The 2011 U-19 World Championship started today in Latvia with 16 teams and the European ones winning in the opener (except Lithuania, losing against Croatia). Great performances in this first journey, like the ones coming from russian Sergey Karasev ('93) -scoring a buzzer beater- or the Croatian fab-3: Toni Katic ('92), Boris Barac ('92) and Dario Saric ('94). Let's check what happened in all the games. Eurohopes staff will travel Sunday to Riga to update you during the Eight Final Round.
Group A
-Poland 85 Tunisia 57: They were favorites and they showed why. They travelled to Latvia with the U-18 team that will compete in the European Championship of the category in some weeks in Poland. But that doesn't mean they won't fight. They have the best generation ever in their country, and not many teams will beat them in Latvia. In the opener has been enough a great second (28-14) and third (26-13) quarters to add the first win. Mateusz Ponitka ('93), its leader, didn't waste his time: 17 points and 3/3 threes in 17 minutes. Beside him, the same players as always. Michal Michalak ('93) nailed 15 dishing 3 assists, while Przemek Karnowski ('93) scored 11 and grabbing 7 boards. Liberty Flames (NCAA) signee Tomasz Gielo ('93) added 9 points and 5 rebounds, but 3/11 FG. At african side Aymen Mahmoud ('92) ended as the only one with double-figures (10 points but 4/13 FG).
-Russia 81 Brazil 78: Triumph's Sergey Karasev ('93) -at the pic-, son of former player Vasiliy, scored a 3-pointer at the buzzer to beat a brazilian team that shocked with the lefty forward. He tallied 24 points (6/10 from downtown), pulled down 6 rebounds and distributed 3 assists to lead the victory. When south-americans took a good advantage, Russia recovered with a 15-2 run. Vlad Trushkin ('93) also made a good job (13 with 3/6 threes), while Andrey Loginov ('93) added 13 with 6/12 FG and an important basket with 1 minute remaining in the clock. As happens with Poland, 1993 Russian generation is much better than 1992 one. For Brazil, 2011 Adidas Eurocamp point-guard Raul Neto ('92) wasn't enough: 20 with 3/5 threes. Lucas Nogueira Riva ('92), declared early-entry but withdrawed, finished with 14 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks.
Standings: Poland and Russia (1-0), Brazil and Tunisia (0-1).
Group B
-Australia 73 Argentina 49: With Anthony Drmic ('92), from Australian Institute Sport, becoming unstoppable, and a huge defense Australia crashed Argentina. Shooting-guard scored 25 points with 5/8 from downtown and grabbed 6 rebounds. Beside him Hugh Greenwood ('92) added 16 with 3/6 threes. For Argentina (they began the last quarter only with 31 points) point-guard Luciano Massarelli ('93) had 16 with 2 assists.
-Latvia 85 Taipei 67: In the game that finished later in this tournament's opener hosts started making a good step forward with a win against an unknown Taipei. Small-forward Janis Timma ('92) led the victory with 23 points (10/18 FG), 14 rebounds and 2 steals. NBA draftee Davis Bertans ('92) struggled after finishing with 13 points and 7 boards but 0/6 from downtown. Guard Kaspars Vecvagars ('93), from Zalgiris Kaunas, made a good job (10 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds), while Edmunds Dukulis ('92), from Cantu, collected a double-double: 10 points, 12 rebounds and 1 assist. At the losing effort only scored 1/14 from downtown, suffering a huge defeat in the rebound battle (17 to 57). Hu Long-Mao ('92) ended as their best scorer with 18 points (but 4713 FG). Beside him Chen Ying-Chun ('93) scored 11 points, adding 4 rebounds and 3 assists.
Standings: Australia and Latvia (1-0) and Taipei and Argentina (0-1).
Group C
-Canada 109 Korea 93: The inside power of 2.23 Sim Bhullar ('92) hurt asiatic squad with a huge double-double. Huntington Prep center scored 24 points (9/19 FG), pulled down 14 rebounds and made 2 steals to lead the win. Dyshawn Pierre ('93) added 23 (8/13 FG) and 10 boards. For Korea a couple of prospect reached 20 points. Seounghyun Lee ('92) nailed 25 with 12/19 FG, while Seonggon Moon ('93) added 23 with 3/7 from downtown.
-Croatia 88 Lithuania 75: First big surprise in the latvian event. Even Toronto Raptors (NBA) draftee Jonas Valanciunas ('92) finished with 19 points (7/17 FG), 13 rebounds and 5 blocks, that wasn't enough. Croatia started getting advantage since the jump-ball, dominating the three first quarters. Beside Valanciunas only shooting-guard Zygimantas Scukas ('92) showed his skills on offense with 13 (5/7 FG) in only 20 minutes. But the show came from the other side. Point-guard Toni Katic ('92), from KK Split, scored 23 points (2/2 threes), pulled down 5 rebounds and distributed 4 assists. But wasn't alone. Croatian phenom Dario Saric ('94), Eurohopes #1 in his generation, felt really comfortable with 22 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists. Boris Barac ('92), brother of Stanko (Caja Laboral), had 22 also, in this case with 4/6 from downtown and 4 boards.
Standings: Canada and Croatia (1-0), Lithuania and Korea (0-1).
Group D
-USA 115 Egypt 60: No history. 25-5 at the end of the first quarter and game finished. Seven american players scored in double-digits. Doug McDermott ('92), from Creighton (NCAA), scored 19 points and pulled down 6 rebounds in 23 minutes, while point-guard Joe Jackson ('92), from Memphis (NCAA), added 15 with 3/4 threes. At the losing effort youngster Omar Mohamed ('94) ended as their best scorer: 17 with 3/6 from downtown.
-Serbia 78 China 73: With the main absence of Nenad Miljenovic ('93) -he will participate in the U-18 European Championship only- Serbia started the tournament with a tough victory against China behind the great performance of Aleksander Cvetkovic ('93). The guard nailed 20 points and dished 6 assists. But wasn't alone. Bogic Vujosevic ('92), from Novi Sad, ended with 16 points and 3/4 threes, while Luka Mitrovic ('93) and captain Djorde Drenovac ('92) scored 14 apiece. Nikola Siladi ('92) made a good job inside the paint: 7 points, 10 rebounds and 1 steal in 29 minutes. China fought till the last second with 2011 Nike Hoop Summit's point-guard Guo Ailun ('93) scoring 21 points and distributing 4 assists with 2/5 from downtown. Beside him Ju Mingxin ('93) added 11 with 3/5 threes and 2.18 center Li Muhao ('92) 10 with 4/8 FG in 22 minutes.
Standings: USA and Serbia (1-0) and China and Egypt (0-1).
Photo: FIBA.COM
