The 2014 continental champion Zvezda was led by Luka Vudragovic with 21 points while Nikola Topic picked up 11 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Andrija Radojevic added 10 points. Partizan, which finished first in the the ANGT Belgrade in 2020, dropped to 0-2 as 14 points from Ognjen Stankovic and 12 from Viktor Mikic were not enough.

Vudragovic scored Zvezda's first 5 points and the game was tight until he hit 2 three-pointers in helping the home side open a 17-10 lead. It was 21-12 after 10 minutes. A 9-0 Zvezda spurt early in the second quarter increased the advantage to 30-16. Partizan's Stankovic scored 4 straight points to trim the gap to 33-23 and Mikic added 4 points to keep it there. Still, Zvezda was leading 45-33 at the break.

Topic and Ognjen Matovic both hit three-pointers for Zvezda to off-set 6 points from Stankovic as Partizan could not get back into the game. Momir Tonic knocked down a triple for Partizan and the gap was 53-42 but Zvezda had more weapons and led 65-46 after 30 minutes. Zvezda kept Partizan scoreless for the first 3 minutes of the fourth quarter and the cushion grew to 69-46. The host team never let up and cruised to the victory.

Host side U18 Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade remained perfect at the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Belgrade as it defeated city rival U18 Partizan NIS Belgrade 86-54 for a 2-0 record in Group A.

U18 Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade 86-54 U18 Partizan NIS Belgrade

U18 Crvena Zvezda Belgrade v U18 Partizan NIS Belgrade (2022-02-25T17:00:00.000Z)

Luka Vudragovic - U18 Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade - Belgrade 2022 (photo Djordje Kostic - Zvezda) - JTB21

U18 ASVEL Villeurbanne started its Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Belgrade in fine fashion, rolling to an 87-65 victory over debutant U18 Lietkabelis Panevezys in Group B. ASVEL raced away to a 1-0 record thanks to a 26-3 first-half run. 

U18 ASVEL Villeurbanne 87-65 U18 Lietkabelis Panevezys

Zaccharie Risacher led the winners with 17 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Kymany Houinsou and Killian Malwaya both scored 13 points, Romain Parmentelot had 12 and Mervyn Muamba added 10 points and 9 rebounds. Lietkabelis, which was playing its first game in the competition, was paced by Rokas Jocys with 28 points and 6 rebounds. Daryl Doualla picked up 15 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals against his former team, ASVEL.

Lietkabelis scored the game's first 4 points and soon was up 15-16 thanks to 2 three-pointers from Jocys. ASVEL took over the game then, out-scoring the Lithuanian side 16-0 over the final 3:09 of the first quarter to lead 31-16 after 10 minutes. The run extended into the first 6 points of the second quarter as ASVEL surged ahead 37-16. Three-pointers from Houinsou and Felix De Almeida helped push the cushion to 30 points, 49-19. ASVEL went into the break ahead 53-24.

The third quarter really didn't see much change in the game. Jocys was the main man for Lietkabelis but there was no chance for a comeback. A pair of baskets by Risacher made the lead 63-32 and the French side was ahead 68-42 after 30 minutes. Lietkabelis managed to get the deficit to 20 points, at 76-56, with just less than 5 minutes to play, but ASVEL answered with the next 5 points and any comeback thoughts were done.

 

U18 ASVEL Villeurbanne v U18 Lietkabelis Panevezys (2022-02-25T15:00:00.000Z)

Zaccharie Risacher - U18 ASVEL Villeurbanne - Belgrade 2022 (photo Djordje Kostic - Zvezda) - JTB21

The game was even early on until Milenkovic scored eight points in a 3-13 run to put Mega ahead 9-19. NGB scored the last three points of the first quarter to make it 12-19 after 10 minutes. The selection team opened the second period with the first 4 points before Djulovic’s three-pointer after nearly 3 minutes. NGB four times pulled within two points only for Mega to have an answer each time, and Serbian side scored the final 10 points of the first half - including back-to-back three-pointers from Aleksandar Prokopic and Danilo Dozic - to lead 27-39 at the break.

NGB charged out of the locker room with a 13-0 run to take the lead 40-39. Mega did not score until Djulovic’s basket after more than 3 minutes. The lead changed hands four more times thanks to Yigitoglu for NGB and Djulovic and Melinkovic for Mega, which was leading 47-58 after a 0-12 spurt. And the margin was 55-67 after 30 minutes. The momentum continued in the fourth quarter and Mega allowed just two points in the first 4 minutes and opened a 57-74 cushion. NGB did not get closer than 13 points the rest of the game.

U18 Mega Mozzart Belgrade took the first step to repeating its first-place finish at the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Belgrade by opening Group B play with a 68-88 victory over the U18 Next Generation Team Belgrade. Mega, which reached the ANGT Championship Game in 2017 and 2019, took control of the game with a 0-12 third-quarter run. Asim Djulovic paced Mega with 23 points while Aleksa Milenkovic had 15 points and 9 rebounds, Bogoljub Markovic scored 15 points and Petar Avlijas chipped in 10 points. NGB, which was making its debut in this competition, was led by 16 points from Filip Jovic, and Samet Yigitoglu who collected 12 points and 13 rebounds.

U18 Next Generation Team Belgrade 68-88  U18 Mega Mozzart Belgrade

U18 Next Generation Team Belgrade v U18 Mega Mozzart Belgrade (2022-02-25T13:00:00.000Z)

Asim Djulovic - U18 Mega Mozzart Belgrade - Belgrade 2022 (photo Djordje Kostic - Zvezda) - JTB21

U18 Partizan NIS Belgrade 66-72 U18 Tofas Bursa

Defense was the name of the game at the beginning, as the score was just 4-4 after 5 minutes. Yurdusen moved to 6 points as Tofas led 4-8 after more than 7 minutes. Marko Tojagic hit a triple for Partizan but Abdullah Aksoy had 4 points and Buyuktuncel converted a four-point play for a 7-18 lead after 10 minutes. Partizan held Tofas scoreless for the first 2 minutes of the second quarter while a pair of triples by Krstic made it 16-20. Krstic added 4 points and Partizan took the lead 27-26 on a Tahmaz tip-in. And the Serbian side led 33-31 at halftime. 

 

Bodgan Zagradannin scored 7 points as Partizan extended the lead to 42-35. Tofas had cut the margin to 3 points but Partizan hit 7 straight points to open a double-digit lead 49-39, which was 49-41 after 30 minutes. A three-pointer by Krstic made it 52-42 but Tofas put together a 3-20 run to surge ahead 55-62. Partizan did not give up and pulled within 63-66 with 80 seconds left. Ege Demir answered with a big put-back dunk. Then, trailing 65-68 with 26 seconds remaining, Partizan turned the ball over on an inbounds play that soon left Tofas celebrating.

U18 Tofas Bursa collected the first victory of its history in the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament by rallying to defeat U18 Partizan NIS Belgrade 66-72 in Group A of the ANGT Belgrade. Tofas, which had lost all of its eight games over the last two seasons, came back from 10 points down late in the third quarter with a 3-20 run and held on to win and move to 1-0 in Group A. Baran Yurdusen scored 22 points with 8 rebounds to lead Tofas. Berke Buyuktuncel and Ege Demir both added 10 points in the victory. Partizan, which finished first in the ANGT Belgrade in 2020, dropped to 0-1 as Marko Krstic's 22 points were not enough. Efe Tahmaz also had 12 points in the loss.

U18 Partizan NIS Belgrade v U18 Tofas Bursa (2022-02-25T11:00:00.000Z)

Berke Buyuktuncel - U18 Tofas Bursa - Belgrade 2022 (photo Djordje Kostic - Zvezda) - JTB21

U18 Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade opened the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Belgrade with a dominant 104-71 victory over U18 Valencia Basket for a 1-0 record in Group A. The 2014 continental champion built a big lead in the first quarter and was never threatened the rest of the way. Luka Vudragovic paced Zvezda with 24 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists while Lazar Gagic scored 16 points and Andrija Vukovic chipped in 12 points. Valencia dropped to 0-1 despite David Barbera scoring 18 points, Pablo Navarro and Lucas Mari both picking up 12 points and Sergio De Larrea adding 11 points.

U18 Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade 104-71 U18 Valencia Basket

There were six lead changes in the opening 4 minutes with Barbera and Mari combining for 11 points for a 10-11 Valencia lead. The home side responded with an 18-5 run to open a 28-15 advantage. Vudragovic had scored 12 points already as Zvezda was up 37-18 after 10 minutes. Valencia managed a 2-10 surge early in the second quarter to pull within 41-28, but Zvezda punched back with 13 straight points over 4 minutes to lead 57-29. The score was 63-36 at the break.

The third quarter saw Valencia score a bit more consistently but could not get many stops and cut into the Zvezda lead. Barbera scored 6 straight points to get the Spanish side within 73-51 and the margin was down to 21 points before Zvezda led 80-57 after three quarters. Zvezda made sure there would be no surprise by holding Valencia scoreless for almost the first 4 minutes of the final frame to lead 87-57. It was never closer than 26 points the rest of the way.

Sergio De Larrea - U18 Valencia Basket - Belgrade 2022 (photo Djordje Kostic - Zvezda) - JTB21

U18 Crvena Zvezda Belgrade v U18 Valencia Basket (2022-02-25T09:00:00.000Z)

This season, the U18 tournament series has added an exciting, new dynamic with the introduction of Next Generation Teams that bring together a selection of top-level talents who could not play for any of the ANGT clubs chosen to compete.

What's more, each of these select teams, at all four qualifying tournaments and the finals, are being coached by an icon of world basketball, recently retired Euroleague Basketball superstar Vassilis Spanoulis.

The prospects due to take the floor as U18 Next Generation Team Belgrade were assembled for the first qualifier on this season's tournament calendar and definitely give fans of yourth basketball yet another reason to watch the tournament in the Serbian capital.

"I want to congratulate adidas and EuroLeague for making this team and giving these kids the opportunity to participate in this tournament," Spanoulis said on Thursday, the eve of the tournment. "There are some really good talents and they will have the opportunity to show their talent and character all over Europe."

The NGT Belgrade side is headlined by the 2005-born Spars Sarajevo forward Filip Jovic as well as 2006-born Turkish forward Demir Dogan, who normally suits up for MZT Skopje.

Other players include Jovic's Spars teammate Zinedine Mulic as well as the duo of Filip Malesevic and Ilija Milijasevic, who play for the up-and-coming youth development club Dynamic Belgrade.

There are two other Turkish players on the team, with Eray Buyukcangaz of Derby Podgorica and Dogan's MZT Spokje teammate Samet Yigitoglu, and there is also 2007-born Avtandil Bakhtadze of Georgia.

"I feel very good that I will coach these young talents," Spanoulis added. "I'm looking forward to talking with them about how they see basketball and help them and inspire them to make the next step in their basketball lives."

The other three ANGT events – scheduled for Munich, Germany, Patras, Greece, and Varese, Italy – will also include NGT teams that will be coached by Spanoulis.

The Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament has long been one of the biggest highlights on the youth calendar. 

Spanoulis-led Next Generation Teams offer young talents new opportunity

### 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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daryl-doualla-u18-ldlc-asvel-villeurbanne-angt-finals-valencia-2021-jt20

efe-tahmaz-u18-partizan-nis-belgrade-angt-belgrade-2020-21-photo-dorde-kostic-zvezda-jt20

sergio-de-larrea-u18-valencia-basket-photo-miguel-angel-polo-jt20

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.