International

Jul 24 2026

Preview: FIBA U18 Men's EuroBasket in Rijeka and Opatija, Croatia

The next stop for the Ireland U18 MNT will be Croatia as they look to compete against some of Europe’s best in the FIBA U18 EuroBasket. They will face Finland in the opening contest on the 24th of July, with the games being broadcast live on the FIBA YouTube channel and the Basketball Ireland website.

OUR OPPOSITION

Ireland will compete in Division B of the FIBA U18 Men’s EuroBasket 2026 and have been drawn into Group C in the four-group format.. Currently ranked 79th in the world based on their 2025 performance, Ireland have been drawn against Belgium (31^st), Great Britain (81^st), Finland (37^th), Netherlands (68^th) and Cyprus (86^th).

They will play five matches over six days starting on July 24th, with the top two teams from each group progressing to the quarter-finals. The third, fourth and fifth placed teams will go into the 9-22^nd classification games.

SQUAD NEWS

Aivaras Buzas, Kieran Quinn, Nathan Gbinigie, Shareef Elmahi and Mark Burns will return to the squad having featured in the 2025 campaign, with Quinn, Gbinigie and Burns all averaging over 20 minutes per game in Ireland’s 20^th place finish.

Fryderyk Klimas, Aidan McGrath and Declan Ehigie will make the jump from the U16 MNT who finished 12^th at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket, while there will be FIBA EuroBasket debuts for Sean Patterson, Patrick O’Keefe and Michael Cunnigham Smyth.

Head coach Niall Berry spoke about the potential of his group of players and how they have looked at the recent achievements of Ireland's underage squads.

“We’ve had six lads that were overseas in America and Europe that have come in and joined the squad, but their preparation before arriving has been outstanding and it’s gone up a level since then too,” said Berry. "It’s a joy to coach your country but to coach a bunch of lads at this level and of this calibre is a pleasure. We are very confident that we can compete and that’s our absolute goal. After seeing the U20’s go all the way to reach fifth place last week there’s a feeling in our camp of ‘why not’. We’re very proud of the work they’ve put in and we’re very excited for the potential of what they can achieve this summer.”

LAST TIME OUT

Ireland were drawn into a five team group in the FIBA U18 EuroBasket, held in Pitesti, Romania. Great Britain, Poland, Iceland and Bosnia and Herzegovina awaited Ireland in the group phase where a couple of narrow losses and tough games left Ireland winless after four games.

Kieran Quinn starred in a 62-57 win against Azerbaijan in the 17-22 classification game, scoring 21 points which led Ireland to play against Ukraine in the next round. Nathan Gbinigie led the charge for Ireland, scoring 18 points but Ukraine’s second quarter charge left Ireland in the 19-20 classification game.

A repeat of the group phase was next for Ireland, as they faced Norway in the ultimate game of the tournament. Ireland led by 11 points after the first quarter, but a determined Norway side fought back to go 5 ahead at the midway point. Ireland clawed the deficit back to 1 point as they entered the final quarter; however Norway’s Christoffer Ronning led his side to a close two-point victory, 63-61

IRELAND SQUAD

Aidan McGrath (Thayer Academy / Expressions Elite), Aivaras Buzas (NABA), Declan Ehigie (Westtown School, PA), Fryderyk Klimas (Limerick Lions), Jayden Umeh (Portlaoise Panthers), Kieran Quinn (Bergen Catholic, Oradell NJ), Mark Burns (Belfast Star & Brewster Academy), Michael Cunningham Smyth (Titans BC), Nathan Gbinigie (Titans BC), Patrick O'Keeffe (South Tipp Titans & Tipperary Talons), Sean Patterson (IMG Academy), Shareef Elmahi (Dublin Lions).