U18 MEN

Spain guard Josep Perez led all scorers with 18 points and dished out six assists

By Jared Grellet

A big third-quarter performance helped Spain to an 83-68 win over Serbia to retain their unbeaten record at the Samsung U18 European Championship Men and top Group A.

With Spain trailing by two points at half time, Guillermo Hernangomez and Alberto Diaz came to the fore in the third quarter, combining for 17 points to help Spain win the frame 31-10 and take a near-unassailable lead into the final period.

It was a frustrating outcome for Serbia, who had already done the hard work to crawl their way back from a 12-point deficit early in the second quarter, only to become guilty of allowing the Spanish to claim too many second-chance points.

The Spaniards claimed 21, compared to Serbia's seven.

Josep Perez topped Spanish scoring with 18 points.

Hernangomez added 13, Ilimane Diop and Diaz both chipped in with 12 whilst Albert Homs finished with 11.

Serbia's Nikola Radicevic finished with 15 points in a losing effort.