The U16 Division "A" European Championship will be held in Czech Republic (Pardubice and Hradovec Kralove) from July 28th to August 7th. Three teams that will compete there have played last week-end a tournament in Guadalajara (Spain), with hosts earning the title after winning both contests. 7'9'' wingspan Ilimane Diop ('95), from Caja Laboral Vitoria (ACB), finished with the best valoration in the two games, averaging 10.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.5 blocks in only 22 minutes. Let's check what happened in each of them.
In the opener Spain beat France (63-56) behind Diop's performance: 9 points (4/8 FG), 5 rebounds and 2 blocks in 23 minutes. Agusti Sans ('95), from Joventut Badalona, nailed 12 points (3/4 from downtown) and dished 1 assist (even had 6 turnovers) and Ferran Ventura ('95), also from Joventut, added 8 with 4/6 FG. In the losing effort Thomas Ville ('95) had 11 points and 2/4 threes in 15 minutes and Jean-Dieudonné Biog ('95) 8 points, 10 boards and 3 steals. French started great (10-20), but locals came back with a great job at 3-points line (9/22). In the second day France couldn't beat Germany either (55-60), shocking against David Taylor ('95): 14 points (6/9 FG), 4 assists and 3 rebounds. His teammate Ismet Akpinar ('95) added 13 and 3/6 threes, while Janis Stielow ('95) ended with 12 and 2/4 from downtown. At french side Olivier Yao-delon ('95) scored 14 points with 4/5 behind the arc and pulling 5 rebounds and Luidgy Laporal ('95) tallied 10 points and grabbed 8 boards. Finally, in the last day, spaniards, coached by Diego Ocampo (Gold Medal in U16 EC'09 in Kaunas), knocked Germany (61-56) behind Diop's show, who flirted with the triple-double: 12 points (6/12 FG), 8 rebounds and 9 blocks. Marcos Portález ('95), from CAI Zaragoza, had 8 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist, while Joventut's Alberto Abalde ('95) added 8 with 2 steals. Who shined for Germany? Taylor nailed 20 (7/7 FT) with 2 rebounds and 2 steals, and Stefan Ilzhoefer ('95) added 10 points with 2/5 threes. Maximilan Ugrai ('95) and Daniel Mayr ('95) battled inside the paint with 11 and 10 rebounds.
Photo: Basketbasko.com (K.T.)
