The capital of France will welcome dozens of top prospects for the last qualifying event of this season's Adidas EuroLeague Next Generation Tournament

ANGT Paris players to watch

The fourth of this season's four qualifying events for the Euroleague Basketball Adidas EuroLeague Next Generation Tournament Finals will take place this weekend in Paris. Eight top-tier junior teams with some of the best players aged 18 and younger will come together for the three-day tournament in the capital of France. The winning team in Paris will join U18 Real Madrid, which finished first at ANGT Podgorica; ANGT Belgrade winner U18 FC Barcelona; and U18 ratiopharm Ulm, which took home the honors at ANGT Dubai, at the ANGT Finals to be played in May alongside the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in Berlin. One thing that all ANGT events have in common is that it is a stage for tomorrow's top talents to shine on. Here are some names to watch out for from each of the eight teams in Paris.

### Veniamin Abosi, U18 Olympiacos Piraeus

Abosi will be making his second appearance at the ANGT following the ANGT Patras in 2022-23. The 2.00-meter forward from Heraklion, Crete, was coming off a serious injury that did not allow him to show his true potential and limited him to 5 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks in 18 minutes over two games. Abosi helped Greece reach the semifinals of the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2022 with 6.0 points and 4.9 rebounds and averaged 9.7 points and 4.1 rebounds at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2023. He made his Turkish Airlines EuroLeague debut on February 8, 2023, playing 1:26 minutes against ALBA Berlin, becoming the youngest EuroLeague debutant for Olympiacos. He also played in two games in the Greek League last season. This season he has a combined 2 points and 1 rebound in 7 minutes over three Greek League games in March. Abosi stands out for his athleticism and the physicality in his game. He knows how to use his body, can finish at the rim, has good court vision and is a very good defender. His biggest weakness is his inconsistent shooting.

### Mohamed Diakite, U18 PFYM INSEP Paris 

Diakite will be playing in the competition for the third season and the ANGT Paris will be his fourth event. After playing in the ANGT Varese and ANGT Finals in 2021-22, the 2.07-meter forward averaged 5.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.0 blocks at the ANGT Belgrade last season. Diakite helped France win the FIBA U16 European Challengers 2021 and then was a major factor in France taking third place at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2022 with 9.4 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.9 steals. This season he is averaging 7.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals in the French third division NM1. Diakite is a very good defender and can guard all five positions. He is very athletic but his three-point shot is a work in progress. He will serve as the team captain in Paris.

Mohamed Diakite, U18 PFYM INSEP Paris

### Christos Georgas, U18 Panathiniakos Athens

Georgas will be playing at the ANGT for the first time. The 1.96-meter forward has yet to play for a Greek national team. Georgas, who will be a year younger as a 2007-born, has averaged 7.3 points 6.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.3 blocks in his last three games with the Panathinaikos U18 team. He is a good spot-up shooter with a quick release. He can run the floor and attack the rim. Georgas also does a good job blocking shots as a help defender. He needs to work on his ball handling and court vision.

### Malone Gros, U18 AS Monaco 

Gros will be making his ANGT debut just like Monaco. The 1.89-meter guard arrived this off-season at the club from Boulazac and the 2007-born guard quickly established himself as the group’s leading offensive player. He has averaged 22.1 points this season with the U18 team while also contributing 4.6 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.2 steals for the U21 team. Gros, who has yet to play for a France national team but is scheduled to play for the country in the 3x3 competition, is highly skilled from behind the arc and also can hold his own in the post on both sides of the court with some strong defense. His ability to read pick-and-rolls and his physical qualities make him a complete player.

### Ilian Moungalla, U18 Paris Basketball 

Moungalla will be making his debut in the ANGT as a year underage, being born in November 2007. The 1.94-meter guard, who has yet to play for a France youth national team, came to Paris in the off-season from INSEP. Moungalla started the season with the U18 team and averaged 17.1 points in 8 games before quickly making the jump to the U21 side. He has played 25 games in the U21 league and averaged 6.8 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.2 steals, including a game with 13 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Coming into the ANGT Paris, Moungalla has averaged 10.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists in his last six games. He is a complete point guard who loves passing the ball. Moungalla still needs to improve his shooting to become more elite on the offensive side of the game.

### Ian Platteeuw, U18 Joventut Badalona

Platteeuw will be competing in his second ANGT after he averaged 5.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in two games at the ANGT Patras last season, which Joventut won. The 2.10-meter center, who was born in November 2007, helped Spain win the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2023 with 7.4 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.1 blocks. He plays in the Spanish fourth division EBA and has tallied 9.2 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists. He just made his Spanish League debut with 2 points, 1 rebound and 1 block in 1 minute of action on March 24 against FC Barcelona. Platteeuw has very good vision and plasticity to finish. He can finish above the rim but also has shooting range outside the restricted zone. Defensively Platteeuw is very versatile and mobile and he can defend both power forwards and centers. 

Fynn Schott, U18 Gran Canaria

### Fynn Schott, U18 Gran Canaria 

Schott will be competing in the ANGT for a second time after he was part of the Next Generation Team at the ANGT Zadar last season. The 2.06-meter center averaged 2.2 points and 4.8 rebounds. Schott led the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2022, Division B in rebounds (14.3 rpg) and blocks (5.2 bpg) to go with 14.7 points. Last summer he averaged 9.1 points, 10.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.9 blocks at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2023. Schott has already played for the Austrian senior national team in two FIBA windows. He averaged 6.3 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in the Austrian first league last season. He moved from Furstenfeld Panthers to Gran Canaria in the off-season and is contributing 5.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists for Gran Canaria’s team in the third division LEB Silver. Schott is a hard worker, always the first at practice and the last to leave. He is solid at both ends of the court as a good rim protector and great rebounder. Schott is a very physical player who still has room for improvement offensively.

### Jahel Trefle, U18 Next Genertaion Team Paris 

Trefle has yet to play at an ANGT event but he was a major player for France at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2023, where he averaged 8.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 1.0 blocks for a France team that took third place. The 2.05-meter center plays for Elan Bearnais Pau-Lacq-Orthez and is averaging 18.9 points in the French U18 league this season. Trefle is an outstanding athlete and a very high-energy player. He needs to improve his skills overall but from a physicality point of view, he has everything to make it to the highest level.

Past champions PFBB and Joventut and newcomers from Monaco and host Paris add spice to the final ANGT qualifier of the season

A pair of former champs, two debutants highlight ANGT Paris field

The final ticket for the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Finals will be handed out in the French capital with the debut of the ANGT Paris. The eight-team field for the first event in Paris includes 2010 and 2017 continental champion U18 PFYM INSEP Paris and 2013 winner U18 Joventut Badalona as well as debutant teams U18 AS Monaco and U18 Paris Basketball - with the latter serving as the host team. The winner in Paris will reach the ANGT Finals at the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in Berlin. The other teams to already qualify for the May 23-26 event are defending ANGT champ U18 Real Madrid, U18 FC Barcelona and U18 ratiopharm Ulm. 

The eight teams will play in round-robin group play with all four teams in the two groups facing each other once. The top finishers in the groups will square off in Sunday’s first-place game to determine the fourth qualifier for the ANGT Finals. Group A includes Joventut, U18 Next Generation Team Paris, U18 Olympiacos Piraeus and Paris. Group B consists of U18 Gran Canaria, PFBB, Monaco and U18 Panathinaikos Athens. 

The top name in Group A is Joventut, which has played in the competition every season since 2007-08 and is making its 17th appearance overall. The Spanish side took first place in the ANGT Patras last season - the first time it won a qualifying tournament since the ANGT L’Hospitalet in 2017-18. Joventut then went 0-3 at the ANGT Finals. Joventut lost to U18 FC Barcelona in the 2020-21 ANGT Valencia first-place game. Olympiacos will be participating in the competition for the eighth time overall and third in a row. Last season the Reds took seventh place at the ANGT Patras. Host Paris is playing in the ANGT for the first time. The other team is the NGP, which will be coached by Petteri Koponen.

In Group B, Gran Canaria returns to the competition after not playing since 2020-21, when the Spanish side was fifth at the ANGT Valencia. Gran Canaria finished first at the ANGT Valencia in 2019-20 and qualified for the ANGT Finals for the first time, but the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. PFBB owns two continental trophies and is competing for the 15th time in the latest 16 tournaments, missing only the 2020-21 session due to government restrictions during the pandemic. PFBB went 2-2 last season and took fourth place at the ANGT Belgrade after winning the ANGT Varese in 2021-22. Panathinaikos is on hand for the sixth time overall and last season finished fifth, but grabbed two victories - one more than it had combined for in its previous ANGT history. Panathinaikos then lost all three games at the ANGT Finals. The other team in the group is debutant Monaco.

The prized French forward spoke after capturing MVP honors at ANGT Dubai over the weekend

Noa Essengue shining as latest European talent to develop game with Ulm

[Noa Essengue](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/ngt/players/noa-essengue/011391/) was a massive reason why U18 ratiopharm Ulm took first place at the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Dubai and became the first German club to win an ANGT qualifier. But it was Ulm’s past work that helped convince the star talent to leave France and head to the city in South Germany last summer.

Essengue took home Most Valuable Player honors in Dubai after an otherworldly performance in Ulm’s thrilling 89-84 overtime win over U18 Zalgiris Kaunas in the first-place game. The 2.05-meter forward collected 33 points, 18 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 4 blocks plus 16 fouls drawn for a PIR of 54 in 40:02 minutes. 

“I’m so tired but I am so happy. The team played a great game today. Winning this tournament is an amazing thing. Everybody thought we would lose against ASVEL or Zalgiris and we came here and won this game. I am so happy but so tired,” Essengue said after the game. 

For the tournament, Essengue averaged 20.2 points, 11.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.5 steals, 2.2 blocks and 8.5 fouls drawn for an average PIR of 29.8. He was the top scorer of the tournament, number one in PIR and top in fouls drawn. Essengue was also second in rebounds and steals and third in blocks.

“This is how these stars are made: when everything is on the line and they get into the zone if they have the stomach for it. And he stepped up big time,” said Ulm coach Baldur Ragnarsson. “Offensively and defensively he can do anything he wants.”

Essengue has taken a major step in his all-around game since the ANGT world last saw him, when he averaged 13.8 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.0 steals at the 2023 ANGT Belgrade for U18 PFBB INSEP Paris. PFBB also allowed him to play at the 2022 ANGT Finals in Belgrade for ASVEL - at age 15. And Essengue used that experience in Dubai.

“I think in this team I’m one of the leaders and that is great because everybody trusts me. And now I can help them on the court,” he said. 

Essengue made big headlines this past summer when he chose Ulm for the next step in his development over offers from other places including ASVEL.

“I think the main factor of my decision when I visited Ulm last year was the project. I liked everything: the staff, the individual training, the medical staff, everything,” Essengue said. 

There was also a growing track record Ulm had been building in recent years of bringing in top European talents. French star talent Killian Hayes was the first major addition from outside the country in 2019 and then Fedor Zugic of Montenegro followed as did another French prospect in Pacome Dadiet and Spanish playmaking master Juan Nunez. 

“I think the club gets a lot of talents because it is not afraid to send young players to the court,” Essengue said. “Ulm also has a really nice individual trainer who helps a lot to improve your skills.”

Essengue, who will not turn 18 until mid-December 2024, has already played in nine German League games this season - averaging 3.0 points and 0.4 rebounds in 4.4 minutes. And he appeared in seven games in the BKT EuroCup, tallying 2.7 points and 1.7 rebounds in 5:57 minutes per game. 

“The biggest lesson I learned from the EuroCup is just that everybody can beat everyone if you don’t play at 100%,” said Essengue, who collected 10 points and 3 rebounds in his first EuroCup game against Dolomiti Energia Trento in Round 1 - when he was still just 16 years old. 

Essengue, who practices almost exclusively with the pro team but plays for Ulm’s second team in Germany’s third division, has really enjoyed having the aforementioned Dadiet around. The 18-year-old Dadiet was also a major talent in France, growing up with ASVEL and then playing for Paris Basketball before joining Ulm in January 2023. 

“Today Pacome is more of a friend than a teammate for me because he helps me a lot,” Essengue said. “He has a lot of experiences similar to mine - like last year he went to the Basketball Without Borders Global camp and he gave me crucial advice before I left (for this winter’s BWB Global camp). And he does not hesitate to tell me when I do something bad or when I do something good. So, I think he helped me a lot to progress.” 

The improvement of Essengue and the exposure that his dynamic game brings - plus the success of Ulm with the young French star - could very well mean more top-level players decide on the German club. Just like how it worked to bring in Essengue.

Essengue was joined by Mantas Juzenas, Nedas Raupelis, Yohann Sissoko and Maxence Lemoine on the All-Tournament Team.

Herculean effort earns Noa Essengue MVP for Ulm

Noa Essengue was awarded the Most Valuable Player trophy after leading U18 ratiopharm Ulm to first place at the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Dubai with a performance for the ages in the title bout.

Essengue collected 33 points, 18 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 4 blocks plus 16 fouls drawn for a PIR of 54 in the 89-84 overtime win over U18 Zalgiris Kaunas. It was one of the greatest individual efforts in ANGT history.

<center><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">𝟐𝟎.𝟐 𝐏𝐓𝐒 𝐈 𝟏𝟏 𝐑𝐄𝐁 𝐈 𝟐𝟗.𝟖 𝐏𝐈𝐑 and the title✨<br><br>Noa Essengue earns MVP honors after leading U18 <a href="https://twitter.com/ratiopharmulm?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ratiopharmulm</a> to the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AdidasNGT?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AdidasNGT</a> Dubai Qualifier championship🏆 <a href="https://t.co/GHv5gwTN8i">pic.twitter.com/GHv5gwTN8i</a></p>&mdash; Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague/status/1771986912242274389?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 24, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Essengue was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Mantas Juzenas and Nedas Raupelis from Zalgiris, Yohann Sissoko of U18 LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne and Maxence Lemoine from U18 Next Generation Team Dubai.

For the tournament, Essengue averaged 20.2 points, 11.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.5 steals, 2.2 blocks and 8.5 fouls drawn for an average PIR of 29.8. He was the top scorer of the tournament, number one in PIR and top in fouls drawn. Essengue was also second in rebounds and steals and third in blocks.

<center> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="fr" dir="ltr">The All-Tournament Team of the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AdidasNGT?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AdidasNGT</a> Dubai Qualifier⭐️<br><br>🔷𝗠𝗮𝘅𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗲<br>🔷𝗬𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗦𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗸𝗼<br>🔷𝗡𝗼𝗮 𝗘𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗲<br>🔷𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘀 𝗝𝘂𝘇𝗲𝗻𝗮𝘀<br>🔷𝗡𝗲𝗱𝗮𝘀 𝗥𝗮𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘀 <a href="https://t.co/zWx3GEcXfN">pic.twitter.com/zWx3GEcXfN</a></p>&mdash; Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague/status/1771982057679237388?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 24, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Juzenas did all he could in the first-place game with 28 points, 16 rebounds and 4 assists for a PIR of 34. For the tournament, Juzenas averaged 18.2 points, 11.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.2 steals for an index rating of 23.0. He was second in scoring and PIR, first in rebounds and tied for second with 3.5 offensive rebounds.

Raupelis tallied 18 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks for a PIR of 22 against Ulm. The center was worth 12.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks over the four games for a PIR of 15.0. He was fourth in blocks and fifth with 3.2 offensive rebounds.

𝗡𝗼𝗮 𝗘𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗲

𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘀 𝗝𝘂𝘇𝗲𝗻𝗮𝘀

𝗡𝗲𝗱𝗮𝘀 𝗥𝗮𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘀

𝗠𝗮𝘅𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗲

𝗬𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗦𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗸𝗼

Lemoine helped NGD to a third-place finish thanks to 15.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.0 steal for a PIR of 18.8. Lemoine led the tournament in assists, was fourth in PIR and eighth in scoring.

Sissoko was the leader for ASVEL with 16.0 points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.0 steals for a PIR of 19.2. He was third in index rating, sixth in scoring, fourth in rebounds, fifth in assists and fifth in steals.

LIVE BLOG: U18 ratiopharm Ulm vs. U18 Zalgiris Kaunas

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Follow all the games of ANGT Dubai live with David Hein.

Ulm edges Zalgiris 89-84 to win ANGT Dubai 

U18 ratiopharm ulm v U18 Zalgiris Kaunas (2024-03-24T16:00:00.000Z)

U18 LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne 79-86 U18 Next Generation Team Dubai

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U18 LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne v U18 Next Generation Team Dubai (2024-03-24T12:30:00.000Z)

Just like his two older brothers, Ilja Kurucs  was also molded in the basketball game by his grandfather, Vladimirs Kiselovs.

Ilja Kurucs the latest brother molded by grandfather 

Among the names on the roster of the U18 Next Generation Team Dubai, Ilja Kurucs stands out. The center is the younger brother of former NBA forward Rodions Kurucs and former-Turkish Airlines EuroLeague guard Arturs Kurucs.

And just like his two older brothers, Ilja was also molded in the basketball game by his grandfather.

Vladimirs Kiselovs was a basketball lifer and much revered coach who grew up in the Soviet Union. He also drilled Rodions and Arturs when they were growing up.

The older brothers are close in age - Rodions was born in February 1998 and Arturs in January 2000 - so they could really go at one another when they were young. Ilja, though, was born in July 2007, so that was a major difference.

“It was really helpful and fun growing up with them - working out on the court, off the court. The helped me in every direction. Basketball, life, the mental direction, everywhere,” Ilja said.

I want to become the best basketball player of the Kurucs family and I will put all my heart and effort into achieving this goal.

Still, Rodions and Arturs both left Latvia in 2015 to head to develop their game in Spain - Rodions at FC Barcelona, where he won the ANGT MVP in 2016 as the club won the title; and Arturs to Baskonia.

“I remember the time pretty clearly as I was excited for both of them. It has been a dream for all of us to play basketball abroad and I was very happy for them,” the younger brother said.

Rodions ended up leaving Barcelona in 2018 for the NBA, where he spent four seasons playing for Brooklyn, Houston and Milwaukee. He returned to Europe in 2021 to play with Partizan Belgrade and was with Real Betis Sevilla and SIG Strasbourg last season before moving to Spanish side UCAM Murcia this season.

Arturs played with Baskonia until last season save for the 2019-20 season back home at VEF Riga. He started this season with Promitheas Patras and then joined his brother at Murcia. 

“Both of my brothers were examples for me but the main person who helped me in my basketball improvement was my grandfather, who has been coaching me since I was born,” the big man added.

When asked how his game compared to his older brothers, Ilja said: “I would say my body is more like Rodions but my shot is more like Arturs’s type of shot.”

Unlike his older siblings, Ilja decided against going to Spain to take his next basketball steps. Instead he went to the Get Better Academy in Czechia.

“This is the place where the coaches work for the players and not for the titles,” he said.

The ANGT experience has been helpful for Kurucs as well.

“I have seen that I need to play more aggressive and dive more to the basket and use my strong side of my skills,” he said.

And what about his place in the Kurucs family?

“I believe it gives me an advantage and extra exposure, as my brothers are known for their talent in basketball, but I always feel that I have my own path and I want to be judged by my actions in life and in basketball,” he said. “I want to become the best basketball player of the Kurucs family and I will put all my heart and effort into achieving this goal.”

And he can always count on the help of his grandfather.

Just like his two older brothers, Ilja Kurucs started playing basketball at age 5 under the watchful of his grandfather Vladimirs Kiselovs.

Ilja is the latest Kurucs brother molded by their grandfather

U18 Aris Midea Thessaloniki 66-74 U18 Valencia Basket

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