England under-16’s gained promotion to Division A after beating the Czech Republic 84-60 to win bronze at the European Championships in Strumica on Saturday.
Alan Keane’s side put the disappointment of Friday’s semi-final defeat to Montenegro behind them to achieve an historic 3rd place finish which propels them into the top division next year.
Carl Wheatle led the way with 13 points and 17 rebounds while Sam Japhet-Mathias and Henri Langton added 12 points each as all 12 squad members got on the scoreboard.
The first quarter was a tight battle and Thai Segwai-Lodge gave England the advantage at the end of the first after making 3/3 from the line to make it 19-16. England pushed clear in the second and opened up a double digit lead at 40-29 heading into the half-time break.
A 3-pointer from Jelani Watson-Gayle capped a 9-2 run at the start of the 3rd before a later 9-1 burst pushed the advantage beyond 20 points with England leading 66-42 heading into the final quarter. The fourth proved to be another even quarter but the damage had already been done as England closed out an impressive victory to seal their promotion.
England finish their Division B campaign with an overall 6-3 record as they earn the right to play amongst the European elite in 2015.
Check out England’s accumulated stats here.
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