GB U20s Qualify for Last Eight with Fourth Straight Win

Image credit: FIBA

Great Britain Under-20’s are guaranteed a spot in the quarter-finals at the European Championships in Chalkida, Greece, after beating the Netherlands 48-40 for their fourth straight victory, on Tuesday afternoon.

Andreas Kapoulas’ side produced a strong finish and are now 4-0 with the chance to advance as group winners when they take on the hosts, Greece, in their final Group C encounter tomorrow.

Callum Lawson finished with a game-high 18 points for GB, while Josh Steel and Deane Williams both collected eight boards to go with six points and Jules Dang Akodo dished out eight assists in the win.

It was a slow start for GB as they missed their opening 12 shots from the floor as the Netherlands forged a 7-0 lead in the first five minutes. Lawson stopped the rot with a score from beyond the arc and despite finishing the period with the final five points, GB still trailed 13-8.

The momentum continued into the second with Lawson moving into double figures with the first eight points in the second quarter to fire GB ahead for the first time.

GB kept their opponents scoreless for over seven minutes in the quarter, conceding just two points before the half to take a slender 16-15 advantage into the break despite shooting 17% from the field.

After an even start to the second half, Sam Idowu netted from downtown as GB moved 24-19 ahead for their biggest lead of the game, only for the Netherlands to respond with a 7-2 run to level proceedings.

Sedale Hanson-Young ensured GB would head into the final quarter with a lead after adding a free throw to end the period with the score 27-26 in his side’s favour.

The Netherlands re-took the lead to start the fourth, but GB hit back through triples from Steel and Hanson-Young in a 7-0 run. However, there was another twist as a run of eight unanswered points saw the lead change hands once again.

Captain Dang Akodo stepped up down the stretch with some important plays at both ends of the floor with GB going on a 12-2 run to seal the victory and secure their spot in the last eight.

GB held their opponents to below 25% shooting from the field and forced 17 turnovers during the contest.

Box score

GB now close out the group with a game against Greece at 4:45pm UK time tomorrow (Wednesday) with top spot in the group up for grabs.

Do you like our work?

We have a tiny favour to ask. In 2018 we set out to make Hoopsfix sustainable by building our relationship directly with our readers. Up until now, Hoopsfix has been creating editorials, videos and podcasts to provide sorely missing coverage of the British game and its distinct culture and community.

We have funded Hoopsfix with our freelance work creating basketball media, but sadly that means not only does it fall behind our client’s priorities, but some of those clients are the same organisations we need to report objectively on putting us in a conflicted position.

We want to devote more time to our mission of helping British basketball reach its potential, and produce even more content for the basketball community by making Hoopsfix a sustainable 100% independent business funded directly by our readers through Patreon.

If everyone who enjoys our content chose to support us, our future would be much more secure. For as little as $3 per month, you can support Hoopsfix – and it only takes a minute.

We are tremendously honoured and humbled to have a community of people who value what we do, and we look forward to being at the forefront of the British game as it continues to evolve.

Support Hoopsfix