North Macedonia beat Iceland 74:86 and advance to 13th-place game

North Macedonia’s U18 men's basketball team completed a dramatic comeback to beat Iceland 74:86 at the ongoing U18 European Championship Division B in Croatia and will play Great Britain for 13th place.

Second quarter turnaround decided the game

Iceland raced out to a 25:9 lead after the first quarter, but the Macedonian side rallied in the second period. A 17:4 run early in the quarter shifted momentum, and North Macedonia outscored Iceland 35:12 in the second ten minutes to go into halftime ahead 44:37.

After the break Iceland pushed back and grabbed a 55:54 lead in the 28th minute, yet following a timeout called by coach Miodrag Todorović the Macedonian team steadied, retook the lead and entered the fourth quarter with a narrow advantage (60:59).

In the final period North Macedonia imposed its rhythm with efficient offense and disciplined defence, gradually extending the margin and closing out a deserved victory, 74:86.

Captain Gjorgjević led the team with 18 points, five rebounds and two assists, shooting an excellent 4/5 from three-point range. Cvetkovski finished with 17 points, Danev recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Stojanoski and Neshović contributed 10 points each.

The U18 side will meet Great Britain tomorrow at 11:30 in Opatija for the match that decides 13th place, after the British beat Azerbaijan earlier on the same day.

Photo: press material from the event