Lietkabelis, which was making its debut in the competition, never trailed in the game, bending a couple of times but never breaking to get the historic win. Rokas Jocys poured in 26 points with 5 rebounds and 7 assists to lead the winners while Nojus Lebskas scored 19 points. Kristupas Keinys added 16 points, Kajus Leliukas picked up 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Rytis Sakaitis chipped in 9 points and 11 assists. Partizan, which finished first at the ANGT Belgrade in 2020, did not win a game this time around. Viktor Mikic tallied 26 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists and Ognjen Stankovic had 22 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 steals in the loss.

Jocys scored 4 points as Lietkabelis went ahead 2-9 and the Lithuanian side pushed the lead to 11-21. Partizan answered with a 9-0 run over the final 3 minutes of the first quarter to make it 20-21 after 10 minutes. Lietkabelis scored the first 6 points of the second quarter and extended the lead to 20-29. But Partizan responded with the next 8 points to trim the deficit to one point again. Lebskas knocked down 2 three-pointers to keep Lietkabelis ahead and the debutant tallied the final 6 points of the first half to lead 40-52 going into the break.

Partizan used the long ball to get back into the game with Efe Tahmaz hitting 3 triples and Mikic and Marko Krstic hitting another each to pull within 62-63. Lietkabelis remained resilient with a 2-8 close to the quarter to lead 64-71 after 30 minutes. Partizan started the final frame with the first 4 points to pull within 68-71. Keinys and Lebskas hit back-to-back triples as the answer and Lebskas added 2 more three-pointers as the cushion rose to 75-90 with under 4 minutes left. Partizan could not get closer than 11 points over the rest of the game.

U18 Lietkabelis Panevezys secured its first-ever victory at the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament by knocking off U18 Partizan NIS Belgrade 79-95 on Sunday to take seventh place at the ANGT Belgrade.

U18 Partizan NIS Belgrade 79-95 U18 Lietkabelis Panevezys

U18 Partizan NIS Belgrade v U18 Lietkabelis Panevezys (2022-02-27T08:00:00.000Z)

Nojus Lebskas - U18 Lietkabelis Panevezys - Belgrade 2022 (photo Djordje Kostic - Zvezda) - JTB21

Rytis Sakaitis - U18 Lietkabelis Panevezys - Belgrade 2022 (photo Djordje Kostic - Zvezda) - JTB21

Efe Tahmaz - U18 Partizan NIS Belgrade - Belgrade 2022 (photo Djordje Kostic - Zvezda) - JTB21

Viktor Mikic - U18 Partizan NIS Belgrade - Belgrade 2022 (photo Djordje Kostic - Zvezda) - JTB21

Bogdan Zagradanin - U18 Partizan NIS Belgrade - Belgrade 2022 (photo Djordje Kostic - Zvezda) - JTB21

Momir Tonic - U18 Partizan NIS Belgrade - Belgrade 2022 (photo Djordje Kostic - Zvezda) - JTB21

Rokas Jocys - U18 Lietkabelis Panevezys - Belgrade 2022 (photo Djordje Kostic - Zvezda) - JTB21

Marko Tojagic - U18 Partizan NIS Belgrade - Belgrade 2022 (photo Djordje Kostic - Zvezda) - JTB21

Kristupas Keinys - U18 Lietkabelis Panevezys - Belgrade 2022 (photo Djordje Kostic - Zvezda) - JTB21

Tahmaz is playing at the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Belgrade for a second time, averaging 6.0 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.0 blocks in the group phase, during which Partizan went 0-3 in Group A and also lost the seventh-place game to Lietkabelis Panevezys.

The 2.01-meter forward is spending his fourth season with Partizan, coming to Belgrade in 2018 after previously playing in the Besiktas Istanbul system.

"I decided to come to Serbia because of the basketball mentality here. At the same time, it was a huge opportunity for me to play in Serbia, and I didn't want to miss it," said Tahmaz, who picked up 4.8 points and 4.0 rebounds at the ANGT Belgrade last season.

Tahmaz not only was coming to a new team and country but he was making history at Partizan as the first foreign-born player in the club's youth system.

"The adjustment was pretty hard in the beginning because it is a different culture, a different religion, different country. It took me nearly a full season for me to adapt," he admitted.

Helping Tahmaz in the transition was his mother Funda Tahmaz, who played the game at a high level and coached in the Besiktas women's system before the move with her son to the Serbian capital. She coached Partizan's U16 women's team in the family's first year in Serbia and now is working with the Marina Maljkovic academy.

"It was much easier for me having her here because I had more comfort when I was trying to adapt to the system and the country itself," Tahmaz said.

His father is also in basketball and works as an individual skills trainer back in Istanbul.

"One of my first memories of basketball was playing in a fathers and sons tournament with my dad," said Tahmaz, who began with the game around age 9.

Tahmaz enjoys playing in Serbia more than Turkey: "In Turkey, the game is a little more strict with specific game plays. Players in Serbia have more freedom to create on their own."

Despite being outside the country, Turkey's basketball leaders have not lost track of Tahmaz, who played at the FIBA U18 European Challengers 2021 and averaged 3.4 points and 2.4 rebounds.

"It was a pretty challenging tournament because we were playing against players one year older than us. I can say it helped me improve my basketball mentality and my outlook on the game," he said of the event, which was for the 2003-born generation.

Even though the ANGT was in Belgrade, he had a feeling of home this weekend as Tahmaz and Partizan faced U18 Tofas Bursa in the first game of the tournament. Tofas players Berke Buyuktuncel and Kerem Konan both played with Tahmaz at the FIBA U18 European Challengers last summer.

"It was so much fun playing against my teammates from the national team and a Turkish team that I really know well," he said.

Tahmaz loves being in Serbia and with Partizan.  

"I cannot say how much it means for me to be playing in such a big club like Partizan for four seasons," he said.

Tahmaz is playing this season for Partizan's U19 team in 1st Serbian division Jedinstvena liga, where he is averaging 11.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.8 steals. He has not yet practiced with Partizan's pro team.

Still, the fact that the club has many young players in the pro team – like Yam Madar, Uros Trifunovic, Balsa Koprivica, Gregor Glas and Tristan Vukcevic – gives Tahmaz hope.

"It motivates me a lot because I see if I work hard and put my all in, I know that I can be there and have a chance to play," Tahmaz said.

And it all goes back to his decision in 2018 to leave Turkey for Serbia.

 

Turkish basketball has produced its share of talented players, but the Serbian school of development is what attracted Efe Tahmaz to choose Belgrade over Istanbul. And he is making history at U18 Partizan NIS Belgrade.

Partizan's mentality attracted Turkish talent Tahmaz

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 opened the fourth quarter scoring the first 18 points 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. Aleksa Milenkovic added 8 points for Mega, which reached the ANGT Championship Game in 2017 and 2019.

ASVEL kept Mega scoreless for the first 3 minutes but only led 4-0. Bogoljub Markovic converted a three-point play and Djulovic hit a three-pointer to even the game 8-8. ASVEL answered with the next nine points for a 17-8 advantage and led 19-14 after 10 minutes. A triple by Parmentelot and Mervyn Muamba’s and-one pushed ASVEL ahead 27-18. Mega trimmed the margin to 27-23 only to see ASVEL put together a 12-2 surge for a 39-25 lead, which was 40-29 at the break.

ASVEL’s 14-point lead early in the second half was trimmed to 43-35. The French side was not fazed and used its athleticism to disturb Mega and extended the cushion to 56-40. And the gap was 59-44 after 30 minutes. ASVEL came out for the fourth quarter with high intensity and kept the Serbian side scoreless for 5 minutes while Malwaya and Houinsou combined for 16 points in an 18-0 run to open a 77-44 lead. Milenkovic finally scored for Mega but the ASVEL attack was not to be slowed down.

U18 ASVEL Villeurbanne secured its spot in the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Belgrade first place game with a breathtaking 88-52 victory over U18 Mega Mozzart Belgrade 88-52 to set up a matchup with host side U18 Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade.

U18 ASVEL Villeurbanne 88-52 U18 Mega Mozzart Belgrade

Romain Parmentelot 2- U18 ASVEL Villeurbanne - Belgrade 2022 (photo Djordje Kostic - Zvezda) - JTB21

U18 ASVEL Villeurbanne v U18 Mega Mozzart Belgrade (2022-02-26T19:00:00.000Z)

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. 

U18 Lietkabelis Panevezys 73-90 U18 Next Generation Team Belgrade

NGB took the first mini-lead at 5-9 after five straight points from Eray Buyukcangaz. Rytis Sakitis and Kristupas Keinys hit three-pointers to put Lietkabelis ahead 13-11, and a Jocys triple made it 20-14. The score was 20-16 after 10 minutes. Yigitoglu scored six points early in the second quarter to get the gap down to one point and Krajnovic’s three-pointer evened the game 28-28. Jocys answered at the other end with two three-pointers and two jumpers to keep NGB at bay and his side ahead 41-35 at intermission.

NGB had the stronger start to the second half with a 4-13 run to pull ahead 47-50. Four points from Pavin had the selection team up 51-56. Nojus Lebskas and Rimkus both hit three-pointers and the game was tied 59-59 after 30 minutes. Lietkabelis failed to score for the first 2 minutes of the final frame but led 63-62 and Lebskas’ three-pointer evened the game 66-66. NGB’s wealth of shot-makers paid off with Mulic hitting two three-pointers and Pavin knocking down one triple in a 0-13 run in just 1:59 minutes to lead 66-79 with less than 4 minutes to play. It wasn’t closer than eight points the rest of the game.

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.

David Pavin - U18 Next Generation Team Belgrade - Belgrade 2022 (photo Djordje Kostic - Zvezda) - JTB21

U18 Lietkabelis Panevezys v U18 Next Generation Team Belgrade (2022-02-26T17:00:00.000Z)

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. 

U18 Tofas Bursa 50-81 U18 Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade

The 2014 continental champion finished first at the ANGT Belgrade for eight consecutive years until 2019, which was the start of a three-year streak of not prevailing in its host tournament. 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 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.

 

The game was close until Zvezda put together the first run - a 3-10 surge to pull ahead 10-18 with Filip Radakovic scoring four points. The cushion was 14-22 after 10 minutes. Zvezda did not wait long to add another punch with a 4-13 run to pull ahead 21-35. Topic added four points and Zvezda led 32-46 at intermission.

 

Tofas scored the first four points of the second half to get the deficit down to 36-46. Zvezda shut down any thoughts of a Tofas win though, keeping the Turkish side scoreless for nearly 8 minutes and scoring 15 straight points for a 36-61 advantage. And it was 40-63 after 30 minutes. Zvezda gave up just one point in the first 3 minutes of the fourth quarter and extended the cushion to 41-70. Tofas never threatened again.

Vladimir Pavlovic - U18 Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade - Belgrade 2022 (photo Djordje Kostic - Zvezda) - JTB21

U18 Tofas Bursa v U18 Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade (2022-02-26T15:00:00.000Z)

The game went back and forth in the first quarter with Mikic scoring six points as Partizan led 12-8. After Valencia pulled ahead, Zagradanin hit two three-pointers and Drezgic connected on one for a 21-18 lead, which was 23-22 after 10 minutes. Mikic added five more points and Partizan was up 32-29. Valencia started hitting from outside with De Larrea and Pablo Silla both draining one triple and Luengo knocking down three three-pointers and a three-point play for a 42-52 cushion. And the score was 46-54 at the break.

 

Partizan had a good start to the second half and the deficit was only 52-56 when Valencia reeled off 11 straight points for a 52-67 advantage. The margin grew to 17 points in the quarter and Valencia led 61-78 after 30 minutes. Partizan continued to fight and got the deficit to 12 points in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. But Valencia was not to be stopped and led 72-92 and rolled on.

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 Partizan NIS Belgrade 82-105 U18 Valencia Basket

U18 Partizan NIS Belgrade v U18 Valencia Basket (2022-02-26T13:00:00.000Z)

Sergio De Larrea - U18 Valencia Basket - Belgrade 2022 (photo Djordje Kostic - Zvezda) - JTB21

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. 

U18 Next Generation Team Belgrade 93-87 U18 ASVEL Villeurbanne

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.  

 

Milijasevic knocked down two three-pointers early on and it was a 10-4 lead for NGB. Mulic added two triples of his own and the selection team’s cushion was 21-9. Houinsou converted a three-point play and Wibaut hit a three-pointer just at the quarter buzzer and ASVEL was within 23-15 after 10 minutes. ASVEL trimmed the gap to six points only to see NGB extend the margin to 11 points - 32-21. The French side got some stops and three-pointers from Wibaut and Malwaya and the deficit was 35-31. Mulic’s and-one for NGB pushed the lead to nine points before Malwaya hit a three-pointer at the buzzer and ASVEL was down 40-34 at the break.

 

Milijasevic hit a triple and Krajnovic had a three-point play as NGB scored the first eight points of the second half and open a 48-34 lead. ASVEL answered with a 2-11 surge to pull within five points, but NGB each time had a response and the advantage was 64-52. The French side twice cut the gap to five points but was down 71-65 after 30 minutes. Eray Buyukcangaz picked up five points as NGB retained the lead 80-71. ASVEL punched back with a 1-7 spurt to get within 81-78. David Pavin hit a big three-pointer to reestablish a seven point lead 85-78 and Milijasevic drained a triple of his own to put NGB up 88-82 with 91 seconds left.

Luka Krajnovic - U18 Next Generation Team Belgrade - Belgrade 2022 (photo Djordje Kostic - Zvezda) - JTB21

U18 Next Generation Team Belgrade v U18 ASVEL Villeurbanne (2022-02-26T11:00:00.000Z)

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. 

U18 Mega Mozzart Belgrade 87-64 U18 Lietkabelis Panevezys

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.

Lietkabelis scored the first points of the game but then went 3 minutes without a basket and five points from Milenkovic put Mega ahead 7-3. Jocys twice put Lietkabelis back ahead and his three-point play knotted the game 18-18 after 10 minutes. Daryl Doualla and Jocys both knocked down triples to push Lietkabelis in front and it was 28-29. Mega finally put together some defensive stops and Djulovic scored six points in a 12-2 spur to lead 40-31 with the score being 40-33 at the break.

Milenko and Djulovic combined to lead a 10-2 surge early in the second half to open a 52-39 advantage. Jocys and Nojus Lebskas both hit three-pointers and Doualla cut the deficit to 58-57. Mega finished the third quarter with the final five points to lead 63-57 after 30 minutes. Jocys scored to make it 68-60 a minute into the fourth quarter but he went down with an injury. Jocys was out of the game 4 minutes and Mega reeled off 11 straight points to push the advantage to 79-60. Lietkabelis could not get closer than 18 points the rest of the way.

U18 Mega Mozzart Belgrade v U18 Lietkabelis Panevezys (2022-02-26T09:00:00.000Z)

Asim Djulovic - U18 Mega Mozzart Belgrade - Belgrade 2022 (photo Djordje Kostic - Zvezda) - JTB21

Eight teams will participate in the first Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament qualifier of the season from February 25 to 27 at Basket City in Belgrade, Serbia.

ANGT Belgrade 2022 calendar

### FRIDAY 25 FEBRUARY 2022

10:00 U18 Crvena zvezda mts Belgrade vs. U18 Valencia Basket

12:00 U18 Partizan NIS Belgrade vs. U18 Tofas Bursa

14:00 U18 Next Generation Team Belgrade vs. U18 Mega Mozzart Belgrade

16:00 U18 ASVEL Villeurbanne vs. U18 Lietkabelis Panevezys

18:00 U18 Crvena zvezda mts Belgrade vs. U18 Partizan NIS Belgrade

20:00 U18 Valencia Basket vs. U18 Tofas Bursa

### SATURDAY 26 FEBRUARY 2022

10:00 U18 Mega Mozzart Belgrade vs. U18 Lietkabelis Panevezys

12:00 U18 Next Generation Team Belgrade vs. U18 ASVEL Villeurbanne

14:00 U18 Partizan NIS Belgrade vs. U18 Valencia Basket

16:00 U18 Tofas Bursa vs. U18 Crvena zvezda mts Belgrade

18:00 U18 Lietkabelis Panevezys vs. U18 Next Generation Team Belgrade

20:00 U18 ASVEL Villeurbanne vs. U18 Mega Mozzart Belgrade

### SUNDAY 27 FEBRUARY 2022

9:00 4th Placed Team Group A vs. 4th Placed Team Group B, 7th place

11:00 3rd Placed Team Group A vs. 3rd Placed Team Group B, 5th place

13:00 2nd Placed Team Group A vs. 2nd Placed Team Group B, 3rd place

15:00 SLAM DUNK AND 3 POINTS SHOOTOUT CONTEST

16:30 1st Placed Team Group A vs. 1st Placed Team Group B 1st place

**Group A**

U18 Crvena zvezda mts Belgrade	

U18 Partizan NIS Belgrade	

U18 Tofas Bursa	

U18 Valencia Basket		

**Group B**	

U18 Next Generation Team Belgrade	

U18 ASVEL Villeurbanne	

U18 Lietkabelis Panevezys	

U18 Mega Mozzart Belgrade 