GB Under-16s Hold on Over Sweden for Quarter-Final Spot

By Sam Neter on August 14, 2018

Great Britain Under-16s held on for a 79-77 over Sweden to clinch a Quarter-Finals spot at the Division B European Championship on Tuesday afternoon in Sarajevo.

Having led by as many as 27, GB were cruise control in the first half before a second half collapse that saw Sweden regain the lead with 3 minutes remaining.

Matt Marsh hit a clutch go-ahead basket with 20 seconds remaining to put GB ahead, before Cameron Hildreth got a steal and drew a foul at the other end to head to the line and split a pair for the final cushion.

Matt Marsh's CLUTCH go-ahead basket late, faking the hand-off before finishing with the left hand! 🙏🇬🇧🏀 #FIBAU16Europe pic.twitter.com/OYqFEQUCek

— Hoopsfix 🇬🇧🏀 (@Hoopsfix) August 14, 2018

“That was another gutsy performance from the guys,” Head Coach James Vear commented.

“We had a wobble in the third and partly in the 4th, but they made big plays down the stretch, especially Shodunke & Matt hitting big baskets and Cam making a big defensive play at the end.

“We have a rest day tomorrow. We will regroup and refocus and get prepared for the Quarter-Finals.”

Matt Marsh finished with an 18 point, 14 rebound double-double, Veron Eze had 15 points, Alex Distras had 12, Cameron Hildreth had 11 and Segun Shodunke joined them in double figures with 10 points.

GB finish the group phase with a 4-1 record, but await the remaining results from their group for their final placing and to find out their opponents in the next round.

Box score.

Watch the full game back here.

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