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