GB U20s Finish Tournament with Spain Loss

Great Britain under-20’s finished off their preparation tournament ahead of the European Championships with a 76-61 defeat against Spain, in Girona.

Douglas Leichner’s side battled back in the second half having trailed by as many as 26 points to finish the 3-day tournament on a high, following a win against Poland and defeat against Belgium.

Jules Dang Akodo top scored with 17 points, while Dwyane Lautier-Ogunleye added 12 points from the bench and Ben Lawson had 11.

GB kept pace with their Spanish opponents early on and only trailed by five at the end of the first at 20-15.

However, Spain – tipped to medal at the upcoming European Championships – took over in the second with a dominant 28-9 quarter which opened up a commanding 48-24 advantage at half-time.

Not to be completely blown out, GB battled back when play resumed and outscored Spain in the third, 21-15, to go into the final quarter trailing by 18 at 63-45.

GB then produced a strong finish in the final five minutes to make the score respectable against tough opponents as they edged the fourth 16-13 as they went down 76-61.

Poor 1st half much improved 2nd losing to Spain by 15. Time to get back to Eng and work for a week before the Euros #GBU20s #2FeetIn

— Coach Vear (@CoachVear) June 28, 2015

The second quarter proved to be the difference as Spain stormed clear. GB again struggled from deep going 2 of 14, whilst missing 12 free throws having gone to the line on 29 occasions.

WKU big-man Lawson was inserted into the starting line-up ahead of Aaron Menzies for the final game as GB completed the tournament without the services of captain Luke Nelson.

Box score.

GB now head back to the UK to continue their preparations ahead of finalising their 12-man roster for the Euros.

Image credit: GB Basketball/Ville Vuorinen

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