GB’s U16 Men’s team arrived in Skopje, North Macedonia, to face a challenging group stage at the FIBA U16 Men’s EuroBasket Division B this summer.

Head Coach Liam Jefferson’s side would face Austria to open the tournament, before taking on Portugal, Sweden, and Montenegro.

GB fans had much to anticipate, with electric athletes like Maxx Tjongondjoza and Ziah Francis set to light up the fastbreak, crafty guards such as Myles Barry and Josh Mboura ready to conduct the offence, and dynamic big man Oliver Bishop on hand to complete GB’s attacks.

Coach Jefferson was determined for his team to begin their EuroBasket campaign with intensity, dominating from the start. And dominate they did.

GB led for the entire match against Austria to open the tournament.

Barry and Mboura initiated GB’s lightning start, splashing in a three-pointer each and forcing their way to the free throw line. Elijah Imevbore soon took up the scoring mantle, converting three consecutive layups and boosting GB to a 21-14 lead to complete the first quarter.

GB held their lead into the second quarter through some high-level fastbreak execution conducted by 6’7” forward Ziah Francis and Spanish Santiago Baffour-Rivera, holding off a nine-point run from Louis Pichler and Jelani Grissett.

Into the second half, GB took control. Rufus Wilkinson connected with a pair of threes, opening up space for Oliver Bishop and Barry to work inside to score layups. Tjongondjoza, the explosive forward out of Long Island Lutheran High School in the US joined in with two athletic finishes at the rim to send GB beyond reach.

Austria actually won the fourth quarter, as Benjamin Kuranovic scored 13 of their 17 points in the period.

However, GB’s stars had done enough to ensure the win.

Barry led GB in scoring with 16 points, adding four rebounds and five assists. Bishop followed behind closely notching 15 points of his own, and an astounding 16 rebounds to help GB control the paint.

Tjongondjoza had 13 points, six rebounds, and three assists, his impact highlighted by his team-high +23 plus/minus – meaning GB outscored Austria by 23 points with Tjongondjoza on the court.

Final Score: GBR 77 / AUT 61

Ziah Francis floats one up against Austria

GB’s next fixture against Portugal proved a tight game throughout, ending in heartbreaking fashion.

Barry and Bishop commenced a cagey first quarter, using their two-man actions to find Bishop in the interior and create space for Barry on the perimeter.

Francisco Faria forced a three-point Portugal lead towards the end of the period, rattling down a short jumper and completing a fastbreak with precision.

Into the second, Oliver Bishop continued to show his offensive versatility, bruising his way to the charity stripe and then dropping in a cultured three-point jumper. He had 13 in the quarter, blasting GB into a 32-36 lead.

Rufus Wilkinson also produced a strong performance, piling on five points in quick succession to start the second half, and scoring 12 in total. After a couple of threes from Barry and Mboura, GB looked in fine stead, up six going into the fourth.

The final quarter quickly progressed into a one-v-one game, with Rui Semedo and Maxx Tjongondjoza attacking either offensive end ferociously.

Tjongondjoza boasted his complete offensive skillset, using his long 6’8” frame and elite guard handle to carve out lanes to the rim, and generate space to shoot the long ball.

Semedo similarly found success at all three levels, matching Tjongondjoza at every turn.

With 33 seconds to spare, Tjongondjoza knocked down a three-pointer to give GB a slim, one-point lead.

Unfortunately for GB, Faria connected on a layup with 10 seconds on the clock, giving GB little opportunity to mount a final-moment retaliation.

Final Score: POR 68 / GBR 65

GB's game against Portugal went down to the wire

GB would face Sweden in their subsequent game in the tournament, in what would prove a stiff challenge.

Sweden saw off highly rated Montenegro in their opening match, driven by a 22 point masterclass from 6’8” centre Anders Bahati, and arrived to face GB with supreme confidence.

GB held their own in the first quarter, with Barry, Bishop, and Tjongondjoza, all chipping in to the offensive effort. Sweden erased GB’s six-point lead through a strong finish to the quarter executed by Simon Massamba, but the game remained even.

Into the second, Barry’s hot shooting ballooned GB’s lead to eight, whilst Bishop found ways to score off the dribble and from behind the arc. They formed their partnership once more, feeding off eachother’s offensive success, so that, at half time, GB led 48-36.

However, Sweden came out the blocks firing in the second half, kickstarted by a John Gonzalez three and sustained Bahati’s interior finesse. GB continued to battle through Bishop and Francis, but Gonzalez found his stroke and seemingly could not miss, whilst Erik Augustine punished GB with his pace and nouse on the break.

Whilst GB were only down five at the break, they could not resist the Swedish onslaught, and were ultimately overrun by a quality team performance.

Augustine led the Swedes with 19 points, five rebounds, and a solitary assist, missing just one of his eight attempts from the field. Gonzalez had 18 thanks to a sensational second quarter, adding eight rebounds and five assists throughout the fixture, whilst Alexander Lukic-Gavric and Massamba had 16 a-piece.

Bishop put on an astounding display, scoring a game-high 31 points along with 13 rebounds. His synergy with Barry was on full display, as the London Thunder point guard scoring 17 points, and completed five rebounds and five assists, often to Bishop’s benefit.

Final Score: GBR 76 / SWE 93

Oliver Bishop scores 31 despite strong Swedish performance

GB’s final group match against Montenegro would ultimately prove their most difficult challenge.

GB put up significant resistance, particularly in the first quarter, where they were only outscored by three as a result of some quality three-point shooting across the board.

However, Montenegro were clearly motivated after their narrow loss to Sweden, and attacked GB with precision.

Andrej Fantic lead all scorers with 22 points, along with five rebounds and six three-pointers. Luka Malovic followed close behind with 20 points of his own, adding five rebounds and four assists to his stat line. Marko Popovic completed the Montenegran big three performances, scoring 17 points for his country.

Coach Jefferson’s side was unable to get out of second gear, worn down by a physical group. Ziah Francis led GB in scoring with 14 points and five rebounds, whilst Barry had 12 and 8, but it was not enough.

Final Score: MNE 92 / GBR 68

Liam Jefferson at his first EuroBasket as a head coach

With that, GB finished fourth in Group A and will move on to the classification stage of the competition