French Evan Fournier ('92) -at the pic- and german Phillip Neumann ('92) shined in the first day of U-18 Albert Schweitzer Tournament, that start today in Germany. Both prospects showed why they are in the Top-10 of 1992 borned ranking in Eurohopes. France started great, beating Argentina (66-85) with the small-forward scoring 31 points (11/15 twos, 2/5 threes and 3/7 ft), grabbing 7 boards and making 2 steals in only 28 minutes. His teammate Mathis Keita ('92) added 16 points with 7/7 FG. France won the silver medal on last U-18 European Championship of Metz, with a very young team, also with Leo Westermann ('92) and 2.16 center Vincent Pourchot ('92), but both are not in Germany due to injuries. French squad is one of the favourites next summer in the EC of Vilnius (Lithuania). In Mannheim they will show the tough they are.
Neumann and his teammates of Germany U-18 had an easy start: 117-56 over Japan. A game with no history, crashing the asiatic squad since the beggining (27-9 on the first quarter). The prospect made a 36 valoration (the best of the day) in only 19 minutes: 24 points, 12 rebounds and 5 blocks. Many european teams are behind him, but at the moment he is on focus trying to improve. Bamberg offered him a spot in the first team next season. We'll see where he lands. Two more germans made great stats: Bill Borekambi ('92) nailed 18 points with 9/9 FG, while Patrick Heckmann ('92) had 17 in 15'.
Spain also made a great step in this first day. Team coached by Ricard Casas crashed Israel (84-56) even without important pieces like Joan Tomas ('92), Miki Servera ('92) and Malick Fall ('92). Spaniards where led by Joan Creus ('92), son of former player. The FC Barcelona guard scored 20 points with 5/6 threes, while Angel Aparicio ('92) added 18 with 7 rebounds. A curious detail: 9 of 12 players are from catalan teams (Barcelona, Joventut and Manresa). Maccabi Tel Aviv guard Tomer Bar Even ('92) had 10 points and 2 assists for Israel, a team that made 27 turnovers.
Italy, without Alessandro Gentile ('92) and Tomasso Ingrosso ('92), have been another team that started with a win, beating New Zealand (83-56). Point-guard Andrea Traini ('92) scored 18 points with 8/10 FG and guard Marco Ceron ('92) added 16 with 4 rebounds. After arriving tied to the half time, the 22-3 of the third quarter decided.
Turkey also won, in this case against Brazil (55-70). With Enes Kanter ('92) in USA and without Burak Yuksel ('92), the main reference is -of course- Safak Edge ('92). The lefty guard scored 14 points and made 4 steals over south-americans. Can Korkmaz ('92) finished as the best scorer of turkish squad with 20 points and 4/6 threes, while Erbil Eroglu ('93) -who shined in the EC U-16 in Kaunas- didn't shot in 12 minutes even starting the game.
In the USA Sports Arena the americans started with a victory, but with problems against talented Croatia (71-69). Youngster Dario Saric ('94) -number 1 in Eurohopes '94- shined with 13 points, 12 rebounds and 2 steals, playing 39 minutes. A great showcase for him. Guard Roko Rogic ('92) has been the best croatian scorer with 19 points and 6 rebounds, while skilled Marko Ramljak ('93) nailed 13 with 6 rebounds. The 3 points percentage (3/24) didn't help the europeans.
Disappointment with greek squad, losing easy against Australia (88-57). Aris forward Linos Chrysikopoulos ('92) struggled with 10 points (3/13 FG), while Spiros Motsenigos ('92) finished as their best scorer: 13 with 3/7 behind the arc. Australians grabbed 49 rebounds and greeks 24. No comment.
Finally German U-17 beat China (77-51) in their preparation for the U-17 World Championship that will be held on July in Hamburg. Europeans were led by 2.12 center Bogdan Radosavljevic ('93), with 15 points and 9 rebounds in only 20 minutes. His teammate Jakob Krumbeck ('93) nailed also 15 in 22'. Chinese made a 38% on two pointers. Germans, 61%.
Photo: FIBA Europe / Pascal Allée
