England U16s Beaten in Semi-Final, One More Chance at Promotion

By Bradley Gains on August 30, 2014

England under-16’s were beaten 82-62 in their semi-final against Montenegro at the European Championships on Friday but still have another shot at earning promotion.

Alan Keane’s side will play the Czech Republic today (Saturday) to determine the final team to lift themselves into Division A next year.

For 9 practices & 8 games in 11days u give everything u got.To do it 1 more day & be at ur best shows toughness.#ENGU16 #DivA #WeDoToughness

— Alan Keane (@CoachKeane14) August 30, 2014

After a strong second quarter, England went into the half-time break level but saw their opponents storm clear in the second half to secure their own promotion and set a final clash with Israel.

Sam Japhet-Mathias top scored with 13 points and 7 rebounds while Carl Wheatle was the only other player to register double figures, adding 12 points.

Stats.

Montenegro made a fast start racing into an early 8-0 lead to force England into a timeout. Japhet-Mathias got his side up and running with consecutive baskets but England still trailed 20-10 at the end of the first.

A 14-3 start to the second saw England take the lead before Montenegro quickly regained the initiative. A 6-0 run looked to have given England the lead heading into the break but Ognjen Carapic had other ideas, nailing a late 3-pointer to make it 36-36 at half-time.

Carapic then scored six points in a 12-2 start to the third as the lead returned to double figures. England responded well and a 3-pointer from Nelson Boachie-Yiadom cut the gap to 6 with 2:23 to go in the quarter only for Montenegro to close on a pivotal 8-0 run to lead 65-51.

The lead continued to grow and reached 20 points not long into the fourth quarter and that would prove to be the winning margin despite England’s best efforts to reduce the deficit.

England’s crucial 3rd/4th playoff against Czech Republic tips at 17:15 UK time with promotion to Division A up for grabs.

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