At the U18 European Championship (Div. A) in Tampere, Finland, our U18 Belgian Lions got off to an excellent start, overpowering Croatia on their way to a 87-71 victory.
Belgium got off to an iffy start of the game though and saw Croatia open up with a 2-11 run before our boys got into their rhythm and under guidance by an excellent Corentin Efono quickly turned things around for the 17-13 score at the end of the opening quarter. In the second quarter Efono continued his strong play and got support from Jayden Hodge to cruise to a 46-30 lead at the half.
Croatia came out the break with renewed energy and thanks to a couple of threes were able to significantly reduce the deficit with a 2-10 run, forcing coach Michiels into a Timeout. The timeout succesfully broke Croatia’s momentum and when Letto Van Drom got hot from behind the arc for Belgium the lead increased again to 65-48, headed into the final quarter. Hodge, Van Drom and Oskar Giltay – who had played limited minutes up to now due to foul issues – kept Belgium firmly in the lead for the 87-71 final score.
Hodge finished as the lead-scorer for Belgium with his 20 pts and also added 7 rebs & 4 asts. Van Drom added 18 pts, shooting 4/6 from behind the arc, along with 5 steals. Efono also scored 18 pts, adding 9 rebs & 5 asts, while Giltay finished with 10 pts, 8 rebs & 4 blocks in only 17 minutes.
Tomorrow our U18 Lions will face Turkey.