Ireland U18 MNT battle Croatia in FIBA Youth EuroBasket preparation games

Ireland's U18 MNT began their preparations for FIBA Youth EuroBasket in earnest by welcoming a talented Croatia team to the National Basketball Arena for two friendlies on Wednesday and Thursday. 

Croatia finished 10 places above Berry's Ireland side at FIBA Youth EuroBasket 2025, though they didn't meet in the tournament. Both will be back at the same level this summer, with the Croats drawn in Group A and Ireland in Group C for the competition in Croatia.  This was Ireland's first gathering since coach Berry named his latest 19-person-squad  for the next stage of preparations.

A slow start scuppered Ireland's chances in game one on Wednesday. Only managing eight points in the first quarter while adjusting to a new scheme, teammates and tough Croatian defence will have been a good learning experience for the group and to their credit, they came back strongly for the remainder of the contest, outscoring their opponents in the final quarter of a 75-62 loss. All 12 players gained at least 10:30 minutes of action at this level with some good rotations, with two players - Kieran Quinn and Sean Patterson - breaking double digits in scoring. They topped the boxscore with 11-points.

Two important preparation games for our U18 MNT against Croatia at our place 🏟️

🇮🇪62-75🇭🇷
🇮🇪55-67🇭🇷

📸: @coachnets #GreenMeansGo ☘️ | #IrishBasketball pic.twitter.com/frGkmZbtTA

— Basketball Ireland (@BballIrl) April 3, 2026

Game two came less than 24 hours later and despite a rotated Irish squad, another slow start cost them a shot at the win. Outside of the opening quarter where Ireland were outgunned 18-7, the teams were incredibly evenly matched throughout in a contest that ended 67-55 in favour of the visitors. Quinn once again found his shooting touch with 16 points and eight rebounds. Aidan McGrath making the jump from U16 level showed his quality with an 11-point haul in 21 minutes of action, while Nathan Gbinigie brought some of his trademark defensive play, recording two blocks. 

Overall a very positive experience for the team's first week together as a group and the coaching staff will move forward with plenty to work on as their focus remains on an opening FIBA Youth EuroBasket game against Finland on July 24th.