2025 YBCL - Rosters Breakdown - Players to Watch
The third edition of Youth Basketball Champions League tips off on April 22 with 12 teams in Türkiye, including both former champs Igokea and Rytas Vilnius. Here is a breakdown of the rosters.
The third edition of the Youth Basketball Champions League is right around the corner - tipping off on April 22 in the Turkish city of Manisa - and what better time to look at the 12 teams in the field who hope to raise the trophy on April 27.
Hosting the competition will be one of five first-timers Manisa BBSK while the 12 club field also include the two previous champions - 2023 winners Igokea m:tel and holders Rytas Vilnius. Ten of the clubs have senior teams that played in the Basketball Champions League - or the Qualifiers - this season with the other two competing in the FIBA Europe Cup.
The U18 tournament will have players born in 2007, 2008 and 2009. The teams will play the other teams in their group with the four group winners facing off in the Semi-Finals, the second placed sides from each group advancing to Classification 5-8 action and the third-place finishers will play for places 9-12.
Here is a breakdown of the team rosters of the 12 squads. Most of the clubs - but not all - responded to our requests for information about the teams they would be fielding in Manisa. So there is some speculation in this piece in terms of who might be playing in Türkiye.
Group A
Igokea m:tel - Bosnia & Herzegovina
Group A includes the Bosnia and Herzegovina side Igokea m:tel, who won the first-ever YBCL crown in 2023 and then finished fourth last season. The junior team plays in the first league in the Republika Srpska (RS) region- the only team in the league playing with youngsters, and if they can win the playoffs they will be promoted to the Bosnia and Herzegovina first league. Igokea also reached the Final Four of this season’s U19 ABA League - finishing fourth.
The team in Manisa will only have a couple of 2007 born players while most are from the 2008 generation and there is a talented 2009-born point guard. Eight of the players played last season in the YBCL - Pavle Djurdevic, Leon Dunin, Luka Galić, Vukašin Gavranović, Mićo Milovanovic, Ognjen Perišić, Vasilije Stojic and Andrej Vuleta.
Vasilije Stojic will be a bigger part of the team this season after averaging 3.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists at the 2024 YBCL. The Serbian point guard from Priboj collected 8.3 points and 3.4 rebounds at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2023 and he is collecting 8.3 points and 3.1 rebounds in the RS first league. Stojic played at Cacak and Zemun before coming to Igokea in 2023.
Mićo Milovanovic is the only player from the Igokea team in Manisa who has played with the club’s pro side, appearing in two ABA League games. The 2008-born point guard is averaging 7.9 points, 2.0 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.2 steals in the RS league. The Gradiška native collected 8.5 points and 2.8 assists at the YBCL last season and last summer played in his second FIBA U16 EuroBasket, Division B for Bosnia and Herzegovina, tallying 7.5 points, 2.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists.
Andrej Vuleta is a Banja Luka native and will actually be playing in his third YBCL tournament after picking up 6.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists last year. He is pouring in 5.9 points in the RS league. He is also the son of Sasa Vuleta, who played professionally for about two decades for Servo Mihalj, Novi Sad, Borac Banja Luka, France, Austria (playing in the EuroCup for Kapfenberg) and Zrenjanin. He also was the Banja Luka sports director after retiring.
Ognjen Perišić played a major role last year in the YBCL with 5.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists, and the 2008-born Serbian is tallying 3.9 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists in the RS league.
Igokea’s top 2009-born talent is Luka Galić, who contributed 1.0 points and 1.5 assists in the YBCL. The Banja Luka native is picking up 3.0 points and 1.5 rebounds in the RS league.
Vukašin Gavranović scored 3.3 points with 2.3 rebounds at the YBCL last season and helped Serbia to third place at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2024 with 5.6 points and 7.4 rebounds.
Pavle Djurdevic picked up 2.7 points in the YBCL last year and the Kasindo native is scoring 2.6 points per game in the RS league; and Leon Dunin played in one YBCL game last season and is chipping in 0.7 points and 1.7 rebounds in the RS league.
Among the players who do not have YBCL experience, the Foča native Nikola Masal is averaging 6.3 points and 1.3 rebounds in the RS league.
Porsche BBA Ludwigsburg - Germany
Porsche BBA Ludwigsburg are participating in the YBCL for the third time, taking fifth in 2023 and 11th last season. The club had a major success last season as they went to the Final Four in both the German U16 JBBL and U19 NBBL levels - though both teams lost in the Semi-Finals.
Expected back from the YBCL team from last year will be Julis Baumer, Sebastian Kuhn, Dominic Mack and Armin Pivac. Baumer and Kuhn were both members of the team that reached the NBBL Final Four while Pivac was on the JBBL Final Four team along with Amadou Cisse, Noel Polidori, Ricards Rocans, Kenan Youdom and Danilo Zdravkovic. The players on the team in Manisa have played this season for the NBBL, JBBL, ProB third division and also the top flight team.
Julis Baumer will be the leader of the team, having already made his debut in the German top flight Bundesliga and averaged 1.7 points and 1.0 rebounds in 11 appearances. Most of the guard’s time has been with the ProB team with 12.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.5 steals. He also contributed 7.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 3.0 steals for Germany at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024.
The 2008-born Armin Pivac appeared in seven ProB games while tallying 9.6 points, 8.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks in the NBBL.
Sebastian Kuhn will be another major force as he scored 2.9 points in the ProB and averaged 12.1 points and 2.3 assists in the NBBL.
Anton Hjort is a 2008-born Danish native who played in three NBBL games and averaged 12.7 points and 4.0 rebounds since joining the club in February. He collected 9.4 points and 4.5 rebounds for Denmark at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2024, Division B.
Danilo Zdravkovic is a 2009-born talent who got into one NBBL game and scored 14 points after averaging 21.1 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.8 steals in the JBBL.
The 2009-born Kenan Youdom joined the NBBL team in February and averaged 10.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists, including a game with 19 points, 7 rebounds and 4 steals against Nürnberg.
Yohann Tchouaffe, also born in 2009, averaged 13.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists in the NBBL, and 2008-born guard Ricards Rocans average 3.0 points in the NBBL.
The four invited players are Lars Danziger of RheinStars Köln, Science City Jena’s Daniel Biel; and Lars Lenke and Raul Dumnici of Nürnberg Falcons. Danziger played for Telekom Baskets Bonn last season and this season was playing in the NBBL and ProB third division. He also averaged 8.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 2.0 steals for Germany at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2024.
Aliaga Petkimspor - Türkiye.
Aliaga Petkimspor will be playing in the Youth Basketball Champions League for the first time. The Turkish club beat Bahcesehir College Istanbul in the U19 Quarter-Finals last season before losing to Besiktas Istanbul in the Semi-Finals. Petkimspor are currently facing fellow YBCL team Galatasaray in the U19 Turkish playoffs, winning Game 1 of the best-of-three series 74-72 on April 14 at home in Izmir. Game 2 will take place on Thursday and Game 3 would be on April 20. One major thing to note for Pektimspor - and the other Turkish teams in the YBCL - is their players play in the U19 league, which also allows two older players.
Onur Aslaner is a combo guard who plays more shooting guard and is averaging 6.4 points in the U19 league including hitting 36 percent on three-pointers. His top showing was 18 points versus Karsiyaka with 3 threes - one of four times he had 3+ triples. Aslaner will be looked upon when the team is struggling to score. He came to the team from Ankara 3 years ago.
Ahmet Kerim Andıç is a massive 2.20 meter center born in 2008. He is averaging 3.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in the U19 league including two games with 11 points. He collected 2.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists for Türkiye at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2024 and also played at the Albert Schweitzer Tournment in 2024. Andıç is considered one of the most anticipated players in Türkiye’s 2008-born generation and he joined Petkimspor this off-season.
Süleyman Deniz Pulat is averaging 3.3 points and 1.6 rebounds, topped by 18 points with 5 three-pointers against Yalova back in mid-December. The 2008-born small forward has been with the club for three seasons and is another of the team’s most important shooters along with Aslaner. Pulat was born in Manisa so he will be playing in front of his home fans.
Yiğit Kılavuz is averaging 2.3 points and 1.4 rebounds in the U19 league in his first season with the club. The 2008-born point guard is an athlete with quick hands and feet who excels with his defensive toughness. He also is a good pick and roll player who helps give the team more diversity on offense.
Berat Çevik has picked up 2.3 points in his first season with the club. The 2.09 meter power forward is still raw due to his lack of professional training in the past but his physical characteristics make him one of the promising players of his generation.
The YBCL will also feature a set of twins for Petkimspor with the 2008-born brothers Burak Hasoglu and Cafer Hasoglu, who are averaging 2.2 points and 2.3 points, respectively with Cafer having scored 10 points verus Anadolu Efes in mid-January.
Group B
Galatasaray - Türkiye
Galatasaray Istanbul will be playing in the YBCL for the second time. The Turkish club’s first appearance came last season when they reached the Final and lost to Rytas Vilnius by the score of 98-62. Galatasaray have reached the Turkish U19 playoffs the last three seasons, losing in the Quarter-Finals to Anadolu Efes Istanbul and Besiktas Istanbul and getting swept in the 2021-22 Semi-Finals by Gaziantep.
The Galatasaray team, which plays mainly in the U19 league in Türkiye, will have five players back from last season’s Final in Manisa with Batu Anlar, Mert Aydin, Alperen Duruksu, Yusuf Ersoy and Alp Yildirim. As previously mentioned, Galatasaray are facing Petkimspor in the Turkish U19 playoffs and lost Game 1. Galatasaray have on their U19 team one 2004 player, another born in 2005 as well as three from the 2006 generation. That means the 2007-2009 generation players will have more responsibility at the YBCL than they have most of the entire season. The 2008-born players played in a local U18 league this season.
Alperen Duruksu collected 3.5 points and 4.5 rebounds at the YBCL last season and he is scoring 3.0 points with 3.3 rebounds in the U19 league. Duruksu had 10 points and 10 rebounds against Anadolu Efes in early November. He also was part of the Turkish national team at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2023 and tallied 4.2 points and 2.0 rebounds.
Mert Aydin did not get into a game in last season’s YBCL, but the 2008-born is averaging 3.3 points and 1.8 rebounds in the U19 league. His only game in double figures came March 24 with 10 points versus Bursaspor. Aydin joined the U18 national team camp last month.
Batu Anlar was born in 2008 and is averaging 6.6 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists in the U19 league, including scoring 20 points with 5 three-pointers against Bursaspor in late January. Anlar combined for 3 points and 4 rebounds in four games at the YBCL last season. He was with the Turkish U16 national team camp last summer but did not play at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2024 due to an injury.
The 2008-born Alp Yildirim is collecting 6.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists in the U19 league including 16 points and 6 assists versus Besiktas in early February. In last season’s YBCL, he scored all 12 of his points in the Semi-Finals win over Tofas, hitting all four of his three-pointers.
Yusuf Ersoy is a 2008-born player who saw limited action in the YBCL last season.
Other names in contention for spots in Manisa are Omer Altinak, Kayra Kurtay, Doruk Karadag, Ibrahim Balpinarli and Abdullah Kaan Orak.
Telekom Baskets Bonn - Germany
Telekom Baskets Bonn will be competing in the YBCL for the first time. The club competes in Germany under the title Team Bonn/Rhöndorf in the U19 NBBL league and Dragons Rhöndorf in the third division ProB. Bonn/Rhöndorf reached the NBBL Final Four twice - but those were the first two editions back in 2007 and 2008.
One of the team’s biggest leaders will be Kenan Reinhart, who contributed 3.7 points and 1.2 rebounds in the third division ProB, including scoring 14 points versus Ehingen and 12 points vs FC Bayern Munich. The former RheinStars Köln talent averaged 18.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists in the NBBL and he picked up 4.0 points per game for Germany at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024. Since changing clubs, he has shown remarkable improvement, establishing himself as a natural shooter in various game situations—both off the catch and off the dribble. In addition to being a key player for the ProB team, Reinhart, who holds Turkish-German dual citizenship, has also been integrated into the Bonn first team and he was named as the NBBL Rookie of the Year in 2023-24.
Josh Behrendt has chipped in 1.1 points in the ProB while playing most of the season in the NBBL and averaging 12.9 points and 4.4 rebounds. He is a highly versatile player capable of covering multiple positions while also being an unselfish team player and an excellent spot-up shooter. With the NBBL campaign over, Behrendt is currently part of the Telekom Baskets Bonn first team.
Vuk Scepanovic averaged 4.7 points and 2.2 rebounds in the NBBL. The shooting guard is part of the ProB team but has not gotten into a game. Scepanovic is a natural shooter who arrived from Italian academy Stellazzurra Rome, where he played from 2021 to 2023 and he tallied 4.7 points for Montenegro at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2023.
Carlo Schmid is a late bloomer who only started the game three years ago and he averaged 9.7 points and 3.3 rebounds in three NBBL games. He possesses some exceptional athletic abilities.
Linus Sundermann this season averaged 4.7 points and 2.2 rebounds in the NBBL while 2008-born Leonard Franzen had 8.0 points in 3 games; Fynn Dobiecki scored 4.2 points and David Böning contributed 3.0 points and 2.9 rebounds in the U19 league.
Bonn’s team will feature four invited players. The top one of which will be Dusan Ilic, a 2008-born Serbian-German point guard who put together an outstanding season for BBA Hagen in the U19 NBBL. He averaged 19.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, 12.1 assists and 1.9 steals - including back-to-back games with 35 and 30 points in the second half of March, one game with 16 points and 20 assists against Metropol Baskets Ruhr in mid-February and back-to-back games with 18 assists in November. The Hagen native also plays a key role in Hagen’s first team in the Regionalliga 1 fourth division, doing so since he was 15 years old. When he played against his similar aged players in the U16 JBBL, Ilic averaged 32.8 points and 6.0 assists per game. Hagen finished the Regionnaliga regular season as the number one seed but were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs despite Ilic’s good performances.
Center Cavit Gürbüzer dominated in the NBBL for BBA Hagen alongside Ilic with 21.1 points, 14.0 rebounds and 3.3 blocks while shooting 79 percent on two-pointers. He also played in the Regionalliga team.
Another invited player is 2008-born point guard Gaston Nguyen Manh - a young playmaker with great potential from BG Göttingen with whom he had 19.8 points, 2.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists in the NBBL.
And the roster is rounded up by Luca Förster, an invited player from CATL Basketball Löwen Erfurt, where he had 21.7 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 3.3 steals in the NBBL.
Filou Oostende - Belgium
Filou Oostende will be competing in the YBCL for the second time after they finished seventh in 2023. The Belgian powerhouse has put together the Coretec Basketball Academy Oostende and has their players playing in a variety of teams at different age groups as well as with other clubs in the country at different levels. Oostende has a team in the U21 Belgian league - where most of the team in Manisa plays - as well as ones in the U16 and U14 divisions. They also play in the Belgian third division. The club is not represented this season in the U18 league but will be playing in the U18 cup final just before they travel to Türkiye.
The leader of the team will be Tim Waerniers. The 2008-born made history on November 30 when he became the youngest Belgian to debut in the BNXT league against Union Mons-Hainaut at 16 years and 4 months. The 2.02 meter forward has played in three BNXT games and also made his debut in the Basketball Champions League on December 3, when he got into the game against Unicaja Malaga. Waerniers is a starter on Oostende’s team in the third division and scores 9.6 points per game. The club was really excited about signing the Ghent native away from Amon Jeugd Gentson in December 2024 as he is one of the country’s top 2008-born talents. He played a major role for Belgium in the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2024, Division B with 8.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.3 steals. The club wants to have him play with the professional team next season.
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Waerniers’ record only lasted about two months as Jules Rotsaert became the new youngest BNXT debutant as the 2009-born faced Prismaworx BAL on February 1 at 15 years, 10 months and 14 days. The name Rotsaert is actually quite big in the Belgian basketball world. Jules’ grandfather Werner Rotsaert was a long-time player and coach in Belgium and Germany and former Belgian national team player. His son - Jules’ father - is Sam Rotsaert, who played Oostende, Antwerp, Gent and Oostkamp and is currently the head coach at FIBA Europe Cup team Spirou Basket Charleroi and used to be assistant coach to Oostende’s Dario Gjergja and former youth academy coach for five years. And Jules’ older brother Matt Rotsaert played in the club for two years including competing at the YBCL in 2023. Jules Rotsaert is considered a raw diamond by the Oostende club, who believe he has the mind and capacities to become a really good player and will probably work with the pro team next season - practicing with the pro team and playing in the third division. Rotsaert has played this season in the Belgian U21 league.
Vince T’Joncke arrived in the off-season from Falco Gent, where he played two games in the Belgian second division and primarily in the fourth division. He played for Belgium at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2023 and averaged 4.6 points and 3.9 rebounds. He starts on Oostende’s third division team and collects 8.3 points per game. He will probably be on Belgium’s U18 national team this summer.
Daan Pieters got into games in the Belgian second division last season with Leper Basket SKT. After coming over this off-season, the athletic shooting guard who has flown under the radar at the national team level is playing in the third division this season and scoring 7.3 points with 2.9 rebounds, while also practicing with the first team.
The Netherlands native Edo Bruins moved from Groningen to Oostende last summer, during which time he also decided against playing at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2024 Division B because he wanted to make sure his body was healthy. He played with Oostkamp last season and is a late bloomer who still needs to get stronger.
Julian Dewinter, who stands 1.94 meters with a 2.06 meter wingspan, arrived at Oostende from Asse Ternat Sport this off-season as a 2008-born athletic all-arounder.
Lars Coppejans is the only Oostende player who was on the YBCL team in 2023, when he was the 12th man as youngest player. The 6-6 wing is a strong individual player who plays in the third division team - with 1.6 points per game - and is a late bloomer as well.
A couple of other names on the team in Manisa will be 2008-born Jules-Henri Pintiaux from Fourcoing, France on the other side of the border; the lefty power forward Robbe Keppens, 2008-born Thibault Broekaert, and Tanor M’Bengue, who is the 2009-born brother from Issa M'Bengue, who played in the 2023 YBCL. Tanor is being brought to experience being with team as young guy from smaller local club Blankenberge this offseason.
Group C
Rytas Vilnius - Lithuania
Rytas Vilnius will be playing in the YBCL in the third time and it could be argued the Lithuanian club is the most successful club in the brief history of the competition, finishing third in 2023 and then taking the title in 2024.
The team members play for the second division team in the NKL as well as Sostines KM I-Emsi in the U18 league. Rytas have been one of the most powerful clubs in the country, including featuring four players on the Lithuania team that won the FIBA U16 European Championship 2022 - Kristupas Smirnov, Nedas Raupelis, Matas Buteliauskas and Steponas Zilakauskis. In 2018, Rytas won the Adidas NextGen EuroLeague title with Deividas Sirvydis being named MVP.
Back from the YBCL winning team should be seven players: Ignas Urbonas, Matas Deniusas, Adomas Pocius, Mantas Liutkevicius, Erikas Sirgedas, Jokubas Kukta and Grantas Strelciunas
Ignas Urbonas will be the top gun for the team - a player the basketball world knows well including having already seen him this season at a major competition. He played at the Adidas NextGen EuroLeague Ulm event for the Next Gen Team, averaging 9.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.3 steals. He was named the MVP of the YBCL last season as he averaged 19.0 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists and collected 17 points and 9 rebounds in the Final. He played at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2023 and then collected 10.0 points 6.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024. Just 11 days after winning the YBCL title, Urbonas made his Lithuanian LKL first division debut on April 18 against BC Siauliai. That made him the second youngest player ever to debut for Rytas at 16y 4m 27d, behind only Evaldas Kairys (16y 1m 6d) and ahead of Rytas star talents Deividas Sirvydis (16y 11m 53d) and Marek Blazevic (17y 1m 22d). The game against BC Siauliai was special because they are coached by his father Zydrunas Urbonas, who himself played basketball from 1993 to 2012 in Lithuania, Russia, Latvia, Greece, Cyprus and Ukraine and was named the LKL season MVP in 2001 playing for BC Siauliai. Zydrunas even had his Number 8 jersey retired for Juventus Utena. Ignas Urbonas last May agreed to stay with Rytas and signed a long term deal with the club. Urbonas is starring for Rytas’ second team in the second divivion NKL with 14.7 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.9 assists. This season Urbanos is averaging 15.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.3 steals in the NKL second division and had 12 points and 3 rebounds in his one game in the top flight LKL this season in March 2025.
Matas Deniusas tallied 9.2 points and 4.6 rebounds at the YBCL last season and also played at the FIBA U17 World Cup 2024 with 6.7 points and 4.0 rebounds. In the NKL, Deniusas has averaged 6.6 points and 3.3 rebounds while also picking up 19.8 points, 10.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.6 steals and 2.2 blocks in the U18 league.
Adomas Pocius had 7.2 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists at the YBCL last year and then contributed 5.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists at the FIBA U17 World Cup 2024. Pocius is averaging 2.6 points and 1.4 rebounds in the NKL and had 15.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 4.4 assists at the U18 level.
Another strong part of the YBCL title-winning team last year was Mantas Liutkevicius with 10.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 7.0 assists. Liutkevicius also was on the Lithuanian team at the FIBA U17 World Cup and tallied 8.7 points, 2.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists. The point guard had 3.9 points and 2.3 assists in the second division this season and 16.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 2.2 steals at the U18 level, including 31 points and 8 assists against Marijampoles while picking up two points and assist double-doubles.
Erikas Sirgedas scored 9.5 points at the YBCL and played at both the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2023 and the FIBA U17 World Cup 2024, contributing 4.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists. Sirgedas was a force with the U18 team this year, averaging 13.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.8 assists.
The 2009-born Jokubas Kukta collected 8 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists in a combined 17 minutes in four games at the YBCL last year. His profile on Instagram includes “Romans 8:18”, which states: "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”
Grantas Strelciunas was another member of the Lithuanian team at the FIBA U17 World Cup last summer with 2.4 points and 2.3 rebounds. And he collected 13.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks in the U18 league.
Other players who have had strong U18 level seasons this year and could get the call for Manisa include: Faustas Binkauskas, Ignas Razdaigora, Mykolas Benetis and Edvinas Slabasevicius.
Manisa BBSK
Manisa will be playing in the YBCL for the first time - and doing so as the host team. The professional club has only been playing in the Turkish top flight since 2022-23 and played last season in the FIBA Europe Cup, reaching the second group stage. They competed this season in the Basketball Champions League, reaching the Top 16.
One of the team’s leaders will be Tolga Şen, who averaged 9.0 points and 6.3 rebounds in the U19 league. Şen played with Turk Telekom Ankara last season.
Deniz Altundaş averaged 7.1 points, 1.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists in the U19 level includings 23 points with 4 three-pointers against MST in mid-November. Last season he was with Bodrum Mugla.
Mehmet Delibaş is a 2008-born talent who collected 6.8 points and 5.8 rebounds at the U19 level with two double-doubles (12 points and 15 rebounds vs Buyukcekmece, 19/11 vs Gaziantep). The power forward played with Göztepe Izmir and Petkimspor before coming to Manisa.
Arın Aktaş, who picked up 2.3 points in the U19 league, started playing in Manisa at age 9. After that Pınar Karşıyaka transferred him from Manisa to İzmir. Aktaş played for Pınar Karşıyaka until U16 and then transferred to İzmir Bahçehir Club for two years. During his İzmir career Aktaş traveled 100 kilometers every day between Manisa and İzmir because he was living in Manisa but trained in İzmir. During his career he traveled 200,000 kilometers just for training. Last year Aktaş decided to return to live in Manisa and transferred to Manisa BBSK.
The 2008-born power forward Efe Tercan played previously with Darüssafaka and Türk Telekom before coming to Manisa.
Demir Kaan Köseli is a 2009-born guard who joined the club this off-season and wing Ege Leylek is also from the 2009 generation. Other players on the team will be Eralp Odabasi who had 3.3 points; and Ardic Bakkal, who added 2.0 points; and wing Mustafa Aydoğan.
Pallacanestro Reggiana - Italy
Pallacanestro Reggiana - more commonly known as Reggio Emilia - will be competing in the competition for the first time. It is also the first time that an Italian club will be in the YBCL. Pallacanestro Reggiana won the U19 Italian title twice - in 2003 and 2007 - and were runners-up in 2018.
Over the years, the club has produced a number of players who went on to become professionals including Nicolò Melli, Gianluca Basile, Angelo Gigli, Riccardo Cervi, Ojars Silins, Arturs Strautins, Momo Diouf, Sasha Grant and Momo Faye. NBA superstar Kobe Bryant spent part of his childhood in Reggio Emilia as his father Joe Bryant played for Pallacanestro Reggiana in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Youth basketball fans have already seen El Hadji Deme this season as the big man played at the Adidas NextGen EuroLeague Ulm, competing for the Next Gen Team Ulm and averaging 5.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.0 blocks. He is also averaging 14.4 points in the Italian U19 league. The 2.14 meter forward hails from Senegal, from where the team recruited him four seasons ago, from DBA Academy in Dakar. He can alternate between inside and outside and can be effective both in the low post and facing the basket. On defense he shows excellent timing for shot blocking.
Babacar Samb is also from Senegal and also came from the DBA Academy with the 2008-born big man being in Italy for his third season. The 2.06 meter big man also played for the selection team at the NextGen EuroLeague Ulm, collecting 4.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.0 steals and 1.0 blocks. He is averaging 4.3 points in the U19 league as well as 11.6 points in the U17 league.
Pablo Abreu is another 2008-born talent who is scoring 5.3 points per game in the U19 league to go with 18.2 points at the U17 level. Abreu was a solid part of the Italian team that surprisingly took second place at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2023 with 4.7 points and 4.1 rebounds. He missed the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024 with a knee injury. Abreu is actually Cuban-Italian as his father is Pablo MIguel Abreu, a long-time baseball player in Cuba and played for the Cuban national team at the 1987 Basketball World Cup. Abreu won four Cuban league championships with Metropolitanos and Industriales and was named as the country’s best lefty pitcher seven times. After retiring, Abreu went into coaching and worked with the Italian clubs Nettuno, Reggio Emilia and Parma.
The team in Manisa includes two 2008-born cousins in Alessandro Manfredotti, who is scoring 2.5 points in the U19 league and 14.4 points at the U17 level; and Luca Manfredotti, who averaged 11.2 points in the U19 team and 19.5 points with the U17 squad.
Another of the leaders will be 2008-born Arseniy Hadzhyiev, who is scoring 11.3 points in the U19 league.
The team will also include a mix of Filippo Carboni (4.9 ppg in U19), Riccardo Selva (5.7 ppg), Daniel Emokhare (2.6 ppg), Francesco Lusetti (2.6 ppg), Filippo Bardelli, Federico Borzacca and Lorenzo Marras.
Group D
Tofas Bursa - Türkiye
Tofas Bursa and Rytas Vilnius are the only two clubs to finish on the podium in the first two YBCL events. The Turkish club hosted the first edition in 2023 and reached the Final and then took third place in 2024. Tofas’ players play mainly in two different teams - in the third division with the Gemlik club and for Tofas in the Turkish U19 league. Tofas lost in the U19 Final in 2021 to Fenerbahce 81-80 despite having Ege Demir, Berke Buyuktuncel, Ata Atsuren and Batin Tuna. And Tofas lost in the Quarter-Finals 2-0 to eventual champions Anadolu Efes Istanbul. Tofas pride themselves in bringing in a number of players from Bursa, and this team will include local talents Yucel Basaran, Alp Sancakli, Emirhan Serbest, Enes Akman, Kerem Çorumlular, Halim Yildirim and Orkun Dayioglu.
Emirhan Serbest was one of the team’s leaders at the YBCL last season with 8.5 points and 11.3 rebounds. He is averaging 4.7 points and 5.1 rebounds in the U19 league with 17 points and 7 rebounds versus Gaziantep, and he is contributing 3.9 points and 1.8 rebounds in the third division. He drained 4 three-pointers and scored 24 points in 38 minutes against Göztepe in mid-March, the only time he played more than 20 minutes. Serbest was a solid part in helping Türkiye capture third place at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024 with 1.9 points and 3.1 rebounds.
Ahmet Gonul will also be at his second YBCL after totalling 9.0 points, 5.8 rebounds 1.8 assists last year. He is scoring 3.6 points in the Turkish third division while picking up 7.9 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists in the U19 league. He poured in 19 points with 3 threes vs Galatasaray and 16 points and 9 rebounds vs Besiktas. He has hit multiple triples in five games.
Enes Akman poured in 9.3 points and 4.3 rebounds at the YBCL last year and this year is averaging 8.4 points and 4.0 rebounds in the U19 league, including 21 points and 6 rebounds vs Manisa and he also had 17 points vs the YBLC host team. Those were two of his five games with 17+ points.
Yucel Basaran will be one of the leaders as well after he collected 6.3 points, 3.0 rebound and 4.8 assists last year at the YBCL. He is averaging 12.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 2.2 steals in the U19 league. Among his top performances were 22 points and 7 assists vs Karsiyaka while he scored 16+ points in seven games. He also collected three double-doubles (18p/12a vs Bursaspor; 12p/12a vs Galatasaray; 16p/10a vs Özel Gelisim Koleji). In the third division, Basaran is averaging 3.2 points, 1.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists, topped by 10 points and 8 assists vs Konya.
Riza Pasaoglu is new with the club this season as the 2008-born athletic, strong defending forward arrived from Anadolu Efes Istanbul. He is averaging 5.5 points and 3.1 rebounds in 15 minutes in the U19 league, including scoring 13 points versus Bursaspor. In the third division, he is totalling 3.8 points in 12 minutes per game over 10 contests, topped by 9 points and 6 rebounds against Belediyesi.
Kerem Corumlular was part of the Türkiye national team at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2024 where he averaged 4.6 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists. The 2008-born forward is averaging 4.2 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.1 asissts in the Turkish U19 league including picking up 15 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals against MST in November.
Tofas also will have one of the most exciting 2009-born talents in Emir Karabulut, who returns to Türkiye after spending the last two seasons with Barcelona. The 2.12 meter big man signed with the Spanish powerhouse in 2022 at age 13 after learning the game at İzmir Ege Gençli.
Mustafa Bagadir (2008) was also part of the Turkish U16 national team last summer (1.8 ppg). Halim Yildirim is a 2008-born forward who helped Kosovo win the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2024 Division C with 7.0 points and 6.8 rebounds.
The team will also likely have the 2008-born Alp Sancakli and Efe Bastas.
ERA Nymburk - Czechia
ERA Nymburk are returning for a third time after finishing 10th in 2023 and 7th in 2024. The club has dominated the senior level in Czechia but has not been able to leave their mark at the junior level. Last year they were eliminated at the Semi-Finals stage of the U19 league.
Six players will be back from the YBCL from last season - Kryštof Davídek, Andrej Majernik, Adam Placek, Rafael Lawrence, Thomas Stanko, Ondrej Nikodym
Kryštof Davídek played just one game at the YBCL last season, tallying 11 points and 6 rebounds against AEK Athens. The 2.04 meter athletic forward is averaging 9.5 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.6 blocks in the U19 league. The 2008-born Davídek collected 6.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2024, Division B.
Andrej Majernik averaged 6.3 points and 4.5 rebounds at the YBCL season. The forward, who played for the Get Better Academy and Kosice before coming to Nymburk. He twice played for Slovakia at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket Division B, collecting 6.7 points and 4.0 rebounds in 2023.
Adam Placek had a minor role in last year’s YBCL run with 0.8 points and 1.3 rebounds and is averaging 7.3 points and 4.4 rebounds in the U19 league.
Rafael Lawrence picked up 0.7 points and 2.7 rebounds with the team last season at the YBCL. The Czech-USA native is averaging 3.6 points and 1.6 rebounds in the U19 league and also has appeared in three games in the second division with 3.0 points and 3.0 rebounds.
Thomas Stanko will be one of the leaders again after he had 12.0 points and 5.3 rebounds at the YBCL last season. The 2.04 meter athletic forward has gotten into two second division games with 4.5 points and 2.5 rebounds and he averages 77.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.2 in the U19 league. He played in the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2023, Division B and FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2024, Division B for Slovakia, averaging 11.9 points and 4.9 rebounds in the latter.
The 2008-born Ondrej Nikodym played in three games in the YBCL without scoring or grabbing a rebound with 1 assist.
The 2008-born Patrik Studeny is averaging 3.0 points and 1.6 rebounds; fellow 2008-born Filip Tobias has picked up 2.5 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists and Stepan Krska is collecting 2.3 points and 4.0 rebounds.
Bar Amiel joined the club recently. He is the son of Oren Amiel who coached Nymburk and German club Bamberg and now serves as assistant coach with Japanese team Kawasaki Brave Thunders. Bar was playing for Nymburk when his father was coaching there.
Another famous name is Matyáš Benda the 2008-born son of the legendary Petr Benda. Matyáš is averaging 6.3 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.2 steals including 19 points versus Decin in December. He debuted last season in the NBL first division in September 27, 2023. That was a special night as it was a farewell game and jersey No. 4 retirement for Petr Benda and the then 15-year-old Matyáš came out of the stands and onto the court and finished the final 44 seconds of the game alongside his father on the court.
Another player for Nymburk at the tournament will be 2009-born Jan Kukačka, whose father Tomás Kukačka played for the Czechia at the upper youth levels in 1997, 1999 and 2000 and played in the Czechia league for many years.
Spartak Office Shoes - Serbia
Spartak Office Shoes will be making their debut in the YBCL and it will also be the first time that a Serbian club is taking part in the competition. The club from Subotica in northern Serbia right on the Hungarian border only returned to the Serbian KLS in 2022, winning the 2MLS championship. Spartak then won the ABA2 League title in 2023-24 to earn the right to play in this season’s ABA League. This season the club lost to Joventus in Round 1 of the Basketball Champions League qualifying and are ranked seventh in the ABA League with a 14-12 record.
At the U19 level, Spartak did not reach the U19 Serbian league last season. In the 2022-23 season, they finished sixth in the final standings and then lost to Crvena Zvezda Belgrade in the Quarter-Finals with players like Dusan Cicic and Marko Sarenac, the latter who played after that summer in the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2023. Spartak this season went 0-3 in the U19 ABA League, losing games to Igokea m:tel, Cedevita Olimpija and Zadar. The team is playing in the Serbian U19 league, from where the stats included below are taken
Aleksandar Ćulum comes from Novi Sad and is averaging 5.6 points including 19 points vs BKK Radnicki.
The 2009-born point guard Ognjen Simjanovski is part of the Serbian U16 national team for this summer.
Vukašin Kovačević is another Novi Sad native and is picking up 7.0 points and 5.2 rebounds.
Spartak also has a number of local Subotica players, including Aleksa Mucalj (4.3 ppg), Mihajlo Veljković, 7-footer Jovan Vuković (3.6 ppg), 2008-born Luka Kockar (2.1 ppg) and 2008-born Aleksandar Nedeljković, who is the second-best scorer in the cadet league.
Pavle Steljić is a Vrbas native and is totalling 7.7 points per game including 17 points versus FMP.
Aleksandar Matija Vuković is listed as coming from Trail, British Columbia, Canada (2.4 ppg) and the 2008-born Simon Grubanov is from Viborg, Denmark.
Also in the mix for Nikola Nikolic’s team are 2008-born forwards Srdjan Bakula and Nemanja Muhadinović.
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