The Great Britain Under-20s have advanced to the second round in their first year in the Division A European Championships despite an 81-73 loss at the hands of Lithuania on Saturday evening to finish the opening round.
Thanks to Latvia defeating Hungary earlier in the day, GB already had their ticket punched to the next round, ending up with a 2-2 record as they look to continue their underdog story through to the next stages.
Head Coach Doug Leichner had a message for all the doubters after the game:
Most didn't think it was possible for us to go thru except team, coaches & staff! We can play w/ the best in Europe! #Believe #2feetin
— Douglas Leichner (@CoachLeichner) July 12, 2014
The result against Lithuania meant a second place finish in Group A, as Lithuania advanced with a 4-0 record, but that’s not to say it wasn’t easy.
GB played them right through until the end, led by Alex Young’s 19 points – his best game of the tournament – and 12 from Luke Nelson. Leichner’s side held a three point lead at halftime, but were let down by a poor fourth quarter where they were outscored 28-18.
Even though GB were still within 1 point with 2 minutes and 42 seconds remaining, from there Lithuania ramped up the pressure and managed to hold on for the win.
Led for 3 Qs but hats off to Lithuania they hit some big shots in the 4th. Onto the 2nd round and the top half #GBU20NT #Believe #2FeetIn
— Coach Vear (@CoachVear) July 12, 2014
We showed we can compete with the best for more than 3 quarters. Last 5 mins proved too much. We now progress to the top 12 #FIBAEuropeU20
— Andreas Kapoulas (@flyerscoachk) July 12, 2014
Elliott Sentance and Kavell Bigby-Williams added 11 each, with the latter grabbing 11 rebounds as well.
The games get no easier from here on out, in the second round GB will now face Slovenia on Monday (15:00 BST), Serbia on Tuesday (17:15 BST) and Spain on Wednesday (15:00 BST).
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