FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2024 preview: Can Serbia repeat? Will Germany return to podium? Other questions
The FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2024 tips off on July 27 and the most thrilling European youth national team competition features plenty of great storylines. Here is your primer about the tournament.
The European youth national team summer continues with the tip off of the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2024 in Tampere, Finland. The competition is full of thrilling storylines, including can Serbia repeat their title? Will Germany grab another podium finish? How will France deal with so much inexperience in their squad? And of course, which five teams will book their ticket to the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2025.
Do you want to know more about the tournament? Check out this primer.
Belgium
It is very exciting to see that Belgium are back in Division A - having finished second to Latvia in Division B last summer. Belgium will be playing in the top flight for the first time since 2015 - when Tim Lambrecht, Simon Buysse and Toby Rogiers were on the team. The nation of course did finish third in Division B in 2018 - with the likes of Vrenz Bleijenbergh, Niels De Ridder and Haris Bratanovic - but could not be promoted because Greece were the designated hosts of the 2019 U18 EuroBasket and could not be relegated despite finishing 14th in Division A.
This Belgian team will be led buy Corentin Efono and Jarne Elouna Eyenga, who both played major roles on the U18 team last summer. Efono got into eight games this season in the Belgium/Netherlands BNXT League with Filou Oostende. Elouna, who also came up in the Oostende system and dominated at the Youth Basketball Champions League in 2023, spent the past season in the United States at Jserra Catholic High School in California.
It shouldn’t be a surprise that Belgium are in Division A considering that Efono and Eyenga are part of the 2006 generation that helped Belgium finish third at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2022, Division B to get up to Division A. Also back from that 2022 U16 team for Tampere are Kirill Abramovitch, Tristan Boone, Feie Tallir and Oskar Giltay. Tallir played five games this season in the BNXT League with Antwerp Giants. And Giltay appeared in four BNXT games for Limburg.
The leading scorer on that 2022 U16 team was 2007-born Jayden Hodge, who plays high school basketball with St. Rose in New Jersey. Hodge led Belgium in scoring in Division A at the U16 level last summer - at 17.4 points to go with 8.7 rebounds and 2.9 steals - but the next best scorer had 7.9 points and Belgium finished 15th and were relegated back to Division B. But this Belgium team should not have to worry about being relegated.
One other name to note is Guillaume Schoentgen, who has never lived in Belgium. He was born in Brazil and moved to Regensburg, Germany in 2018 and went to IBAM in Munich and has been with ratiopharm ulm since February 2022 and just missed out on making the Ulm teams for the Adidas Next Generation Tournaments this past season.
Croatia
Croatia enter the competition with the 2006 generation looking to make sure the country stay in Division A. That group of players were relegated to Division B at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2022, losing to Serbia 70-63 in the game for 13th place, and it was the first relegation in the country’s history.
Back from that 2022 U16 team are Dominik Dolic, Roko Jemo, Ivan Juric, Josip Pavkovic, Vito Perkovic and Ivan Volf - Jemo being born in 2007. Dolic, Juric and Perkovic were all on the U18 last summer that finished 10th in Division A. Jemo meanwhile teamed up with fellow 2007-borns Borna Katanovic and Toni Josipovic as a Big Three and guided Croatia to the title at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2023, Division B to get the country back into the top flight.
Josipovic is the only other 2007 born player on this Croatia team as Katanovic will not be playing. Also missing from the Croatia team is superstar 2006-born prospect Michael Ruzic.
Denmark
Denmark made history last summer at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket as they avoided relegation by finishing in 13th place - beating Poland 102-87 in the critical game for 13th place. That was the first time that the Nordic country has ever been able to stay in Division A - in any men’s youth age group (the Danish women’s team played at the FIBA U16 Women’s EuroBasket in 2018, 2019 and 2022).
Two of the players from last summer’s historic Danish team are back with Frederik Erichsen and Stevan Novovic - with Erichsen leading the team in assists and Novovic serving as a backup point guard off the bench.
That came a summer after Erichsen and Novovic were two of Denmark’s leaders at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2022, where the country did not get a victory and were relegated back to Division B. Also part of that team and back together for the U18 EuroBasket in Division A are Oliver Allersted, Lukas Christensen, Marcus Moller, Willas Moller and Bilal Pedersen.
Joining that group are a trio of talented 2007-born players in Silas Braikia, Noah Norgaard and Joost Dalgaard-Duus, who were leaders of the Danish U16 in Division B last summer. Braikia averaged 8.3 points and 1.3 assists in 15 games in Denmark’s first division with Herlev, finishing the season with 21 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals against Copenhagen. Dalgaard-Duus is playing with Spanish youth academy CB Zentro and Norgaard is with Tenerife, having averaged 19.6 points at the Youth Basketball Champions League in 2024.
European basketball fans have seen Erichsen twice at the Adidas Next Generation Tournament while the 7-foot-1 big man Marcus Moller played his second season with Unicaja Malaga in Spain. And Novovic averaged 4.4 points per game in the Danish top flight for Copenhagen this season,
Finland
It can be argued that Finland do not deserve to be in the competition as the country finished 15th in 2023 but were not relegated because they were already designated as hosts of the 2024 edition - meaning only Latvia and Belgium (and not third placed Montenegro) were promoted from Division B. Finland is not the first country where this happened at the U18 level. Latvia finished 16th in 2017 but were assigned as hosts in 2018 and rolled to second place. Greece took 14th place in 2018 but were designated as 2019 hosts and finished fourth in front of the home fans.
Finland hope their strong 2006 generation can do something similar. And it wouldn’t be a stretch considering that group took second place at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2022, Division B to get the country back to Division A at the cadet level for the first time since 2017.
Back from that 2022 U16 team are seven players: Elmeri Abbey, Eetu Heinonen, Leo Johnson, Kalle Koskinen, Kalle Kuhalampi, Olavi Suutela and Aron Towa. Five of those players - Abbey, Heinonen, Kuhalampi, Suutela and Towa - were on the U18 team last summer that managed two wins but ended up in 15th place. Christian Blomfelt was also on the U18 team last summer.
Added to that group are two strong players from the 2007-born generation - Samu Adler and Matias Hemdahl.
This team will know each other very well as Adler, Blomfelt, Hemdahl, Kuhalampi, Suutela and Towa play together at the Helsinki Basketball Academy. Koskinen and Aaron Ekwere teamed up with Drive Basketball Academy, who won the Finnish u19 crown in 2023 and 2024. And Heinonen plays in Spain with CB Zentro.
The leaders of the team will be Suutela, Abbey, Heinonen and Kuhalampi
France
The biggest two takeaways from this France team going into the tournament is that it is ultra, ultra talented at the top but very, very inexperienced otherwise. The roster for the three-time champs (2000, 2006, 2016) is highlighted by two of France’s next superstar prospects but also includes an unheard of eight (!!!!!) players who will be making their debut with France on their chest.
Unless you have been living under a rock, you know the biggest two names on this team: Nolan Traore and Noa Essengue. Both played on the France team that finished third at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2022, and they are the only two players back from the side that reached the Semi-Finals of the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2023 but lost to Germany in the Third Place Game.
Traore, as is well-documented, passed up big NIL money for college basketball to remain in France and play professionally with Saint-Quentin. And Essengue is expected to be handed a major role this season with German club ratiopharm ulm after he starred in the German third division as well as played out of his mind at the ANGT Dubai, where he was named MVP in helping Ulm capture the crown as the first German side to win an ANGT qualifier.
But otherwise, only Mohamed Diakite and Leon Sifferlin have experience with France, teaming up with Traore and Essengue at the U16 EuroBasket in 2022 with Diakite even playing in the FIBA U16 European Challengers 2021.
France head coach Regis Boissie decided to build his team around players who will be making their national team debut in Finland. Tyler Beracou, Joan Beringer, Martin Carrere, Japhet Moupadele, Robin Pluvy, Mohamed Sankhe, Yohann Sissoko and Romain Valakou have never worn their country’s colors. So there will be extra motivation for many of them.
This French team does have excellent talent - with Beringer, Carrere, Sissoko and Valakou all expected to play decent roles. But there is the unknown of playing in a tournament for the first time.
France have reached the Quarter-Finals in each of the last seven competitions but have collected just one medal in the last five editions - third place in 2018. How far can the insane duo of Traore and Essengue carry France?
Germany
Germany have not played in the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup since 2017 and this team is hoping to finally get the job done. The team has a roster loaded with talent and most importantly with players who have won big games internationally.
Germany last summer took third place at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket, the first time the country reached the juniors level podium. Four leaders of that team are back with Christian Anderson, Jack Kayil, Ivan Kharchenkov and Hannes Steinbach - the first three being all dynamic scoring guards and Steinbach being an efficient big inside who is a great rebounder.
Not only did those players play a year younger and grab the big victory - beating France in the Third Place Game; but three of them - Anderson, Kayil and Kharchenkov - were also part of the important team that won the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2022, Division B to get Germany back to Division A for the first time since 2019.
Back from that 2022 U16 group for the tournament in Finland are Amon Dörries, Declan Duru, Nicolas Kodjoe and Jordan Müller.
Duru is one of two 2007-born players along with Fynn Lastring who then last summer helped Germany finish fifth at the U16 EuroBasket 2023 to reach the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup for the first time since 2010. Duru and Lastring will actually be playing in their second tournament for Germany this summer as they played at the FIBA U17 World Cup in Türkiye earlier this month.
The talent level is there and now the big game experience. Could Germany grab back-to-back spots in the podium?
Greece
Greece will be shooting for the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup for the first time since 2019, when they hosted the event. Hellas are two-time FIBA U18 EuroBasket champs and have collected seven medals. The second title came in 2015 and Greece have only reached the Semi-Finals once since then, taking fourth in 2019. The team in Finland has been successful as they look for a top-five finish.
The Greek 2006 generation took fourth place at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2022. Back from the team that finished fourth - losing to Lithuania in the Semi-Finals and France in the Third Place Game - are Veniamin Abosi, Neoklis Avdalas, Eleftherios Liotopoulos, Ioannis Komnianidis, Andreas Patrikis, Anastasios Rozakeas and Stefanos Spartalis.
Abosi, Avdalas, Liotopoulos and Komnianidis all played a year up last summer at the U18 EuroBasket and Greece lost to Germany in the Quarter-Finals.
Joining the 2006 generation for Finland is 2007-born Alexandros Alexakis of Peristeri, who was Greece’s leading scorer at the U16 EuroBasket last summer.
This team will go as far as Avdalas, Abosi and Liotopoulos can carry them.
Israel
Israel come into the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2024 with the number one goal of making it four straight years in the Division A. This will be the country’s third year in a row in the top flight and Israel reached the Quarter-Finals both times, placing sixth in 2023. Israel have never played at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup and would love a top-five finish to play next summer in Switzerland.
It will rely on Israel’s 2006-born generation, which finished in fifth at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2022 - country’s best result since taking third in 1997. Most of the team is back from the U16 group with Rany Belaga, Aviv Henkin, Joul Karram, Miron Katz, Omer Mayer, Ben Saraf and Ariel Sela.
Belaga and Mayer both played a year up last summer at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket and will be keys to Israel’s chances along with Saraf, who made the big move this summer to German side ratiopharm ulm, and big man Karram.
The team also includes two players from the 2007-born generation in Tamir Gold and Gabriel Artmenko - the latter who was Israel’s top rebounder at the U16 EuroBasket 2023.
Italy
Italy are experiencing a resurgence in youth basketball and a strong performance at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2024 and a top-five finish would be a major boost. Italy hope to reach the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup for the first time since 2017 - when they took second place. Italy have only reached the Quarter-Finals of the U18 EuroBasket once in the last four editions and have just one podium finish since 2005 - third place in 2016.
Italy’s 2006 generation managed sixth place at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2022, and six of the players from that team are back together with Diego Garavaglia, Pietro Iannuzzi, Samuele Miccoli, Axel Piccirilli, Dame Sarr and Leonardo Valesin.
Gavaraglia was actually part of the surprise 2007 generation who took second place at the U16 EuroBasket last summer. Also on that team and on the U18 team in Finland is big man Luigi Suigo. Both Garvagalia and Suigo will be playing in their second tournament this summer after they helped Italy make history by reaching the Final of the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024. Garavaglia was a top contender for the All-Star Five as well.
Italy took ninth place at the U18 EuroBasket last year, losing to Slovenia in the Round of 16 and then winning the rest of their games. Miccoli and Sarr were bottom level players and they will be expected to lead the team in Finland.
Garavaglia has an excellent all-around game while Elisee Assui is an undersized big man with versatility, Iannuzzi can light it up and Theo Arihienbuwa offers length on the wing.
Latvia
Latvia face the challenge of avoiding relegation with a generation that was not convincing at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2022 and is taking over after the group before them secured promotion from Division B at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket last summer. Latvia have not had much success at Division A at the juniors level. They finished 16th in 2017 but were not relegated because they were designated hosts for 2018, when they took second place. Latvia then went down in 2019 as the last place team.
Kristers Skrinda and Rolands Sulcs were part of the team that won the U18 EuroBasket 2023, Division B, playing up a year to get the experience. Skrinda and Sulcs played together at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2022, where they finished 10th. Those two are re-united this summer from U16 teammates Toms Ailis, Rudis Donis, Pauls Katlaps, Martins Kilups and Karlis Vavers.
Latvia finished 11th last summer at the cadets level with Adrians Andzevs leading the way as top scorer and assist man. The 2007-born Real Madrid talent is joining the 2006 generation in Finland with the hopes of getting Latvia back to the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup after 2021.
Lithuania
Lithuania have not made the podium of the FIBA U18 EuroBasket since 2017, but there is a strong generation ready to end that drought. After finishing third, second and third from 2015 to 2017, Lithuania have not reached the Semi-Finals since then, taking 11th place last summer. And Lithuania missed the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup in 2023 after making three straight appearances.
But the Lithuanian 2006 group will be coming to Finland knowing they won the title at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2022. Back from that team two years ago are Matas Buteliauskas, Nojus Indrusaitis, Kasparas Jakucionis, Mantas Juzenas and Mantas Laurencikas, Nedas Raupelis and Kristupas Smirnov. And joining them is 2007-born Arminas Vilkas, who helped Lithuania to fourth place at the U16 EuroBasket last summer and then played earlier this summer at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024.
The quartet of Indrusaitis, Jakucionis, Juzenas and Laurencikas all played at the U18 EuroBasket in 2023 and will come into the tournament with more experience.
The leader of the team will be Jakucionis, though the star guard will have plenty of help and Lithuania have a strong chance of winning the country’s U18 continental crown after 1994 and 2010.
Serbia
Serbia have a chance to pull into sole possession of second place with most FIBA U18 EuroBasket titles as the reigning champs aim for their sixth crown - which would pull them ahead of Spain and Yugoslavia (both 5) and trail only Soviet Union (8 titles). Serbia are also aiming to become the first country since their own nation to repeat the championship following 2017 and 2018. Spain won the tournament back to back in 2019 and 2022.
The Serbians team is hardly recognizable compared to the team that just barely avoided relegation at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2022, beating Croatia 70-63 in the game for 13th place. Savo Drezgic, Stefan Plisnic and Milos Sojic are the only players from that 2006 generation who are playing in Finland.
The Serbian team includes two players who won the title last summer - Mitar Bosnjakovic and Andrej Kostic. Vule Avdalovic’s team is full of talent, including big man Aleksa Dimitrijevic, Aleksa Stanojevic, Aleksa Vojinovic and 2007-born Ognjen Srzentic, who helped Serbia finish seventh at the U16 EuroBasket last summer.
Slovenia
Slovenia have reached the Quarter-Finals the last three FIBA U18 EuroBaskets and the Balkan side is hoping to make it four straight and make it back to the podium for the first time since taking third in 2019. A top-five finish would also get Slovenia back to the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup.
The 2006 generation grabbed seventh place at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2022, losing to Spain in the Quarter-Finals. Back from that team are Vit Hrabar, Leon Ivicic, Urban Kroflic, Mark Padjen, Filip Petkovski, Zak Smrekar and Leon Zdravkovic. Hrabar, Kroflic and Padjen all played as bottom level players last summer at the U18 EuroBasket.
The Slovenian team also includes a major block from the 2007-born generation - Leon Jereb, Lovro Lapajne, Aljaz Menic and Mark Morano Mahmutovic. Jereb, Lapajne and Morano Mahmutovic played at the U16 EuroBasket last summer, when they finished sixth.
The leaders for head coach Danijel Radosavljevic will be Hrabar, Kroflic, Padjen and Morano Mahmutovic.
Spain
Spain are the class of European youth basketball and the Iberians look to continue their reign and become just the second nation to win six FIBA U178 EuroBaskets. Serbia and Yugoslavia also have five championships with Soviet Union still aways ahead at eight. Spain won the U18 continental crown in 2019 and 2022 and finished second in 2023 - losing to Serbia in the Final.
As strong as Spain have been, their 2006 generation only finished second at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2022, losing the Final to Lithuania. A major portion of that team is back together for the junior tournament - Jorge Carot, Felipe Diaz, Michael Enabulele, Iker Garmendia, Miquel Llompart, Asier Miguel, Mario Saint-Supery and Ruben Valero.
Garmendia and Saint-Supery played a generation up last summer and will be among the leaders after taking second place at the U18 EuroBasket. Also on that team was Real Madrid star talent Hugo Gonzalez, who did not play at the U16 EuroBasket two summers ago but instead at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2022.
Joining the 2006 generation is 2007-born big man Ian Platteeuw, who won the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2023 title and then played earlier this summer at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024.
Head coach Javier Zamora has plenty of stellar leaders to call upon. The main one will be Gonzalez but Saint-Supery is right there as well as Garmendia and Miguel.
Sweden
Sweden enter almost unchartered waters as they play at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket Division A for back to back editions. This is the first time that has occurred since 1974 and 1976. The Swedes have a number of players who experienced the Division A last summer, when they took 12th place. Sweden picked up only one victory but proved that sometimes more important is which game you win over how many games you win. They beat Sweden 72-58 in Classification 9-16 to secure their spot in Division A for this summer.
The 2006-born generation played in Division B at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2022, taking seventh place. Eight players from that team - Alliou Fall, Anton Fontin, Isak Homelius, Nathaniel Nzonyansi, Samuel Obenjo, Casper Pohto, Julius Price and Simon Tekeste - are playing together again at the junior level.
Fall, Lindby, Obenjo and Price all played as bottom level players at the U18 last summer and that experience will be invaluable as the Swedes hope to stay in Division A.
The team also has been strengthened by the 2007-born Cheick-Oumar Fadiga, who led the team in scoring, assists, steals and blocks at the U16 EuroBasket Division B last summer.
Sweden are not expected to challenge for their first-ever appearance at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup, which would come if they finish in the top five. Instead, their number one goal is to hold the league.
Türkiye
Türkiye have seen some good success at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket, grabbing second place in 2019 and 2022 before falling to fifth place last summer. The country won back-to-back crowns in 2013 and 2014 and this year will be shooting for a third straight appearance in the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup.
The 2006 generation does not have the same success from past generations thus far. At the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2022, they finished eighth - the worst showing since eighth place in 2009. This year’s U18 team will include Yagiz Aktas, Yaman Alisan, Salih Altunas, Yagiz Aksu, Yagiz Cumaliuglu and Emin Kara from that side.
And the 2007-born generation last summer slumped to 10th place at the U16 EuroBasket - matching the country’s worst ever showing from 1979 and 1987. Derin Can Ustun and Kaan Onat were on that team. But the 2007 group were the host team for the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024 and Ustun and Onat starred in helping the hosts to third place. Both Ustun and Onat will be on the U18 team as well as big man Rrezon Elezay.
The team will also be helped by the fact that Aksu and Altunas played a year up and competed at the U18 EuroBasket last summer.
Expectations for Türkiye are always high as a basketball country and they want to get back to the global stage.
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