By Luca Virgilio
This FIBA Under 16 European Championship Division A was one of the most uncertain of the last years, with the Spain that deserve the final victory thanks to a great group and among all a superb organization on the court. Serbia that earn the Silver after a harsh overtime against Spain, Greece that overcome Italy for the Bronze and France that won the 5/6 final against Croatia grab the 5 pass for the next Under 17 FIBA World Championship 2014 in Dubai next summer.
Finals:
½ Place: Spain – Serbia 65-63 (SPA: Rodriguez 15pts+14reb; SER: Rakicevic 19pts)
¾ Place: Greece – Italy 78-50 (GRE: Papagiannis 22pts+11reb; ITA: LaTorre 22pts+10reb)
All Tournament Team:
Stefano Peno (G, 6’4’’, Serbia, 1997): won the MVP of the tournament and also the playmaker spot in the All Tournament Team. The guard from Barcelona ends the tournament with 9.3 points, 7.1 rebounds and 4.6 assists in 33 minutes per game but nevertheless his shots selection and his capacity to read swiftly the situations on the court are still inadequate for his potential. If on one hand we have a self-confident player with a strong body structure and with no fear to try circus shots on the other hand he has to reduce turnovers (3.9 in this tournament) and at the same time he needs to enhance his poor shot percentages because the 50% from the free throw line, the 36% from 2 and the 23% from 3 are too low for a prospect like him.
Xabier Lopez – Arostegui (SG, 6’5’’, Spain, 1997): was without doubt the most talented player in Coach Hernandez’s roster and he showed his skills every time he was on the field. Pure shooter with an enviable clean shot mechanics, good catch and shoot and with an high intelligence quotient he ends the Championship with 12 points, 5 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2 steals in 30 minutes per game. Lopez-Arosteguj has to improve his muscular structure because is too skinny in this moment and this could be a problem in one or two years. He has to work a lot on his intensity on defense, however a terrific shooter like him (amazing his 6/11 from behind the arc against Croatia in the Quarter Final) is a rarity in the last generations and I believe that he’ll do good things in the next years.
Svitoslav Mykhailiuk (G, 6’6’’, Ukraine, 1997): was the one of the biggest surprise in Kyiv with his extraordinary physical structure, his strength and his explosiveness. With 25.2 Mykhailiuk is the second for points per game, only behind Korkmaz, at which he added also 8 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 3.3 steals in 39 minutes per game and the impression that he could dunk every time he attacks the rim. Offensively he is quite complete: excellent penetration skills, reliable shooting mechanics from middle and long range with a really fast release of the ball and a good shots selection. Defensively he can be a factor defending on different role thanks his strong musculature, powerful arms and fast feet.
Milos Glisic (PF, 6’9’’, Serbia, 1998): is the brighter hope for the Serbian basketball at the moment and in this day in Kyiv he showed once again all his feeling for the game. Beyond the perfect physical structure, his tactical versatility playing as a shooting guard or as a center in a some particular situation, the thing that impress me much is his ability to understand before the others what is going to happen on the court: where a ball will go after a missed shot, what kind of adjustments is going to do the defense. His high IQ allows him to play like a veteran and his performances were the reason why of Serbia success until the final. Glisic ends his second (2 years underage last summer) Under 16 European Championship with 14 points (50% from the court) and 7.6 rebounds in 28 minutes per game.
Georgios Papagiannis (C, 7’0’’, Greece, 1997): was the biggest problem for all the other big men of the competition, an impressive presence inside the area. Papagiannis thanks to his size and his soft hand from mid range is unstoppable now but he has to improve his low post move and he has also to speed his footwork to stay at high level in the next years. He averaged 14.3 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks in 32 minutes per game.
Honorable Mentions:
Furkan Korkmaz (SG, 6’5’’, Turkey, 1997): has a great body and I believe that he’s only at the beginning of his growth: long arms, fast hands that allows him to be a good ball catcher (2.5 steals per game during this European Championship), skinny legs and reactive feet. He’s a great problem for the opponents when he takes advantage from a pick and roll situation because if the defense decide to pass behind the block his shot is really fast and clean meanwhile if the defense decide to stay with him Korkmaz is able to take the contact attacking the rim. Great shooter from 3pts (36/88 and 41% in the competition) but he needs to work on the free throw (48%). The Turkish ends the Championship with 25.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 32.8 minutes per game.
Dragan Bender (PF, 6’9’’, Croatia, 1997): is potentially the real NBA prospect of this generation, because a 6’9’’ with skinny legs and long arms that can play as a guard with good results is not a thing that you can see every day. Today he’s still unripe, a little bit discontinuous in his performances and maybe not yet in touch with his own talent but in this tournament showed great things and continuous improvement under multiple aspects. Bender ends with 9.8 points, 11 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and 4.1 assists in 36 minutes per game.
Andrea La Torre (G, 6’7’’, Italy, 1997): has lead Italy to the Dubai World Championship 2014 with a great performance against Turkey in the Quarter Final but his tournament was full of upside/down. Physically and muscularly stronger than a lot of same role opponents, La Torre showed all his talent in offensive 1vs1 situation with step-back shot, pivot foot movements and strong penetration but if he wants to growth he has to work first of all on his long range shot (just the 20 % in 3pts) and secondly on turnovers (2.7 per game), his playmaking is not bad at all and maybe his future at high level is in that spot. Defensively he could work on different players (from guards to power forward) with good results, he works well on passage’s lines but he has to cut off concentration black out. Talking about stats La Torre ends the tournament with 14 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals in 27 minutes per game.
Lovro Mazalin (G, 6’8’’, Croatia, 1997): that has played also the U18 European Championship this summer, scored 44 points against Turkey but above numbers and stats the impression is that Mazalin for maturity and discipline in this moment is on an upper level respect the others player of his age in Europe. The left-handed from Cibona is versatile on offense and he can play from 1 to 4 position but I think that in the future he’ll be a 1-2 thanks to his good playmaking skills (excellent readings on pick and roll situation) and also because is offensive 1vs1 is becoming unstoppable. Respect the last time I saw him, Mazalin is physically improved, especially in the upper part of the body and this allow him to conclude his penetration with 2 points and a foul. He averaged 18.6 points, 8 rebounds and 3.7assists in 33 minutes per game in his second U16 European Championship.
In Sarajevo, 1700 kilometres far from Kyiv, the Under 16 Denmark NT raised up to the sky the European Championship Division B cup thanks to an astonishing performance from the final MVP of the tournament Jacob Larsen. With Denmark also Bosnia and Herzegovina and Finland will play in Division A next summer
Finals:
½ Place: Denmark – Bosnia 72-69 (DEN: Larsen 24pts+16reb+7bs; BOS: Dedovic 25 pts+3 ass)
¾ Place: Finland – Slovenia 96-62 (FIN: Markkanen 26pts; SLO: Masicek 15pts)
All Tournament Team
August Haas (G, 6’0’’, Denmark, 1997): averaged 13 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 32 minutes on the court
Blaz Mesicek (SG, 6’4’’, Slovenia, 1997): ends the competition with 15.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game
Nedim Dedovic (SG, 6’8’’, Bosnia, 1997): ends this European Championship with 20 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists in 35 minutes per game
Lauri Markkanen (PF, 6’8’’, Finland, 1997): averaged 15.6 points (with the 44% in 3pts), 6 rebounds and 1 assist in 22 minutes per game
Jacob Larsen (PF/C, 6’9’’, Denmark, 1997): was voted as the MVP and he ends the tournament with 20 points (with the 67% from the court), 12 rebounds, 1.5 assist and 4 blocks in 30 minutes per game.
Photo: FIBA Europe / Ciamillo-Castoria
Twitter of the author: @LucaVirgilio
