### Zaccharie Risacher, U18 ASVEL Villeurbanne

Risacher will be playing his second ANGT after he collected 2.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.5 steals at the ANGT Valencia last season as well as 12.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists at the ANGT Finals. As a 2005-born player, the 2.00-meter small forward is still a year younger than most of his competition this weekend. He is averaging 13.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 blocks in 26 minutes of play in the French U21 Espoirs league. He also has played in two Turkish Airlines EuroLeague games for ASVEL, picking up 1 turnover in 7 minutes. Risacher, whose father Stephane Risacher played in the Euroleague for Olympiacos and Unicaja, helped France win their FIBA U16 European Challenger 2021 by tallying 10.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 3.4 steals and 1.0 blocks. He is an all-around excellent offensive player with a great three-point shot. Risacher moves well without the ball and crashes the offensive glass. He still needs to work on his individual defense and is still growing into his body.

### Luka Vudragovic,  U18 Crvena Zvezda Belgrade

Vudragovic will be playing his second ANGT after he collected 10 points, 5 rebounds and 1 steal in 25 combined minutes over four games at the ANGT Belgrade last season and averaged 1.3 points and 0.7 rebounds in 9 minutes at the ANGT Finals last season. The shooting guard also averaged 7.4 points and 2.2 rebounds at the FIBA U18 European Challengers 2021 for the Serbian national team. Through his first six games in the Serbian junior league, Vudragovic was averaging 23.0 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists per contest. He is a guard with excellent physical potential and a good shooter from three-point range. He also can attack the basket.

Daryl Doualla, U18 Lietkabelis Panevezys

### Daryl Doualla, U18 Lietkabelis Panevezys

Doualla will be playing his third ANGT after appearing in the ANGT competition for the past two seasons with U18 ASVEL Villeurbanne. In 2019-20, the 1.95-meter guard averaged 20.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 2.3 steals at the ANGT Valencia. He collected 6.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.0 assists at the ANGT Valencia in 2020-21 and then contributed 4.3 points, 1.0 rebounds and 1.0 assists in the 2020-21 ANGT Finals. Doualla also tallied 12.6 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.4 steals at the FIBA U18 European Challengers 2021. He moved to Lithuania this past off-season and signed with Nevezis Kedainiai. Doualla is very explosive, physical and versatile, and a great leaper. He is using his body and strength right now, but he will need to understand the details in the game better in the future and use his smart basketball IQ while also developing a better shot.

### Nikola Djapa, U18 Mega Mozzart Belgrade

Djapa will be playing his second ANGT season after appearing at the ANGT Belgrade and ANGT Finals in 2020-21. He picked up 2.3 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in nearly 16 minutes per game at this tournament last year. He recorded just 2 fouls in 5 minutes over two games at the ANGT Finals. This season he is averaging 7.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in the U19 ABA League as well as 11.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in the Serbian U19 League. The 2.09-meter Djapa is a mobile and modern big man who can play both power forward and center. He can play the face-up game and has both good pick-and-roll and pick-and-pop games thanks to solid shooting from three-point range. He is also improving more and more from a physical standpoint.

Efe Tahmaz, U18 Partizan NIS Belgrade

### Filip Jovic,  U18 Next Generation Team Belgrade

Jovic will be making his ANGT debut. The 2005-born forward stands 2.04 meters tall and plays for Spars Sarajevo in his home country of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He has averaged 18.8 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 2.6 steals and 1.0 blocks in five games this season in the U19 ABA League. Jovic can be productive at both ends of the floor. He has excellent versatility on offense, dominating in the post with very good footwork and a good handle. Defensively, he is a solid perimeter defender.

### Efe Tahmaz,  U18 Partizan NIS Belgrade

Tahmaz will be playing at the ANGT Belgrade for a second time after he collected 4.8 points and 4.0 rebounds last season. The Istanbul, Turkey native has been with Partizan since 2018 and averaged 19 points and 4 rebounds at the junior level last season. He is averaging 11.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.8 steals for Partizan's second team as well as 6.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.3 steals in the U19 ABA League. Tahmaz also played at the FIBA U18 European Challenger 2021 and collected 3.4 points and 2.4 rebounds. The 2.01-meter forward can cover multiple positions and also does a good job blocking shots.

Sergio De Larrea, U18 Valencia Basket

### Ege Demir, U18 Tofas Bursa

Demir will be playing at his second ANGT after he picked up 16.7 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 3.3 blocks at the ANGT Istanbul in 2020-21. The 2.09-meter center averaged 12.8 points, 11.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.1 steals and 3.8 blocks in the U19 Turkish League last season and is collecting 10.6 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.4 blocks in the Turkish second division this season with Tofas's cooperation team Gemlik. Demir is a good post-up player with good athleticism, strong defense and a good feel for rebounding. He is also an excellent rim protector.

### Sergio De Larrea,  U18 Valencia Basket

De Larrea will be playing in his second ANGT after he picked up 8.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.0 steals at the ANGT Valencia last season. Larrea, who is a 2005-born guard, is averaging 5.1 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 17 minutes for Valencia's team in the Spanish third division. De Larrea is a tall point guard with great ability to read the game and very good ball-handling. He can also drive and finish and has a solid mid-range game. He still must play better defense and work on his physical condition.

The first qualifier of this season's Adidas EuroLeague Next Generation Tournament comes your way starting Friday, February 25, from Belgrade, Serbia, with a full complement of rising stars to discover. Here's some names to watch out for from each of the eight teams.

Players to watch: ANGT Belgrade

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The eight teams participating in the tournament from February 25 to 27 at Basket City in Belgrade are broken down as follows: Group A features Zvezda, Partizan, U18 Tofas Bursa and U18 Valencia Basket. Group B consists of Next Generation Team Belgrade, U18 ASVEL Villeurbanne, Lietkabelis and Mega. The four teams will play each other in round-robin style groups and the top finishers in each group will play on February 27 in the first-place game for the first ticket to the ANGT Finals, which are set to be played at the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in May.

Zvezda’s last game at the ANGT Belgrade saw it waste a 19-point lead and lose 80-82 against city rival Mega in the 2021 Belgrade first-place game. It was the third straight season in which Zvezda failed to take first place at its host tournament after having won the Belgrade qualifier the eight previous years. Zvezda also lost to Mega in the 2019 first-place game and was beaten by Partizan in the final group game in 2020. Partizan beat Zvezda 78-77 in that game on a Lazar Stefanovic layup with 1.7 seconds left and then went on to defeat U18 CFBB Paris in the first-place game. That qualified Partizan for the ANGT Finals for the first time, but unfortunately for Partizan, the 2020 ANGT Finals fell victim to the COVID-19 pandemic and were canceled. Partizan has been playing in the ANGT since 2009-10 and took third place in Belgrade last season. The team competed at the ANGT Munich in 2018-19. Tofas has never won an ANGT game, losing all four games at both the 2019-20 ANGT Valencia and 2020-21 ANGT Istanbul. Valencia competed in 2007-08 and 2009-10 and then not again until 2018-19 when it hosted one of the qualifiers and took first place. Last year it finished seventh with just one victory and then lost all three games when it hosted the ANGT Finals.

Lots of eyes will be on Group B as it includes the Next Generation Team, a grouping of players who will be chosen by adidas officials and coached by recently-retired legend Vassilis Spanoulis. Another debut in the group will be Lithuanian side Lietkabelis competing in the ANGT for the first time. Also in Group B is ASVEL, which will be playing in the competition for the eighth year and fifth straight. The French club finished seventh at ANGT Valencia in 2018-19, fifth in the same qualifier in 2019-20 and sixth in Valencia last season. The nominal favorite in Group B will be Mega, which has played in the event every year since 2011-12. Mega grabbed first place in this event in 2019 and last season - beating Zvezda both times. Mega also has twice reached - and lost - the ANGT Championship Game, falling to U18 CFBB Paris in 2017 and U18 Real Madrid in 2019. Mega placed third at the 2019-20 ANGT Belgrade.

U18 Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade was once the dominant force at the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Belgrade and the 2014 continental champion hopes it can finally take first place again at the tournament it has hosted since 2008-09. Past first-place finishers U18 Mega Mozzart Belgrade and U18 Partizan NIS Belgrade are among the seven teams looking to keep Zvezda’s doldrums going. The ANGT Belgrade will also see two newcomers - the first appearance of U18 Lietkabelis Panevezys and the debut of the U18 Next Generation Teams.

Host Zvezda aims to reclaim first place at ANGT Belgrade

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Euroleague Basketball regrets to inform fans that the first qualifying event of the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament, which had been set to start in Munich later this month, will not be held as scheduled.


2022 ANGT Munich qualifier postponed

Euroleague Basketball and FC Bayern Munich have decided, based on the recommendations of local health authorities, that the tournament should not take place in January. Ongoing evaluations will determine the possibility of holding the tournament in Munich at a later date.

The ANGT Munich qualifier is one of four scheduled for this season. The ANGT Belgrade is set to be held in the Serbia capital from February 25 to 27. The third qualifying event is slated for Patras, Greece, from March 25 to 27, and the fourth for Varese, Italy, from April 1 to 3.

Each qualifier will feature eight teams, seven clubs or academies plus one Next Generation Team specially constructed by adidas. The winner of each qualifier earns an automatic berth to the ANGT Finals, which are scheduled to be held in conjunction with the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in Berlin on the last weekend in May. In the event that a Next Generation Team wins any qualifier, a wild card will be awarded to another team coming from that same qualifying tournament.

The 2022 Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament will boast star power beyond just the top young talents on the continent with the announcement today that recently retired legend Vassilis Spanoulis will serve as the head coach of specially selected Next Generation Teams at each qualifying tournament and the finals in Berlin, Germany.

Spanoulis returns to basketball courts as Adidas Next Generation Tournament head coach

Spanoulis, the all-time top scorer in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, ended his playing career with Olympiacos Piraeus last summer after having reached the heights of European basketball as a three-time EuroLeague champion and the only three-time Final Four MVP this century.

Now, Spanoulis will coach the Next Generation Teams organized by adidas from the top 18-and-under talents in Europe whose club teams are not already playing in one of the four qualifying tournaments that start in late January 2022. Spanoulis will also lead the Next Generation Team that participates in the ANGT Finals, which will run parallel to the 2022 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in Berlin.

"Basketball has given me so much, and to give something back, I couldn't resist the great opportunity that adidas offered to coach some of the young players who are now starting out with the same dreams I had when I was their age," Spanoulis said. "This tournament has continually grown in stature for almost two decades and it will be a true honor for me to work with some of the future stars of our sport. I can't wait to get started."

Spanoulis will have close friends, Dusan Vukcevic, himself a former EuroLeague star, and Babis Skouzis, of the Olympiacos youth academy, working at his side throughout the tournaments.

The first ANGT qualifying event will be held in Munich, Germany from January 21 to 23 and include the host team, FC Bayern and fellow German club ALBA, as well as Basket Brno of Czech Republic, Casademont Zaragoza and Real Madrid of Spain, Orange1 Bassano of Italy, Zalgiris Kaunas of Lithuania and the Next Generation Team Munich to be coached by Spanoulis.

The second qualifying event is ANGT Belgrade from February 25 to 27, hosted for the 15th time by Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade, whose 18-and-under team will compete against fellow Serbian squads Partizan NIS Belgrade, Mega Mozzart Belgrade, ASVEL Villeurbanne of France, Lietkabelis Panevezys of Lithuania, Tofas Bursa of Turkey, Valencia Basket of Spain, and Spanoulis's Next Generation Team Belgrade.

One of the two new cities on the ANGT agenda – Patras, Greece – will welcome the third qualifying event from March 25 to 27 as host club Promitheas Patras will measure itself against fellow Greek club Olympiacos Piraeus, FC Barcelona of Spain, Helsinki Basketball Academy of Finland, Maccabi Tel Aviv of Israel, Stellazzurra Rome of Italy, and the Next Generation Team Patras coached by Spanoulis.

The final ANGT qualifying makes its debut in Varese, Italy, from April 1 to 3 as that city's Varese Academy hosts the event that also features fellow Italian squad AX Armani Exchange Milan, Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana of Slovenia, Joventut Badalona of Spain, Panathinaikos OPAP Athens of Greece, PFYM INSEP Paris of France, ratiopharm Ulm of Germany, and Next Generation Team Varese with Spanoulis on the bench.

Many of the biggest and brightest stars of basketball were seen first by an international audience at the ANGT. The ever-growing list of players currently on EuroLeague rosters who previously dazzled in the ANGT includes Marcus Eriksson, Jonas Mattisseck, Stefan Peno, Tim Schneider and Yovel Zoosman (ALBA Berlin), Vasilije Micic and Yigitcan Saybir (Anadolu Efes Istanbul), Danilo Andjusic, Rudy Demahis, Donatas Motiejunas and Armel Traore (AS Monaco), Davide Alviti, Luigi Datome, Riccardo Moraschini and Giampaolo Ricci (AX Armani Exchange Milan), Simone Fontecchio and Vanja Marinkovic (Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz), Ognjen Dobric, Marko Gusic, Stefan Lazarevic, Branko Lazic, Luka Mitrovic and Aleksa Uskokovic (Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade), Marius Grigonis, Alexander Khomenko, Nikita Kurbanov, Andrei Lopatin, Nikola Milutinov and Alexey Shved (CSKA Moscow), Michael Caicedo, Rokas Jokubaitis, Nikola Mirotic and Sergi Martinez (FC Barcelona), Nihad Dedovic, Jason George, Ognjen Jaramaz, Leon Radosevic, Adreas Obst and Zan Sisko (FC Bayern Munich), Ismet Akpinar, Tarik Biberovic, Metecan Birsen and Marko Guduric (Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul), William Howard, Elwin Ndjock, Matthew Strazel and Victor Wembanyama (LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne), Mathias Lessort and Ante Zizic (Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv), Livio Jean-Charles (Olympiacos Piraeus), Eleftherios Mantzoukas and Nemanja Nedovic (Panathinaikos OPAP Athens), Alberto Abalde, Thomas Heurtel, Juan Nunez and Tristan Vukcevic (Real Madrid), Mario Hezonja and Artem Komolov (UNICS Kazan), Marek Blazevic, Niels Giffey, Mantas Kalnietis, Lukas Lekavicius, Karolis Lukosiunas and Edgaras Ulanovas (Zalgiris Kaunas), and Arturas Gudaitis and Dmitry Kulagin (Zenit St Petersburg).

Brand new Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament logo unveiled


2021-22 Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament participants announced

The Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament enters its 20th edition this season with teams from 28 clubs and academies representing 13 different countries competing to reach the finals at the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in Berlin, Germany, where this season's champion will be crowned on May 29, 2022.

The road to Berlin will see four cities hosting three-day qualifying tournaments: Munich, Germany from January 21 to 23; Belgrade, Serbia from February 25 to 27; Patras, Greece from March 25 to 27; and Varese, Italy from April 1 to 3.

Each qualifier will feature eight teams, seven clubs or academies plus one Next Generation Team specially constructed by adidas from players whose teams did not make the final list below. The winner of each qualifier earns an automatic berth to the finals. In the event that a Next Generation Team wins any qualifier, a wild card will be awarded to another team coming from that same qualifying tournament.

In addition to the four berths earned by the ANGT Qualifiers winners, there will be a spot in the finals for a Next Generation team consisting of the best players from all the Next Generation Teams. Three additional teams will receive wild-card invitations to challenge for the U18 continental crown in Berlin.

Among the 28 sides selected to compete in this season's ANGT Qualifiers are U18 squads from 12 EuroLeague and seven EuroCup clubs.

### Munich (January 21-23)

ALBA Berlin

Basket Brno

Casademont Zaragoza

FC Bayern Munich

Next Generation Team Munich

Orange 1 Bassano

Real Madrid

Zalgiris Kaunas

### Belgrade (February 25-27)

Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade

ASVEL Villeurbanne

Lietkabelis Panevezys

Mega Mozzart Belgrade

Next Generation Team Belgrade

Partizan NIS Belgrade

Tofas Bursa

Valencia Basket

### Patras (March 25-27)

ZPA Tbilisi

FC Barcelona

Helsinki Basketball Academy

Maccabi Tel Aviv

Next Generation Team Patras

Olympiacos Piraeus

Promitheas Patras

Stellazzurra Rome

### Varese (April 1-3)

AX Armani Exchange Milan

Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana

Joventut Badalona

Next Generation Team Varese

Panathinaikos OPAP Athens

PFYM Paris

ratiopharm Ulm

Varese Academy

The addition of Next Generation Teams for the first time coincides with brand new logo that emphasizes the tournament's fresh, urban and modern appeal. The new logo gives a classic basketball look with a new twist that focuses on rising status of the tournament participants. Just like those young players, basketball is about evolution and progress, and so is the new ANGT logo.

The Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament is a breeding ground for tomorrow's biggest and brightest basketball stars. Some of the names who now are on EuroLeague rosters but previously dazzled in the ANGT are Marcus Eriksson and Yovel Zoosman (ALBA Berlin), Vasilije Micic (Anadolu Efes Istanbul), Luigi Datome (AX Armani Exchange Milan), Branko Lazic (Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade), Nikita Kurbanov and Alexey Shved (CSKA Moscow), Nikola Mirotic and Sergi Martinez (FC Barcelona), Leon Radosevic and Nihad Dedovic (FC Bayern Munich), Alberto Abalde and Thomas Heurtel (Real Madrid), Livio Jean-Charles (Olympiacos Piraeus), Nemanja Nedovic (Panathinaikos OPAP Athens), Niels Giffey (Zalgiris Kaunas), and (Arturas Gudaitis (Zenit St Petersburg), among others.

Adidas to select Next Generation Teams comprised of top European talent outside the tournament pool to compete at each qualifying event.

ANGT Qualifiers hosts, dates and introduction of Next Generation Teams announced

The road to the 2022 Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Finals will pass through Munich, Germany; Belgrade, Serbia; Patras, Greece; and Varese, Italy.

Those four cities have been chosen by Euroleague Basketball to host this season's four ANGT qualifying events, to be held in each of the first four months of 2022.

The talent at each of the four sites will be greater than ever before with Adidas sending specially selected Next Generation Teams to be one of the eight teams at each weekend event. The new Next Generation Teams will be staffed by Adidas, which will recruit 12 top European talents whose clubs are not competing at any of the ANGT qualifiers. The addition of the Next Generation Teams ensures that all of the best young players across the continent will have a chance to compete in the ANGT.

The ANGT Finals will be held in conjunction with the 2022 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in Berlin, Germany, at the end of May, where the participants coming from the qualifiers will be joined by wildcard entries to set the eight-team field that will play to become the 2022 ANGT Champion.

The first qualifying event will be held in Munich and run together with FC Bayern Munich on January 21-23. This marks the fourth time Munich will host the event – a streak that was interrupted last year by COVID-19 restrictions, which forced it to be relocated to Istanbul. Bayern has competed in the ANGT seven previous times and last reached the ANGT Finals in 2019 in Vitoria-Gasteiz.

The Serbian capital will host this season's second qualifying event with Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade on February 25-27. Belgrade was the site of the first-ever qualifying tournament for the 2007-08 season and has done so every season since. Accordingly, this marks the 15th consecutive year this event will take place and the 11th in a row with Zvezda as a host. Zvezda has participated in the ANGT in each of the past 14 seasons, is a three-time finalist and was the champion in 2014.

Patras, home to one of the finest youth programs in Greece, will host its first ANGT qualifying event for the first time together with Promitheas Patras on March 25-27. This season will be the third in which Promitheas competes in the ANGT as it attempts to reach the Finals for the first time.

An ANGT qualifying event will take place in Italy for the first time since December 2015 when the city of Varese together with Varese Academy host this season's final event on April 1-3. This will also mark Varese Academy's debut in the ANGT. The previous Italian host of the event was Rome.

The nearly two decades of the ANGT have seen a host of tomorrow's biggest and brightest stars pass through. The ever-growing list of players currently on EuroLeague rosters who previously dazzled in the ANGT includes Marcus Eriksson, Jonas Mattisseck, Stefan Peno, Tim Schneider and Yovel Zoosman (ALBA Berlin), Vasilije Micic and Yigitcan Saybir (Anadolu Efes Istanbul), Danilo Andjusic, Rudy Demahis, Donatas Motiejunas and Armel Traore (AS Monaco), Davide Alviti, Luigi Datome, Riccardo Moraschini and Giampaolo Ricci (AX Armani Exchange Milan), Simone Fontecchio and Vanja Marinkovic (Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz), Ognjen Dobric, Marko Gusic, Stefan Lazarevic, Branko Lazic, Luka Mitrovic and Aleksa Uskokovic (Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade), Marius Grigonis, Alexander Khomenko, Nikita Kurbanov, Andrei Lopatin, Nikola Milutinov and Alexey Shved (CSKA Moscow), Michael Caicedo, Rokas Jokubaitis, Nikola Mirotic and Sergi Martinez (FC Barcelona), Nihad Dedovic, Jason George, Ognjen Jaramaz, Leon Radosevic, Adreas Obst and Zan Sisko (FC Bayern Munich), Ismet Akpinar, Tarik Biberovic, Metecan Birsen and Marko Guduric (Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul), William Howard, Elwin Ndjock, Matthew Strazel and Victor Wembanyama (LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne), Mathias Lessort and Ante Zizic (Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv), Livio Jean-Charles (Olympiacos Piraeus), Eleftherios Mantzoukas and Nemanja Nedovic (Panathinaikos OPAP Athens), Alberto Abalde, Thomas Heurtel, Juan Nunez and Tristan Vukcevic (Real Madrid), Mario Hezonja and Artem Komolov (UNICS Kazan), Marek Blazevic, Niels Giffey, Mantas Kalnietis, Lukas Lekavicius, Karolis Lukosiunas and Edgaras Ulanovas (Zalgiris Kaunas), and Arturas Gudaitis and Dmitry Kulagin (Zenit St Petersburg).

In a decision taken in consultation with German national and local authorities in the interests of the health and safety of all participants, the 2020-21 Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Finals have been postponed a week and relocated to Valencia, Spain.

Field and new host set for postponed 2020-21 ANGT Finals

In addition, five teams have been awarded wildcard entries to join the three others that had already punched their tickets to the finals by winning qualifiers played across Europe in recent months.

U18 ASVEL Villeurbanne, U18 Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade, U18 Stellazzurra Rome, U18 Valencia and U18 Zalgiris Kaunas were invited to compete alongside already-qualified U18 FC Barcelona, U18 Real Madrid and U18 Mega SoccerBet Belgrade.

The 18th edition of the ANGT Finals, originally scheduled to run alongside the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in Cologne, Germany, will now be held from June 3 to 6 at the state-of-the-art L'Alqueria del Basket facility in Valencia, where the first of this season's three qualifying tournaments was staged successfully, as well.

The field features four past champions who won six of the previous 17 ANGT titles. Zalgiris hoisted the trophy in 2003 and 2007, Zvezda was the 2014 champion, Real claimed the crown in 2014 and 2019, and Barcelona took the title in 2016.

The eight teams will be divided into two groups of four, which will play a round-robin format during the first three days of the event. The two group winners will square off in Sunday's championship game to crown the U18 continental champion.

Group A of the ANGT Finals is comprised of ANGT Istanbul winner Real, ANGT Belgrade runner-up Zvezda, ANGT Istanbul third-place finisher Zalgiris and ANGT Valencia sixth-placed team ASVEL. Group B features ANGT Belgrade winner Mega, ANGT Valencia victor Barcelona, ANGT Istanbul runner-up Stellazzurra and host Valencia, which placed seventh in the first qualifier on its own court.

Among the players currently on EuroLeague rosters who previously dazzled in the ANGT are Marcus Eriksson and Niels Giffey (ALBA Berlin), Vasilije Micic (Anadolu Efes Istanbul), Luigi Datome (AX Armani Exchange Milan), Borisa Simanic and Branko Lazic (Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade), Nikita Kurbanov (CSKA Moscow), Nikola Mirotic and Sergi Martinez (FC Barcelona), Diego Flaccadori, Leon Radosevic, Nihad Dedovic and Sasha Grant (FC Bayern Munich), Alexey Shved (Khimki Moscow Region), Yovel Zoosman (Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv), Livio Jean-Charles (Olympiacos Piraeus), Nemanja Nedovic (Panathinaikos OPAP Athens), Alberto Abalde and Usman Garuba (Real Madrid), Klemen Prepelic, Vanja Marinkovic and Guillem Vives (Valencia Basket), and Arturas Gudaitis (Zenit St Petersburg).

For those Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament fans saddened that the 2021 ANGT Finals are over and wishing they could watch more of the stars from this past season, you are in luck. 

Plenty of 2020-21 ANGT stars expected back next season

That is because many of the top players from the just-completed season will likely be back for 2021-22 since they were born in 2004... or even later.

There are many benefits to pushing a player from a younger generation and having them play with older players. One of them is that they learn by watching others and have less pressure to perform. And then those youngsters have the experience to call upon when it’s their time to shine for their own generation.

Many players born in 2004 or later excelled during the 2020-21 campaign, leaving ANGT fans’ appetites whetted for how they will perform next season.

Those ANGT fans and participants hoping freshly-crowned champion U18 Real Madrid will not be as strong in 2021-22 will not find much solace in the fact that the majority of the team that claimed the club’s third ANGT title and second in a row will be back.

Seven of the players from the team in Valencia were born in 2004, including ANGT Finals MVP Eli Ndiaye and top guards Juan Nunez and Urban Klavzar and Sediq Garuba. Jan Vide was born in 2005 and center Amadou Traore is a cadet from Real’s 2007 generation.

Real’s opponent in the ANGT Championship Game, U18 FC Barcelona, also has reason to look forward to next season after its young players showed they can perform. Big man James Nnaji was named to the ANGT Finals all-tournament team as he averaged nearly a double-double to go with 3.3 blocks. Rafa Villar is an unselfish point guard, exhibited by nearly a double-double against U18 Valencia Basket with 8 rebounds and 9 assists and 0 points with just 1 missed three-pointer. There is also big man Teodor Simic from the younger generation.

U18 Mega SoccerBet Belgrade was hoping to finally pick up its first ANGT title but came up short, losing to Barcelona in the key group stage game. But the two-time finalist will be returning one of its absolute leaders in Nikola Djurisic, who was named to the all-tournament team and should be that much better next season.

The other team to nearly make the ANGT Championship Game was U18 LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne, which had only two of its 11 players born in 2003 but still gave Real a challenge in its game group. All-tournament team selection Kymany Houinsou is a model of the idea of pushing a player as this was his third ANGT season despite still being a generation younger. Daryl Doualla was also a leader from the 2004 group and ASVEL had several 2005-born players who impressed over long stretches of the ANGT Finals, including Killian Malwaya, Zaccharie Risacher and Francois Wibaut. Many of ASVEL’s top players also got to experience even older competition during the season, playing in and winning the U21 French League.

U18 Stellazzurra Rome had the bad luck of having to face Barcelona and Mega in its group, but the tournament was a learning experience, especially for the trio of 2004-born players Fabrizio Pugliatti, Rokas Jocys and Matteo Visintin. U18 Zalgiris Kaunas will have the duo of Paulius Murauskas and Motiejus Krivas back next season and U18 Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade’s 2004-born guard Ognjen Matovic performed well with nearly 10 points, more than 5 rebounds and 2.4 assists.

There were also younger players who excelled during the season for teams that did not reach the ANGT Finals. U18 Maccabi Tel Aviv’s Ido Menchel is from the 2004 generation and he poured in 20.8 points to go with 4.8 rebounds and 7.3 assists. U18 Casademont Zaragoza’s 2005-born big man Aday Mara was dominant at times as he collected 8.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.5 blocks despite being two years younger. Also two years younger and dominating was Kany Tchanda of U18 Herbalife Gran Canaria with 13.8 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks.

Looking at the number of younger players who shined in 2020-21 and knowing they will be back to show even more next season makes the wait for the 2021-22 campaign at least a little easier.

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Parents and family members are always excited and nervous while watching their loved ones compete in sports at a high level. 

It's all in the family for young talents at ANGT Finals

But for more than a handful of young stars at the 2021 Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Finals, their mothers, fathers or siblings know very much what they are going through because they have been on the big stage, too.

It should be no surprise if European basketball fans spent some time during the ANGT Finals on Google and Wikipedia checking to see if one of the young stars fighting for the 2021 ANGT title was related to someone they had heard of or watched play in the past. And more times than not, the answer was yes.

Watching 2021 champion U18 Real Madrid play in Valencia, it was hard to not notice an undersized, compact powerful player give his team one energetic play after the next - both on offense and defense, below and above the rim. Surely, a lot of people were reminded of Usman Garuba when they were observing his younger brother Sediq Garuba race around the court for Real. Usman, 19, has already made his name with the club’s senior team and was chosen as this season's EuroLeague Rising Star award winner.

U18 Mega SoccerBet Belgrade had three players with famous parents. Nikola Djurisic, who was named to the all-tournament team, could call on advice from both of his parents. His mother, Vesna Citakovic was a great for Serbia and Montenegro in volleyball, helping the country to a silver medal at the 2007 European Championship and bronze at the 2006 World Championship. She also won league and/or cup titles in Serbia and Montenegro, Turkey and Italy besides also playing in Israel, Germany, Romania, Poland, Indonesia and Serbia before retiring in 2016. Djurisic’s father, Dusko Djurisic, played football in Serbia, Switzerland, Belgium - where Nikola was born in 2004 - Israel, Germany and Cyprus before he hung up his boots in 2010.

One of Djurisic’s backcourt mates in Valencia was Luka Bogavac, whose father Nebojsa Bogavac played for Serbia and Montenegro at EuroBasket 2003. Nebojsa also played two seasons in the EuroLeague with Le Mans and one each in the EuroCup with Hemofarm Vrsac and ASVEL Basket.

Finally, Filip Stanojevic of Mega is the son of Jovo Stanojevic, who played four seasons in the EuroLeague with Partizan Belgrade, ALBA Berlin and Prokom Trefl Sopot.

Another ANGT Finals connection to the 2003 EuroBasket in Sweden comes from Freds Bagatskis of host U18 Valencia Basket. His father is Ainars Bagatskis, who played at four EuroBaskets for Latvia, including placing second in scoring in 1997 and averaging 14.3 points in 2003. He also competed professionally in Latvia, Norway, Poland, France, Russia and Lithuania. He appeared in 29 games in the EuroLeague for Zalgiris Kaunas from 2003 to 2005.

Ainars Bagatskis then became a successful head coach, serving as the play-caller for Zalgiris in the EuroLeague in 2006 and 2007 and also guiding Ukrainian side Budivelnyk, Nizhny Novgorod of Russia and Israeli giant Maccabi Tel Aviv in the EuroLeague. He was the Latvian senior national team head coach from 2011 to 2017 and guided it to three EuroBaskets.

Speaking of Zalgiris, the Lithuanian powerhouse had a family connection as well. Titas Sargiunas’s older brother Ignas Sargiunas played the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons in the ANGT. He appeared in the ANGT Finals in 2016 and served as the team’s captain.

U18 LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne meanwhile featured the son of a former Olympic medallist in Zaccharie Risacher, whose father not only won silver at the 2000 Sydney Games but also played 96 games over six seasons in the EuroLeague for Olympiacos and Unicaja Malaga before retiring in 2010.

U18 Stellazzurra Rome also had a father-son connection, though Kaspar Kuusmaa’s father may not be as well known. Aivar Kuusmaa played professionally for nearly 20 years - most of them in his native Estonia. The elder Kuusmaa also played three seasons with Panathinaikos in the 1990s. His third campaign was in 1996 when the Greens won the EuroLeague.

From Sediq Garuba to Kaspar Kuusma, many of the top talents at the ANGT Finals knew they had family members rooting for them who understood exactly what they were going through.

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