GB Under-16s Start Euro Campaign with Victory
Great Britain Under-16s made a winning start to their European Championships campaign with a 77-43 victory over Luxembourg in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Thursday.
James Vear’s side recovered from a slow start to power to an opening victory as they begin their quest for a third straight GB junior men’s promotion this summer.
GB U16s defeat Luxembourg 🇱🇺 77-43 in #FIBAU16Europe Div B opener. Okros 18pts; Norton-Cuffy 13p; Pandza 6a. 🇬🇧🏀 pic.twitter.com/d49Eb40k5L
— Hoopsfix 🇬🇧🏀 (@Hoopsfix) August 10, 2017
Mate Okros top scored with a game-high 18 points – 17 of those in the first half – with Louis Norton-Cuffy adding 13 points as the only other player in double figures along with five steals.
Team captain Theo Hughes had seven points and eight rebounds, while Vasja Pandza handed out six assists.
Okros opened proceedings with a score from beyond the arc, but GB trailed by as many as eight at 7-15. GB began to settle and used a 13-0 run across quarters to take control before Okros scored the final eight points of the half to make it 33-20.
An 11-0 run in the third pushed the lead beyond 20 points and GB took a 53-31 advantage into the final 10 minutes.
GB continued to extend their lead with another strong quarter to wrap up a convincing win as all 12 players got onto the scoresheet.
Notes
– GB’s starters were Pandza, Shodunke, Okros, Sulaiman, Hughes
– GB return to action tomorrow when they take on Georgia at 6:30pm UK time
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.
0 comments