England U16s Defeat FYR Macedonia By Two

By Sam Neter on August 16, 2013

England Under-16s put the disappointment of failing to qualify for the semi finals of the European Championship behind them with a 57-55 victory over FYR Macedonia on Thursday.

Macedonia’s loss to Slovenia on Wednesday had put paid to any hopes England had of making the top four of the tournament, so they are now left with batting for fifth spot at best.

The game was close throughout and was only decided in the last 5 minutes when a 6-0 run by England broke open a 51-51 tie and swung the game in their favour. Macedonia hit back to get within one score and had their chances to win the game as England failed to score in the last 90 seconds, but a pair of three point attempts missed for the eastern Europeans and they ended up two points short.

Aidan Gastaldi-Davies had 14 points for England and Josh Steel had an 11 point, 11 rebound double-double. Sam Japhet-Mathias pulled in 13 rebounds along with his 7 points and 2 blocked shots.

England have an off day on Friday before taking part in the 5th-8th playoff games starting with a game against Georgia on Saturday.

Box score.

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