England Under-16s fought hard but couldn’t recover from a poor first quarter to lose 77-54 to Spain in their Slovakian tournament opener.
Spain jumped out to a 29-10 opening quarter as England appeared rattle early, but they found their rhythm in the second period, and carried their new-found confidence into the second half, reducing the lead to 10 in the third period, but the Spaniards turned it on again in the fourth to run out comfortable winners.
“This was a good first performance with all 12 players making a valued contribution,” said Head Coach Alan Keane.
“At this stage of our preparation Spain was always going to be a massive challenge but as a team we are where we need to be at this moment. The effort by all the players was more than I could have asked for.”
Carl Wheatle was a bright spot for England, finishing with 22 points and 9 rebounds on 9/13 shooting. Rayell Eytle-Rock added 10 points as the only other player in double figures.
“We gave maximum effort for the whole game and played aggressive at both ends of the floor. Just a few defensive lapses, especially in the first quarter, which created open shots, was the main difference between the teams,” said Peckham Pride guard Kemar Hawes, who finished with 5 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.
Keane’s side will now look to bounce back vs Czech Republic at 4:30pm on Saturday (live stats) and then Slovakia on Sunday at 10am (all local time).
Image Credit: Mark Dayson
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