Ireland U20 men advance to 9th-16th classification phase of FIBA Youth EuroBasket

Ireland have been placed in the 9th-16th classification bracket at FIBA U20 Men's Youth EuroBasket following a fourth place finish in Group 'B', with a 2-2 record overall. They will now face the third placed team in Group 'A' in the first classification game on Friday afternoon, Croatia. 

A tough five days of basketball in Romania saw Ireland begin with an 85-66 defeat to Great Britain on opening night, before they bounced back with vengence to defeat Azerbaijan 61-58 in their second game two days later. Another outstanding performance against eventual table toppers Netherlands saw Tommy Walsh's team come good down the stretch in a defensive struggle, 54-51. Their final group game proved a bridge to far against a sharp shooting Portugese side 73-43, but overall it has been a positive showing from a young group. 

An amazing win for this group 👏

We move to 2-1 and into a tie for second place in Group B at FIBA U20 Men's Youth EuroBasket!#Greenmeansgo ☘️ | #IrishBasketball pic.twitter.com/0BWKAXJRUr

— Basketball Ireland (@BballIrl) July 16, 2024

Captain Ruairi Cronin said before the tournament he likes to lead by example - he has certainly put his money where his mouth is in the opening four games. Cronin leads the team in rebounds at 7.5rpg, while he is second in scoring (11.3ppg) and assists (3.5apg). Tobi Ogunbare has also been impressive, leading the team in scoring with 12ppg, which places him 28th overall in the tournament, while Sean Fitzpatrick has facilitated his team-mates particularly well, with a team high 5apg. 

As a group Ireland's effort on both ends of the floor sees them rank 4th in FIBA Youth EuroBasket for rebounding, behind only Sweden, Georgia and Ukraine in the group phase.

Head coach Thomas Walsh will look back with particular pride in how his group played down the stretch against the Dutch. Trailing 45-36 with just 6:59 remaining in the contest, the resiliency of this group took over. Joseph Badejo started the comeback with an and one layup, before second successive layup from Cronin reduced the deficit to four points in the space of 60 seconds. 

Timothy George responded for the Netherlands, before a free-throw by Cronin and back to back Ogunbare buckets had the Irish trailing by just one point, 47-46 with less than three minutes on the clock. The momentum was all with Ogunbare at this point and he made it eight points in a row personally by holding his nerve at the line to move Ireland in front for the first time since the second quarter heading into the final minute of play. The Netherlands sought a quick response, but it was Daryl Cuff off the bench who hit the dagger three to give Ireland a famous win in front of a very happy crowd.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Basketball Ireland (@basketball_ireland)

Next up for Ireland will be the 9th-16th classification bracket, which features all the third and fourth place finishers in the group phase. This series of games will begin on Friday afternoon against Croatia.