024-2025-istanbul/u18-bahcesehir-college-istanbul-u18-fenerbahce-beko-istanbul/JTI24/13/)

**5th place**: [U18 Umana Reyer Venice 83-76 U18 Anadolu Efes Istanbul](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/ngt/game-center/2024-2025-istanbul/u18-umana-reyer-venice-u18-anadolu-efes-istanbul/JTI24/14/)

**3rd place**: [U18 Panathinaikos Athens 53-80 U18 Gran Canaria](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/ngt/game-center/2024-2025-istanbul/u18-panathinaikos-athens-u18-gran-canaria/JTI24/15/)

**1st place**: [U18 Mega MIS Belgrade 86-70 U18 NextGen Team Istanbul](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/ngt/game-center/2024-2025-istanbul/u18-mega-mis-belgrade-u18-next-gen-team-istanbul/JTI24/16/)

Watch Day 3 of NextGen EuroLeague Qualifying Tournament in Istanbul

The Adidas NextGen EuroLeague’s 2024-25 season has tipped off this week with its first qualifying tournament in Istanbul at the newly renovated Basketball Development Center. Follow the Day 2 action as the continent’s top young talents battle at the first in a series of four NextGen EuroLeague Qualifying Tournaments.

Watch LIVE: Day 2 of NextGen EuroLeague Qualifying Tournament in Istanbul

### Sunday, December 1, 2024

**7th place**: U18 Bahcesehir College Istanbul vs. U18 Fenerbahce BEKO Istanbul (8:00 CET)

**5th place**: U18 Umana Reyer Venice vss. U18 Anadolu Efes Istanbul (10:15 CET)

**3rd place**: U18 Panathinaikos Athens vs. U18 Gran Canaria (12:30 CET)

**1st place**: U18 Mega MIS Belgrade vs. U18 NextGen Team Istanbul (14:45 CET)

U18 Next Gen Team Istanbul will face off against U18 Mega MIS Belgrade in the first place game of the Adidas NextGen EuroLeague Istanbul on Sunday. Both teams have a perfect 3-0 record after two days of action at the newly renovated Basketball Development Center where the continent’s top young talents battle at the first in a series of four NextGen EuroLeague Qualifying Tournaments.

Day 2: NextGen EuroLeague Qualifying Tournament Istanbul

U18 Anadolu Efes Istanbul snatched its first victory of the Adidas NextGen EuroLeague Istanbul by beating U18 Fenerbahce BEKO Istanbul 78-59 in the city derby. Efes’ victory gives the Turkish side third place in Group B with a 1-2 record.

Efes blows out Fenerbahce for first win

U18 Anadolu Efes Istanbul snatched its first victory of the Adidas NextGen EuroLeague Istanbul by beating U18 Fenerbahce BEKO Istanbul 78-59 in the city derby. Efes’ victory gives the Turkish side third place in Group B with a 1-2 record. Darius Karutasu led the way with 19 points and Demir Ozturk had 16 points for the winners, who will face U18 Umana Reyer Venice for fifth place. Fenerbahce, which was paced by Omer Ziyaettin’s 20 points, went winless in the group and will play host side U18 Bahcesehir College Istanbul for seventh place. 

Ziyaettin drained 3 three-pointers in giving Fenerbahce a 2-11 lead early on. Karutasu had five points at the other end and it was 15-17 and Efes was within 19-20 after one quarter. Aldin Turkoglu started the second quarter with two free throws to give Efes its first lead 21-20. Fenerbahce responded with the next seven points to go up 21-27. Efes charged back with a 9-0 surge and led 37-33 at halftime. 

Efes had the better start to the second half and pushed ahead 47-38 and the cushion was extended to 52-40. Efes remained in control and was leading 58-44. Efes put the game to bed with a 12-3 start to the fourth quarter to lead 70-47. Fenerbahce did not get closer than 18 points the rest of the way. 

Efes wins Istanbul derby to take third place in Group B.

U18 Anadolu Efes Istanbul v U18 Fenerbahce BEKO Istanbul (2024-11-30T17:15:00.000Z)

U18 Next Gen Team Istanbul will face off against U18 Mega MIS Belgrade in the first place game of the Adidas NextGen EuroLeague Istanbul after defeating U18 Gran Canaria 80-69 to top Group B. NGT pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 3-0 record with Isaac Guedegbe tallying 15 points and 10 assists.

NGT pulls away in fourth to beat Gran Canaria

U18 Next Gen Team Istanbul will face off against U18 Mega MIS Belgrade in the first place game of the Adidas NextGen EuroLeague Istanbul after defeating U18 Gran Canaria 80-69 to top Group B. NGT pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 3-0 record with Isaac Guedegbe tallying 15 points and 10 assists, Jahel Trefle scoring 13 points and Stratos Papastavrou adding 11 points. Joaquin Taboada poured in 17 points to lead Gran Canaria, which finished second in the group with a 2-1 record. Arthur Tsafack had 16 points and 9 rebounds and Mervedi Miteo added 12 points.

The first five minutes of the game saw NGT score and Gran Canaria follow up to even the score until it was 13-13. A Papastavrou three-pointer gave the selection team an 18-13 lead and Papastavrou’s second triple made it 23-15. The score was 25-22 after 10 minutes. Three free throws from Taboada gave Gran Canaria its first lead 27-30 and Tsafack made it 27-34. NGT trimmed the margin to 34-36 only to see the Spanish side push ahead 34-42. NGT made a push right back and was down 42-43 at the break. 

The early parts of the second half featured four lead changes and Gran Canaria eventually opened a 52-59 cushion. And the advantage was 58-61 after 30 minutes. NGT scored the first eight points of the fourth quarter to lead 66-61. Gran Canaria answered with the next four points to make it a one-point game and then Gerard Fernandez threw down maybe the dunk of the tournament and followed that with a corner three as NGT led 72-65. Trailing 74-67, Tsafack got a steal but missed a dunk in the open court and Guedegbe nailed the dagger three-pointer for a 77-67 lead with 70 seconds left. 

Selection team sets up date with Mega in first place game.

U18 Next Gen Team Istanbul v U18 Gran Canaria (2024-11-30T15:00:00.000Z)

The 2022 continental champion U18 Mega MIS Belgrade clinched a spot in the Adidas NextGen EuroLeague Istanbul first place game with a tougher than expected 53-64 victory over host side U18 Bahcesehir College Istanbul. 

Mega needs tough fight to see off Bahcesehir

The 2022 continental champion U18 Mega MIS Belgrade clinched a spot in the Adidas NextGen EuroLeague Istanbul first place game with a tougher than expected 53-64 victory over host side U18 Bahcesehir College Istanbul. Mega could never put away the NextGen debutant and finally finished strong for a perfect 3-0 mark in Group A. After scoring 59 points combined in the first two games, Ognjen Srzentic was held to 14 points but did add 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals. Pavle Backo scored 13 points and Vid Krunic picked up 10 points for Mega. Bahcesehir could have won the group with a victory but ended up last with a 1-2 record - finishing behind U18 Panathinaikos Athens and U18 Umana Reyer Venice. Yavuz Kara was Bahcesehir’s top scorer with 13 points and Ahmet Aydin added 12 points. 

Bahcesehir led 4-2 in the early going as it played tough defense against the number one offense, and the lead was 7-6. Petar Ostojic answered with five points and Mega star Srzentic needed more than 6 minutes to finally score, but added two triples for a 10-18 lead. And Mega was up 14-20 after the first quarter. Bahcesehir trailed just 18-20 in the opening moments of the second quarter and then Backo scored six straight points for an 18-28 Mega cushion. Bahcesehir’s defense stood strong and allowed the team to stay within 24-30. Bahcesehir went more than 2 minutes without a point and fell behind 24-35, but went into the break down 26-35. 

The host side picked up the first four points of the second half and was only down 30-35. Mega finally started to get some points with Backo adding four more points and the gap was 30-41. Bahcesehir briefly got the deficit down to six points but trailed 39-48 after three quarters. Bahcesehir would not go away and Aydin’s three-pointer made it 45-48. Mega could not put away Bahcesehir and Pamir Suvari scored two baskets to trail just 51-54 with under 4 minutes to play. Backo hit a big three-pointer and Krunic converted a layup and Mega was back up 10 points - 51-61 - with under 2 minutes to play. 

Mega needs tough fight to see off Bahcesehir 

U18 Bahcesehir College Istanbul v U18 Mega MIS Belgrade (2024-11-30T12:45:00.000Z)