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Belgium were more convincing in the preparation period, but...

We've yet to see a convincing performance from the Belgians at the European Championship, while the Russians radiate confidence. Apart from that, two years ago at a younger level of European Championship, this Russian generation decisively beat the Belgians on two occasions

FIBA Europe

Yesterday, the Russian juniors showed once again that they are getting better with each new round, gaining optimal form. Today they have a chance to secure the quarterfinal with one more victory against Belgium. The Russians' only defeat happened in the first round against France, after overtime. After that they beat Turkey +19, Slovenia +30, and finally Lithuania yesterday by +43.

The Lithuanians managed to hold their own only at the start, when they held the lead. Russia ended the first quarter with a 14-0 series, taking off to a 17 point lead and effectively deciding the game. In the second period they had a 20+ points lead at times, but the Lithuanian team managed to close the gap a bit before halftime. In the third quarter the Russian team's lead got dangerously close to +30, and the last period saw Lithuania completely collapse. The Baltic team lost that quarter 4-19, which added up to a total lag of -43 points, meaning they conceded twice the points they scored.

The Russians easily imposed their quick rhythm and fired of a total of 70 shots from the field with an excellent 50% shooting percentage, while they shot 8/12 three-pointers, for a brilliant 66.7% shooting percentage. They dominated in every segment, passing 20 assists and getting 24 steals. Their centers, Sema and Maiga, played particularly well, scoring a combined 36 points and adding 12 rebounds. Levčenko and Kolosovskaja also played very well.

Russia are the second best scoring team of the tournament, averaging 70.8 points per game, and also second in points conceded, with just 49. Belgium also have a very good defense, allowing their opponents 53.8 points on average, but their offense is second to last in efficiency, scoring just 51.3 points per game.

This generation of Russian and Belgian players already met two years ago at the cadets European Championship, and the Russians won both clashes back then, with a decisive win at the group stage followed by a 53-41 victory in the match for the bronze. All the main players of this Russian team were the best back then as well (Kolosovskaja, Sema,
Maiga, Levčenko), just like the best for Belgium were Linskens and Allemand.

We must note that those same teams also met at a strong preparatory tournament prior to this tournament, in France. There the Belgians were better (73-51), winning the first quarter 29-9, and holding a 30 points lead at halftime. However, one got the impression that the Russians played at a lower level and were also missing some important players then.

The Belgian junior team arrived to the European Championship with high hopes, but so far managed to beat only weak teams, Greece and Lithuania. Against more serious teams such as Serbia, and France yesterday, they did not manage to perform at the required level on offense.

The Belgians started the match better yesterday, taking a 19-14 lead at the start of the second quarter, but then France increased the pressure on defense and managed to reduce the lag to just -1 by halftime. The third quarter was the breaking point, as the French managed to put together a 14-0  series at 31-31, which proved decisive in a low scoring match.

Belgium spent six minutes without scoring a point, and scored a total of seven points in that period. At one point int he last quarter the Belgian team managed to close the gap to just -4, but failed to score in the last five minutes, totaling 17 points in the second half.

Offense is a big problem for the Belgians, and it remains to be seen how they manage against the rather taller Russian team, as they struggled on rebounding against the French. They put together 14 less rebounds, and 10 less offensive ones, and had 22 turnovers as well. Linskens and Allemand, their backbone players, did not perform well.

Regardless of the outcome of this match, it's likely Belgium will need to beat Slovenia tomorrow to secure the quarterfinal. One gets the impression the Belgian team have yet to show their full potential, especially on offense.