By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
The group stage of the BCL Youth concludes today, and the pairings for the qualifying matches and the semi-finals, which will take place on Friday, will emerge.
The games are being held in Bursa, Turkey and so far couple of things stood out.
The four victories of Igokea, who finished the first phase undefeated, but having in their composition three players who have caused a great sensation…
Dusan Makitan: The 2.04-foot tall, born in 2005, Igokea player has broken the counters. He is averaging 21,5 points (2nd in the tournament) and 10,3 rebounds (4th in the tournament) in four games, scoring an impressive double-double in averages that are sensational at this level. Makitan also has 52.5% on 2-pointers, 52.6% on 3-pointers (10/19) as well as 2,8 assists.
Andrea Acimovic: The 2.06-foot-tall Igokea center averages 19,5 points (4th in the tournament) and 8,3 rebounds (8th in the tournament) with 69% on 2-pointers. It is the tower of Igokea, which has presented a set with consistency and discipline.
Hapoel Jerusalem has had an excellent run, having only been defeated by Igokea so far… The player who got all the attention is Roe Avneri, who in three matches has 19.3 points with 12.3 rebounds (1st in the tournament) and the highest PIR of 28,3. He has a height of 1.99, with excellent efficiency from beyond the arc, hitting with a rate of 53.3%, and shooting16/30 in three matches! A player who is close to two meters tall, with incredible contact with the basket and rebounding appeal, he is a very strong prospect for the “3” or “2” position in the future.
The opposite of Hapoel’s “beasts”, Rom Hitchkes, with a height of 1.89, counts 14 points with 5.7 assists per game and the highlight was the 10 dished against Murcia.
Finally, Yonatan Abulov, is the third scorer in the tournament with 20 ppg (2nd in the tournament) and 40.9% on three-pointers, making an average of seven per match. This trio of Hapoel sends its message to coach Džikić, who these days are called upon to prepare his team for the third and very crucial match against AEK, where the qualification to the Final Four of the BCL will be decided.
Sekou Moussa Traore of Murcia is 2.05 tall and plays in Murcia from Tenerife. Born in 2005, he has great rebounding ability (8 RPG in the tournament) and so far he is shooting at least 50% on 2-pointers. He is scoring 15,3 points in the tournament and his build, given that he was born in 2005, leaves a lot of room for improvement.
Ostend has been competitive so far with one win and two losses, but the one who stole the show is 16-year-old Jarne Eluna Eyenga, who was born on December 31, 2006, and has a height of 2.03. He is collecting eight rebounds per game so far, scoring 15,7 points, and given that he is one of the youngest players in the tournament, the future looks bright for him.
Tofas has three wins against Ludwigsburg, Rytas, and Tenerife, having set a bow for first place in their group and qualification for the semi-finals. Osman Cengiz does what everyone expected him to do. Having played in six matches with Tofa’s senior team, Cengiz looks like he’s been ready for some time. He is the top scorer of his team and the tournament with 25 points, while he also collects 7,7 rebounds despite being a guard. He is not very tall and has a height of 1.85, but his leadership skills are visible to the naked eye.
Rytas has shown different faces but seems capable of playing in different styles. It has only been defeated by Tofas (95-87) but won against Beni Herzliya by 88 points (88-68) and a day after Ludwigsburg by 65 points (65-55). They have four players in double figures while Matulevic is close to a double-double in averages as he has 10 points and 9,7 rebounds. In fact, against Herzliya, he collected 15 in total.
Beni Erzelia has a powerful duo of players who have been putting in amazing performances so far, even though their team is sitting on a 1-2 record. Alon Mikaeli, born on 27/11/2005, with a height of 2.03 tall, has a mighty double-double on average with 18 points with 10,7 rebounds, also having 6/18 from the three-point line. For his part, Ariel Samri has 18 points as well, with 58.3% on three-pointers. If anything, young kids learn to shoot from a very early age.
Tenerife has one win in the threematch, but the presence of Mohamed Sanghare overshadows everything. With 10,7 points and 11,3 rebounds (2nd in the tournament), the 16-year-old athlete leaves important credentials for the future.
Nous Kouliesa is shooting 69.2% from the three-point line, going 9/13 in three games.
Igokea’s Sergej Jovanovic has 7,5 assists per game, which puts him first in the relevant category.
THE PROGRAM:
THURSDAY 13.4
16.45 Rytas – Tenerife
19.00 Nymbruk – Murcia
21.15 Hapoel Jerusalem – Ostende
21.15 Bnei Herzliya – Tofas
FRIDAY 14.4
12.00 Classification Match 9-10
14.30 1st Ranking Match 5-8
16.45 2nd Ranking Match 5-8
19.00 1st Semi-Final
21.15 2nd Semi-Final
SATURDAY 15.5
13.15 Race for positions 7-8
15.30 Race for places 5-6
17.45 Short Final
20.00 Grand Final
All matches are broadcast live with multi-camera production from BCL’s YouTube channel.
Photo: fiba.basketball