Host nation Italy opened the U22 European Championships with a win over Israel, 59 -34, in the only game on day one. Storming to an early lead in the first quarter (18 โ€“ 5), the Italians controlled the game from the start and despite losing the final quarter 13 โ€“ 8, the game was never in doubt.

Day two started with a thrilling match between current U22 European Champions Great Britain and Turkey. In a nail biting match there was hardly anything between the two sides throughout the game. However it was ย Turkey’s forwards that GB struggled to restrain, who scored 38 points inside the paint seeing Turkeyโ€™s Efeturk finish with a double double (28 points, 20 rebounds), ensuring Turkey the win, 65 โ€“ 58.

Turkeyโ€™s coach, Kemal Okur, said after the game, โ€œIt was a great victory. The key of the game? Our brotherhood”

With only a short recovery period from their defeat against Italy on the previous evening, Israel were back on court for the second time, this time against reigning U23 World Champions Germany. A slow start from the Germanโ€™s allowed Israel to take advantage and take the lead into the first quarter, 12 โ€“ 10. However this was short lived, after a time out from Germanโ€™s head coach Peter Richardz, the German team found some form, going on a 16 โ€“ 0 run to take an 11 point lead into half time, 21 โ€“ 32. Buoyed by their second quarter performance the momentum stayed with the Germanโ€™s, who dominated the final half 43 points to Israelโ€™s 7 and took a comfortable 75 -28 victory.

Germanyโ€™s Head Coach, Peter Richardz, said “It was important to start our tournament with a win. After a slow start, we increased our aggression and energy levels in the second half. Step by step we hope to be more competitive in Group A. I saw today the game between Great Britain and Turkey and I was impressed. There are many tough teams in this European Championship.โ€

The second close game of the day came when hosts Italy matched up against The Netherlands. It was Italy who controlled the game in the first half taking a 12 point lead into the third quarter, however a stunning comeback from The Netherlands team saw them win the third quarter 18 โ€“ 8 and go into the fourth only two points behind Italy, 38 โ€“ 40. With all to play for it was a tense final quarter with both teams going on scoring runs to keep it close. However it was the Italianโ€™s Bedzeti who held his nerve to make the winning layup and ย edge the game by just a basket, 52- 54.

The final game of the day France took on their Spanish counterparts. Assisted by a 40 point game from Alexis Ramonet, France came out victorious with a 20 point win, 67 โ€“ 47.

Franceโ€™s Head Coach, Stephane Binot, said following the game “It was a strong performance by us, especially in defence. Tomorrow is going to be a great game versus Turkey. If we play with the same intensity I saw today, we can win it. Our goal in this European Championship? Toronto of course, but we want to compete for the medal”.

Day 1 and 2 Scores:

  • Italy 59 โ€“ 34 Israel
  • Turkey 65 โ€“ 58 Great Britain
  • Israel 28 โ€“ 75 Germany
  • The Netherlands 52 โ€“ 54 Italy
  • Spain 46 โ€“ 67 France

Day 3

  • 11:15 The Netherlands v Israel
  • 13:30 Great Britain v Spain
  • 15:45 France v Turkey
  • 18:00 Italy v Germany

To follow the action visit IWBF Europe’s website or the ECMU22 Facebook page