On day three Italy, Turkey and Germany all qualified for the semi-finals of the U22 European Championships , which also means a spot at the U23 World Championship in Toronto later this year!
The first game of the day started with a surprise win for Israel, who bounced back from their opening two losses, against the Netherlands with, 61 - 36. From the beginning of the first quarter they were the leading team (first quarter: 16 – 8) and controlled the game throughout. Top scorer for Israel with 26 points was Barbibay, whilst for the Netherlands it was Bo Kramer with 16 points. The defeat for Netherlands meant Italy secured their place in the semi-final.
In the second game of the day current U22 European Champions Great Britain beat Spain 59 – 37. A confident start from the British ensured that the Spanish team had little chance of a revival. At half time Great Britain led by 36 points and at no time seemed in danger of handing over the lead. Joint top scorer for Great Britain were Ben Fox and Gregg Warburton with 14 points a piece.
Great Britain Head Coach, Scott Wallace, said after the game "It was a good game, Spain are a team with great potential and it was a challenge for us. Group B is very tough, all the teams are strong. But we want the gold"
The third game between Turkey and France was also a decider: Turkey became the second team, after the home nation Italy, to qualify for both the semi-finals and the U23 World Championships! The first half of the game was close as Turkey led by just 5 points, 22 to 17 points. But Turkey grew stronger during the match and in the end took a comfortable 71 - 45 victory over France, making it 2- 0 and staying top of Group B.
In the final game of the day Germany celebrated their second win of the tournament and also a semi-final place. In Lignano-Sabbiadore, Italy were subjected to their first loss of the tournament against Germany, 62 – 35. Despite it taking the Germans some time to get into the game, once they found their rhythm they controlled the game right until the final whistle and book their place in Canada next June. Top scorer for Germany was Guntner with 19 pts whilst for Italy it was Bedzeti who hit 11 points.
Day 3 Scores:
- The Netherlands 36 – 61 Israel
- Great Britain 59 – 37 Spain
- France 45 – 71 Turkey
- Italy 35 – 62 Germany
Day 4 Schedule
- 1.30pm Spain v Turkey
- 3.45pm Germany v The Netherlands
- 6.00pm France v Great Britain
To follow the action visit IWBF Europe’s website or the ECMU22 Facebook page
