U18 Joventut Badalona got its first win on the board at the Adidas NextGen EuroLeague Belgrade tournament after beating U18 Crvena Zvezda Belgrade 72-81 in both teams’ second game of the group stage. Joventut and Zvezda both hold a 1-1 record.

 

Two players led the way for Joventut as Ian Platteeuw and Eric del Castillo joined forces to devastating effect. Platteeuw finished with a team-high 33 PIR having posted 20 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 1 block, while Del Castillo amassed 23 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals en route to a 26 PIR. Daniel Balde also chipped in with 13 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and 1 block, and Helmuts Petrovics had 12 points, 11 assists and 5 steals. Zvezda’s Stefan Marjanovic finished with 17 points and 8 rebounds, with teammates Andrej Lucic and Jovan Bikic netting 13 points apiece. Lazar Stojkovic was the hosts’ other double-digit scorer, pouring in 10 points.

 

It was Zvezda which had the better start to the contest, holding a 25-13 lead after 10 minutes, but Joventut reduced the deficit heading into halftime after a 15-20 second quarter, meaning it was 40-33 to the hosts at the interval. Joventut went to another gear on offense in the third period by scoring 29 points to Zvezda’s 23, but it was Zvezda which led 63-62 entering the final frame. The comeback attempt was completed in the fourth period as Joventut restricted Zvezda to just nine points in the quarter while scoring 19 itself, which allowed it to secure a 72-81 victory.  

Game News

The Spanish team’s duo combined for 43 points, 19 rebounds and 12 assists

Platteeuw, Del Castillo lead Joventut past Crvena Zvedza, 72-81

U18 Crvena Zvezda Belgrade v U18 Joventut Badalona (2025-03-07T16:00:00.000Z)

INSEP gives Trento no chance, 72-43

U18 Pole France INSEP Paris grabbed its first win at NextGen Belgrade by thrashing U18 Dolomiti Energia Trento 72-43 in Group B. Nathan Soliman paced the winners with 18 points and 8 rebounds. Noa Koaukou-Heugue added 14 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists while Meissa Faye had 13 points and 8 rebounds for INSEP. Patrick Hassan led Trento with 8 points. 

Soliman had 12 points before the break to lead INSEP to a 35-22 lead at halftime. INSEP did not slow down after the break, boosting its margin to 60-33 at the end of the third quarter and cruising to a well-deserved victory. 

U18 Pole France INSEP Paris v U18 Dolomiti Energia Trento (2025-03-07T14:00:00.000Z)

NextGen Belgrade beats Partizan, 75-42

U18 NextGen Team Belgrade used an impressive defensive effort to top U18 Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade 75-42 in the opener of Group B and the NextGen EuroLeague Qualifying Tournament in Belgrade. NextGen Team had Akram Naji score 14 points, while Kaur Tomann and Aaron Towo-Nansi each added 11, with Towo-Nansi also dishing 9 assists. Uros Danilovic was the only double-digit scorer for Partizan with 12 points.

NextGen Team started pulling away in the second quarter with a quarter-ending 13-1 run to open a 36-18 lead, then a 10-0 run early in the third to open a 46-21 advantage. The margin was as big as 35 points before the final buzzer.

U18 Next Gen Team Belgrade v U18 Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade (2025-03-07T12:00:00.000Z)

Milan eases past Joventut, 61-82

U18 EA7 Emporio Armani Milan started its participation the NextGen EuroLeague Qualifying Tournament in Belgrade in style with a 61-82 win over U18 Joventut Badalona. Milan led from start to finish as Achille Lonati finished with 17 points, Diego Garavaglia has 12 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds, while Luigi Suigo had 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Ian Platteeuw starred under the rims for Joventut with 16 points and 22 rebounds, including 14 on the offensive end, while Terence Kekenbosch had 13 points in a loss.

Milan scored the first 6 points of the game, needed less than 6 minutes to open a double-digit lead and never looked back. Margin was as big as 31 points as Milan cruised to a win.

U18 Joventut Badalona v U18 EA7 Emporio Armani Milan (2025-03-07T10:00:00.000Z)

Watch LIVE: Day 1 of NextGen EuroLeague in Belgrade

The fourth event of the Adidas NextGen EuroLeague 2024-25 season has tipped off this morning at the legendary Aleksandar Nikolic Hall in Belgrade, Serbia, where the continent’s top young talents will battle in the last of four NextGen EuroLeague Qualifying Tournaments.

After U18 Crvena Zvezda Belgrade and U18 EA7 Emporio Armani Milan registered impressive victories in the opening games of Group A, the next two games will be Group B fixtures, U18 NextGen Team Belgrade vs. U18 Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade, and U18 Pole France INSEP Paris vs. U18 Dolomiti Energia Trento.

The day will end with Round 2 of Group A, where Zvezda will play U18 Joventut Badalona, and Milan will face U18 Maccabi Tel Aviv.

### Watch it live

In the opening game of the NextGen EuroLeague Qualifying Tournament in Belgrade, the host team U18 Crvena Zvezda Belgrade downed U18 Maccabi Tel Aviv 84-59. Lazar Stojkovic was the leader for the winners, collecting 24 points on 9-for-12 two-point shooting and 9 rebounds. Andrej Lucic and Stefan Markovic scored 16 apiece for Zvezda, while Eran Barak was the only double-digit scorer for Maccabi with 12 points.

Zvezda never trailed in the game, and pulled away with a 14-0 second-quarter run, during which it held Maccabi scoreless for more then 8 minutes to finish the half and take a 39-23 lead into the break. The margin was 26 points at then end of the third, and as big as 37 points late in the fourth before Maccabi scored the last 12 points of the game.

Crvena Zvezda blows past Maccabi 84-59

U18 Crvena Zvezda Belgrade v U18 Maccabi Tel Aviv (2025-03-07T08:00:00.000Z)

NextGen EuroLeague Belgrade: Players to watch

The Adidas NextGen EuroLeague 2024-25 season will hold its final qualifying tournament this weekend in Belgrade with the Serbian capital hosting the event for the 18th time. The tournament features past continental champions U18 Crvena Zvezda Belgrade, U18 Pole France INSEP Paris and U18 Joventut Badalona as well as debutant U18 Dolomiti Energia Trento, U18 EA7 Emporio Armani Milan, U18 Maccabi Tel Aviv, U18 Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade and U18 Next Gen Team Belgrade. 

The teams will compete over three days at Aleksandar Nikolic Hall in Belgrade from March 7 to 9 with the aim of reaching the NextGen EuroLeague Finals, which will be played at the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in May in Abu Dhabi. Here are some of the names to look out for from the teams in Belgrade.

 

### Uros Danilovic - U18 Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade

Uros Danilovic is competing in the competition for a second season after playing a key role in 2024 with 6.5 points and 1.8 rebounds. He has proven to be an excellent scorer in the U19 Serbian league by averaging 13.9 points along with 2.8 assists. Danilovic has scored 20+ points five times - including 27 points against BKK Radnicki - and he is shooting 45 percent on three-pointers this season. He also averaged 15.3 points in the U19 ABA League. Danilovic does a good job going coast to coast after defensive rebounds, is a good spot-up shooter and a great leader. He still needs to work on his pick-and-roll game.

 

### 

### Tamir Gold - U18 Maccabi Tel Aviv

Tamir Gold will be appearing in his third NextGen campaign after playing in Zadar in 2023 and then averaging 7.2 points and 4.2 rebounds in Belgrade in 2024. After playing in the U16 EuroBasket 2023, the forward was part of history for Israel last summer in helping them take fourth place at the U18 EuroBasket 2024 with 8.1 points and 2.0 rebounds to secure their first-ever berth at the U19 World Cup. Gold could be limited in his play as he has missed the last two months with a knee injury. Gold has a high-level character, is very mature for his age, a great locker room guy and leader. He is hard-working and focused with a high basketball IQ. He runs the floor well and is long and moves pretty well. Gold has worked to improve his shot and has good timing for rebounds, blocks and deflections on defense. 

 

### Patrick Hassan - U18 Dolomiti Energia Trento

Patrick Hassan will be playing his second NextGen tournament after he averaged 3.8 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.2 steals playing for U18 Orange1 Bassano at Patras 2023. The guard helped Italy win silver at the U16 EuroBasket 2023 with 3.4 points and 2.0 rebounds, and he collected 5.1 points, 3.4 assists and 1.6 steals as Italy grabbed second place at the U17 Basketball World Cup 2024. Hassan made his BKT EuroCup debut in mid-October against Bahcesehir College Istanbul. In the Italian U20 Next Gen Cup, he averaged 21.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.8 rebounds and he is scoring 20.4 points per game in the Italian U19 league. He is really aggressive off the dribble, uses the ball screen well, has a good mid-range jumper and consistent three-point shot though he needs to add more creativity to his finishing. Hassan excels with his on-ball defense, has strong mental toughness and communication skills on the floor.

### Noa Kouakou-Heugue - U18 Pole France INSEP Paris

This will be the second NextGen campaign for Noa Kouakou-Heugue after he collected 5.0 points and 3.0 rebounds at the Paris 2024 tournament and followed that with 4.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.2 steals at the NextGen Finals. He contributed 1 rebound in 6 minutes in last season’s NextGen EuroLeague Championship Game. Kouakou-Heugue was part of France’s youth national team the last two summers going for 2.3 points and 3.3 rebounds as the French took third place at the U16 EuroBasket 2023. He then averaged 6.6 points and 3.4 rebounds at the U17 Basketball World Cup 2024. This season he is tallying 9.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists in the French third division NM1. Kouakou-Heugue has excellent mobility and verticality. He also is quite versatile with the ability to play facing the basket or his back to the basket. The long forward can also defend multiple positions.

 

### Aleksej Nedeljkovic - U18 Crvena Zveza Belgrade

Aleksej Nedeljkovic will be appearing in his first NextGen event. The 2008-born guard helped Serbia to third place at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2024 with 6.0 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. He has collected 10.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists in three U19 ABA League games. Nedeljkovic has a strong one-on-one game and penetrates well to the rim. Despite being a guard, he rebounds well on both the offensive and defensive glass. He excels in open space in transition and also on help defense from the weak side. Nedeljkovic needs to improve his three-point shot and his mid-range game. 

 

### Ian Platteeuw - U18 Joventut Badalona

Ian Platteeuw will be appearing in his third NextGen season and averaged 9.0 points, 8.8 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 1.0 blocks in Paris last year. The 2.13-meter big man helped Spain win the title at the U16 EuroBasket 2023 with 7.4 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocks. Last summer he tallied 8.6 points and 7.1 rebounds at the U17 Basketball World Cup 2024 and then had 5.4 points and 3.6 rebounds at the U18 EuroBasket 2024. This season Platteeuw appeared in four BKT EuroCup games and collected 10 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists in a combined 24 minutes. He made his Spanish ACB debut last season and the big man has appeared in two games this season. He is splitting time with Prat in the third division Segundo FEB (8.8 ppg., 5.2 rpg.) and Joventut’s second team in the fourth division Tercera FEB (14.3 ppg., 11.4 rpg., 3.4 apg.). Platteeuw is a highly skilled center with exceptional passing ability and court vision that allows him to function as a playmaker and create scoring opportunities for his teammates. He has a strong work ethic and high basketball IQ. He must work on his physical toughness to become more competitive in contact situations and improve his mid-range and three-point shooting to diversify his offensive game.

 

### Luigi Suigo - U18 EA7 Emporio Armani Milan 

Luigi Suigo is playing his second NextGen season after he had 4.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in Belgrade last year. He then averaged 6.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.3 blocks at the NextGen Finals. The 2.20-meter center debuted for Italy at the U17 Basketball World Cup 2024 and collected 7.0 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.7 blocks for the silver medallists. Later in the summer, he contributed 7.0 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.9 blocks at the U18 EuroBasket. This season he helped Milan repeat as champion of the Italian U20 Next Gen Cup, taking home MVP with 20 points and 11 rebounds in an 87-68 win over Tortona in the final. He is also averaging 10.2 points for fourth-division Oleggio Magic Basket. Since arriving at Milan at the beginning of the 2022-23 season, "Gigi's" growth has been exponential thanks to his determination to train. He has improved both technically and physically, earning call-ups to the first team in both the Italian League and Turkish Airlines EuroLeague - though he is yet to make his debut with the pro team.

### Aaron Towo-Nansi - U18 Next Gen Team Belgrade 

Aaron Towo-Nansi will be playing in his second NextGen event after he had  8.5 points, 1.2 rebounds 5.2 assists and 1.2 steals in Podgorica 2024 for U18 Cholet Basket - despite not even turning 15 years old. The 2009-born guard guided France to the gold medal at the U16 EuroBasket 2024 with 8.6 points, 5.0 assists and 2.7 steals. This season, the 1.74-meter point guard is averaging 12.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 2.1 steals in the French U21 league, twice topping 20 points - including 24 points against JDA Dijon. Towo-Nansi is a great leader who can change the game with his creativity, defense and three-point shot. His weakness is his size but the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague has shown with the likes of Mike James, TJ Shorts and Markus Howard that smaller guards can still be highly effective. 

Here are eight top talents to keep an eye on at the Adidas NextGen EuroLeague Belgrade

The final ticket for the Adidas NextGen EuroLeague Finals is up for grabs at the NextGen EuroLeague Belgrade tournament, which is headlined by three former continental champions. The games will be held from March 7 to 9 at Aleksandar Nikolic Hall 

Who will reign supreme at NextGen EuroLeague Belgrade?

The final ticket for the Adidas NextGen EuroLeague Finals is up for grabs at the NextGen EuroLeague Belgrade tournament, which is headlined by three former continental champions. Hosts U18 Crvena Zvezda Belgrade, U18 Pole France INSEP Paris and U18 Joventut Badalona all have hoisted the big trophy in the past and will be looking to grab a ticket to Abu Dhabi for the season finale.

Those three clubs will be tested in Belgrade by debutant U18 Dolomiti Energia Trento, U18 EA7 Emporio Armani Milan, U18 Maccabi Tel Aviv, U18 Next Gen Team Belgrade and U18 Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade.

The games will be held from March 7 to 9 at Aleksandar Nikolic Hall in the Serbian capital with the first-place winner joining U18 Mega MIS Belgrade and U18 FC Barcelona at the NextGen Finals from May 22 to 25 in Abu Dhabi.

The eight teams in Belgrade have been broken down into two groups of four. Each team plays the others in its group in a round-robin fashion. The top teams in each group will then face off in Sunday’s first-place game, with the winner of that matchup securing a spot at the NextGen Finals.

The breakdown of the eight teams is as follows: Group A has hosts Zvezda, Joventut, Maccabi and Milan while Group B features INSEP, NGT Belgrade, Partizan and Trento.

Zvezda was atop the continent in 2014 as NextGen EuroLeague champs and reached the NextGen EuroLeague Championship Games in 2015 and 2016. The Serbian giant will play in the competition for the 18th straight year - and it has hosted a qualifier every year, too. Zvezda won the Belgrade qualifying tournament for eight straight seasons from 2011 to 2018 but has not taken first on its home court since then. The Serbians lost in the Belgrade first-place game in 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023 and then slumped to fifth place last season.

Joventut claimed its only NextGen EuroLeague crown in 2013 and also is playing in the competition for the 18th straight time since 2008. The Spanish side finished fourth in last season’s Paris qualifier, ending a seven-tournament streak of top-three finishes. Joventut won its qualifier in 2018 and 2023. Maccabi is another regular in this competition with its 18th appearance as well - including the last seven. The Israeli giant finished eighth last season in Belgrade after a fifth-placed showing in 2023 Zadar. Maccabi took second place in its qualifiers in 2019 Munich and 2022 Patras to earn wild cards to the NextGen Finals those seasons. 

Milan will arrive in Belgrade as the freshly crowned champion of the Italian U20 Next Gen Cup. This is the seventh time the Italians are competing in the NextGen EuroLeague and fourth year in a row. Last season, the team lost in the Belgrade first place game to U18 FC Barcelona and was awarded a wild card to the NextGen Finals.

In Group B, INSEP is one of six teams to be crowned champions of this competition twice - in 2010 and 2017. The French powerhouse also finished runner-up in 2024. INSEP is participating for the 15th time in the last 16 editions - missing only 2020-21 due to Covid restrictions. Last season, the team lost in the NextGen Paris first place game to U18 NGT Paris and then nearly won a third crown but fell to U18 Real Madrid 85-84 in overtime in an epic NextGen EuroLeague Championship Game. 

Partizan is competing for a 17th season and 16th in a row. The Belgrade club took third place in 2024 and won the Belgrade qualifier in 2020, but missed a chance to make its NextGen Finals debut as the event was canceled due to the Covid pandemic. Trento will be making its NextGen EuroLeague debut. And NGT Belgrade is hoping to become the third selection team to win a qualifying tournament following the teams at Paris 2024 and Munich 2025.

Three former continental U18 champions top the field in the final NextGen EuroLeague qualifier 

Mathieu Grujicic only needed 5 minutes to decide to join Barcelona 

As far as European basketball clubs go, FC Barcelona is one of the best on the continent. So it should be no surprise that [Mathieu Grujicic](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/ngt/players/mathieu-grujicic/012103/) jumped at the chance to leave Germany and join the Spanish powerhouse. And now he helped the club’s U18 team finish first at the Adidas NextGen EuroLeague Ulm, being named winner of the [Most Valuable Player](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/ngt/news/mathieu-grujicic-honored-as-nextgen-ulm-mvp-after-barcelona-title/) award.

Grujicic tallied 22 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal drew 8 fouls for a performance index rating of 20 in Barcelona’s 91-89 win over U18 Zalgiris Kaunas in the first-place game. For the tournament, Grujicic averaged 18.5 points on 47.4% shooting from the outside, 2.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.2 steals in collecting a PIR of 19.8.

“I couldn't have done it without my teammates. I think I stepped it up in the second half against Zalgiris and we kept working,” said Grujicic, who finished the tournament third in scoring and fifth in PIR.

<center><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Crowned in 🇩🇪<br><br>Mathieu Grujicic is the Adidas <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NextGenEuroLeague?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NextGenEuroLeague</a> Ulm Qualifier MVP⭐️<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/adidasbasketball?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#adidasbasketball</a> <a href="https://t.co/tfdfkcd1aN">pic.twitter.com/tfdfkcd1aN</a></p>&mdash; Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague/status/1888679326549410033?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 9, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Barcelona head coach Carlos Marin praised the player he sees as one of his leaders.

“He’s able to produce in a lot of ways. He can shoot threes off the dribble, off screens, one-on-one situations, he can share the ball, he can create assists. He has really improved his defense a lot too. It’s great to have him,” said the coach, who is spending his second season with the versatile wing.

Marin made the jump from Barcelona youth assistant to head coach just as Grujicic had come to the club. Grujicic was born in Arles, France - located between Montpellier and Marseille in the south of the country. His father is Serbian and mother is French and they moved to Berlin in 2012 because his mother was working in the French embassy in the German capital. 

Grujicic’s first NextGen experience came in 2022-23 with U18 ALBA Berlin in Munich. Later that season, Grujicic helped ALBA win the German U16 JBBL league title with 52 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 7 steals in 46 minutes of a 93-85 double-OT victory over Eintracht Frankfurt / Fraport Skyliners in the Final to take home Final Four MVP.

In the summer, Grujicic averaged 14.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.4 steals in helping Germany finish fifth at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2023 to help the country qualify for the FIBA U17 World Cup for the first time.

"Barcelona is without a doubt the biggest club in Spain and probably in Europe. So for me, it wasn't a hard decision at all."

Then in September 2023, it was time to decide on his future.

“When I found out I had the opportunity to go to Barca, I had 24 hours to think about it. And I remember exactly that after five minutes, I called and I said, 'No, for me, there's nothing to think about.' Because that's something that I've always wanted to do: play in Spain, play at one of the big clubs in Spain. And Barcelona is without a doubt the biggest club in Spain and probably in Europe. So for me, it wasn't a hard decision at all,” Grujicic recalled.

Since moving to Spain, Grujicic feels he has progressed both on and off the court.

“I really think I developed as a player, but also as a human. I perfected an additional language. I met so many new friends and new people that now I can call my family,” said Grujicic, who speaks fluent French, German, English and Spanish and added: “My Serbo-Croat can get a little better.”

Grujicic then last season helped Barcelona win the NextGen Belgrade qualifying tournament while averaging 15.2 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists. The team returned to the NextGen Finals in Berlin and opened the tournament with an emphatic 118-46 win over ALBA with Grujicic picking up 8 points against his former team.

Mathieu Grujicic highlights from NextGen EuroLeague Ulm

In the second game, Barcelona wasted a 14-point lead and ended up losing 102-98 to U18 Overtime Elite. And then Grujicic and co. could not stop Nolan Traore in the third game as the U18 CFBB INSEP Paris star scored a NextGen Finals record 45 points to go with 6 rebounds and 9 assists for an index rating of 50 in INSEP’s 101-96 victory.

This season, Grujicic is one of the main leaders of Barcelona’s second team in the fourth division with 14.0 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists. And he helped Barcelona show why it was considered one of the favorites in Ulm.

“We came here to win this thing, not just to participate. And in the end, we did it. We knew it wasn't going to be an easy game, there aren’t any easy games. Every game is difficult. But we stuck to our game plan,” he said.

Now Grujicic is looking forward to his first trip to Abu Dhabi where he knows the challenge will be even greater at the NextGen Finals.

“These Finals are always tough to really have a favorite. There are no bad teams, they're all the best teams in Europe. So I wouldn't really call us a favorite. I would call us one of the favorites,” he said.

Barcelona has been waiting for some time to finally hoist its second NextGen EuroLeague trophy - with the only one in club history coming in 2016.

“That would be amazing, man. I would be so happy if I could make it happen for my teammates, for the coaches. That would be an amazing accomplishment for our head coach. In his second year already, two Finals appearances and one championship. We're just trying to make him proud, the whole staff. So yeah, it would mean a lot.”

And it would be another confirmation of why it was an easy decision to move to Barcelona back in 2023.

The German-French forward has taken many steps forward since joining the Spanish club