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ANGT Zadar Blog: U18 Zaragoza 71-70 U18 Maccabi

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The Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament series continues this week with the first ever qualifying tournament in Zadar, Croatia. Action begins on Friday at Kresimir Cosic Hall. The event features seven clubs from six different countries plus the specially assembled Next Generation  Zadar team, so there will be players from across Europe and beyond putting their talents on display in a true international basketball celebration. Here's a primer on some of the top talents to keep an eye on in Zadar.

### Ori Cohen, U18 Maccabi Tel Aviv

Cohen will be competing in his second ANGT after he collected 5.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.3 blocks last season at the ANGT Finals. The forward is averaging 10 points on 38% three-point shooting and 5.5 rebounds in the Israeli U18 league. Cohen played in the FIBA U16 European Challengers 2021 where he averaged 8.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.2 steals. He is a long player at 2.00 meters and likes to play face-up on the perimeter. He can shoot the three-pointer very well and attack close-outs, but can also pass nicely. Cohen is very versatile and explosive with his size. On defense, he can defend both guard spots and both forward positions. He still needs to improve his toughness around the rim. 

### Lucas Langarita, U18 Casademont Zaragoza

Langarita will be playing in his third ANGT after he tallied 4.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steals last season in Varese. The 1.92-meter guard is averaging 15.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists this season for Zaragoza's affiliated team in the EBA league and he is also practicing with the pro team. Langarita has played two Spanish League games in which he's compiled 3 points and 1 assist in 8 minutes. Last summer he helped Spain take second place at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2022 with 11.1 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.4 steals. Langarita is a strong finisher with excellent one-on-one skills. On defense, he can help with his good size. 

### Lon Lican, U18 Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana 

Lican will appear in his second ANGT after going for 11.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.5 steals last season. The guard collected 10.9 points with 3.3 rebounds and 1.4 steals for Slovenia at the 2022 FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup. He also had 22.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.5 steals in two U19 ABA league games this season and is averaging 13 points and 5 assists on Cedevita’s second team. Lican is a good all-around player who can pass, penetrate and shoot as well as rebound. He plays mainly as a combo guard. 

### Jerome Ntsourou, U18 Stellazzurra Rome

Ntsourou will be playing in his second ANGT after he appeared in two games at ANGT Patras last season. The 2006-born forward collected 6 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 blocks in a combined 15 minutes in those games. Ntsourou’s biggest strength is his athleticism but he also excels in rebounding and blocking shots. Ntsourou is a good passer, too. The big man still needs to work on his ball handling as well as playing more with his left hand. 

### Michael Ruzic, U18 Zadar 

Ruzic will be making his debut in the ANGT this season as the club returns to the competition. The 2.06-meter forward is the son of Tomislav Ruzic, who played four seasons in the EuroLeague and four more in the EuroCup. Michael played for Croatia at the FIBA U16 European Championship 2022 and averaged 7.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists. He is averaging 10.5 points and 4.2 rebounds in the Croatian second division this season. Ruzic is a big man who can both shoot and dunk in traffic. He is very athletic and excels in the transition game.

### Dame Sarr, U18 FC Barcelona 

Sarr returns for his second ANGT after he collected 13.2 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.2 steals playing last season at ANGT Ljubljana for Orange1 Basket Bassano. The Italian also played last summer at the FIBA U16 European Championship 2022 and averaged 14.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.6 blocks. Sarr already made his Spanish League debut against Bilbao Basket at the end of January. He is predominantly playing in the fourth division EBA where he's been worth 15.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.6 steals. Sarr is a versatile wing who can put the ball on the floor to easily get past his defenders, run the pick-and-roll with intention or be a threat off screens. He is a sharpshooter, not only on the catch-and-shoot but also on midrange pull-ups. Sarr has good size and leaping ability that helps him contest shots and shrink the floor, helping the team defense. 

### Fynn Schott, U18 NGT Zadar

Schott will be making his debut in the ANGT for the selection team. The Austrian big man is already playing a major role in the Austrian first division with 5.9 points, 9.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 2.3 blocks for Furstenfeld. Schott last summer averaged 14.7 points, 14.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 5.2 blocks at the FIBA U16 European Championship 2022 Division B; he led the tournament in rebounds and blocks. Schott is a very good rebounder and plays with a lot of energy. He can dribble to the basket and has good footwork. He still needs to work on his shooting and is not overly athletic. 

### Olavi Suutela, U18 Helsinki Basketball Academy 

Suutela will be playing his second ANGT after he had 3.8 points and 2.5 rebounds last season. He is playing in Finland’s second division and averaging 14.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists this season. Last summer, he helped Finland take second place at the FIBA U16 European Championship 2022 Division B to get the country back to Division A. He contributed 16.8 points, 10.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocks. Suutela is an old-school big man who is very dangerous around the basket and has a high basketball IQ. The next steps in his development will be to strengthen the skills required to play on the perimeter at both ends of the court.

ANGT Zadar: Players to Watch

2016 champion Barcelona headlines field at first ANGT Zadar

The Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament arrives in Croatia where Zadar will host the event for the first time on March 3-5. The 2016 continental champion, U18 FC Barcelona, highlights an eight-team field that also includes 2003 runner-up U18 Maccabi Tel Aviv and 2018 finalist U18 Stellazzurra Rome. 

The winner of Sunday’s first-place game will lock up the third ticket to the ANGT Finals, which will be played at the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in Kaunas from May 19-21, 2023. That team will join U18 Joventut Badalona, which took top honors at the ANGT Patras, and ANGT Munich winner U18 Real Madrid. 

The eight teams will line up in two four-team groups and face each other in round-robin style. The two group winners will square off on Sunday in the first-place game. Group A is made up of U18 Casademont Zaragoza of Spain, the Croatian-Slovenian cooperation U18 Cedevita Olimipija Ljubljana, Maccabi and Stellazzurra. The four teams in Group B are Barcelona, host U18 Zadar, U18 Helsinki Basketball Academy of Finland and U18 Next Generation Team Zadar.

Zaragoza will be playing for the fourth time - and fourth season in a row. After being held winless at Kaunas 2019-20, the Spanish side grabbed two wins at Istanbul 2020-21 to finish fifth. Last season, Zaragoza took fourth place at the ANGT Varese. Cedevita is making its 17th appearance, including the last five and 15th of the last 16 seasons. Ljubljana hosted a qualifying tournament for the first time last season and picked up one win for sixth place. That was the same result as from Belgrade 2020-21 and the team took sixth at Belgrade 2019-20 with two victories. Maccabi is also appearing in its fifth straight ANGT and 16th overall. The Israeli powerhouse won its group stage last season at ANGT Patras but lost to U18 Stellazzurra Rome in the first-place game. That led to Maccabi receiving a wildcard spot for the ANGT Finals, where the team went 0-3 in its seventh appearance in the final tournament. Maccabi took fifth place at Belgrade 2020-21 and fourth at Belgrade 2019-20 after also reaching the first place game of Munich 2018-19. 

Stellazzurra will be appearing in the competition for the 15th straight season. It hosted one of the qualifying tournaments in Rome from 2008-09 to 2015-16. The highlight so far for the Italian side was reaching the 2018 ANGT Championship Game, where it lost to U18 Rytas Vilnius. Last season, Stellazzurra finished first at the ANGT Patras for its first qualifying tournament title since 2014-15 in Rome. At the ANGT Finals, Stellazzurra went 1-2. That was the same record as at the ANGT Finals in Valencia in 2020-21 after it had lost to U18 Real Madrid in the 2020-21 ANGT Istanbul first-place game. Stellazzurra also fell to Real in the 2019-20 ANGT Munich first-place game.

Group B is headlined by Barcelona, which claimed its sole title in 2016 by beating U18 Crvena Zvezda Belgrade 90-82 in Berlin. Barcelona, which has lost in three ANGT Championship Games (2008, 2013 and 2021), competes for the 18th time overall and the 16th in a row. The Spanish giant was just 2-2 at Patras 2021-22 for a fourth-place finish. That came after Barcelona finished first at the ANGT Valencia, which was preceded by two 2-2 showings in Valencia, giving Barcelona 5th place in 2018-19 and fourth in 2019-20. 

Host Zadar returns to the ANGT competition for the third time - and first since 2009-10 when the Croatian club was winless at ANGT London. Helsinki is back for its second straight appearance after grabbing two wins in its debut at Patras 2021-22 and finishing fifth.