U18 Men: GB 66-86 Germany

Great Britain suffered an 86-66 defeat at the hands of the Germans in their final game of the group stage in Volos, Greece.

Despite yesterday’s emphatic overtime comeback win against Serbia, coach Alan Keane’s side didn’t manage to muster the same heroics this time around.

A scrappy first few minutes saw the Germans jump out to an early lead but GB fought back with some strong offensive play from Tosan Evbuomwan and Mate Okros, ending the first quarter with the Brits down 20-17.

The game remained neck-and-neck for the first half, as both teams battled hard to gain the lead. The Germans’ size and strength resulted in a dunk-fest on the offensive end but every time Germany looked like they were breaking away, GB answered once again as they ended the first half down 45-43.

Germany broke open their lead in the third quarter, eventually wearing down the Brits with their size and extending their lead to nine points at the end of the period with the score at 58-67 going into the fourth.

As the fourth quarter unfolded, Germany continued to extend their lead and with GB down 15 points with just over three minutes to go, the game looked beyond their reach. In the end, despite a good effort, GB fell to Germany with a final score of 86-66 which currently puts them at the third spot in Group A.

However, GB’s European Championship hopes remain alive as despite the loss they still advance to the round of 16 on Wednesday. Their playoff fate lies in the hands of Group A’s final game this evening between Turkey and Serbia, which will determine who GB face from Group B.

Stats: Tomiwa Sulaiman 14 points 6 rebounds, Mate Okros 11 points 7 rebounds, Joshua Uduje 11 points, Tosan Evbuomwan 9 points 8 rebounds.