Olimpija fends off Arka for second win

U18 Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana grabbed its second victory at the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Belgrade by holding off U18 Asseco Arka Gdynia 88-83 in Group B. Egor Sytnikov led the way for Olimpija with 25 points and 6 rebounds while Matej Bosnjak poured in 23 points and Kim Klavzar chipped in 6 points, 14 assists and 4 steals as the team finished group play at 2-1. Arka, playing in the competition for the first time since 2008, dropped its third straight game despite Wojciech Tomaszewski scoring 22 points with 5 rebounds and 6 steals. Kacper scored 14 points, Piotr Lis had 13 points, Antoni Michalski 12 and Nikodem Czoska picked up 11 points in the loss.

Bosnjak started strong with four points as Olimpija went up 9-2. Tomaszewski converted a three-point play and Marcin Kowalczyk nailed a three-pointer as Arka cut the gap to 11-10. Bosnjak picked up three more baskets for a 17-12 lead and a Nil Jovanovic trey made it 24-19 before Arka evened the game 26-26 after 10 minutes. An and-one by Bosnjak and an Anze Durkic triple had Olimpija up 36-32 only to see Kowalczyk drain another three to help put the Polish side ahead 36.39. Olimpija responded with a 12-3 surge and led 48-42 and was ahead 54-46 at the break. Czoska cut the deficit to six points to start the second half and it was 58-52 before Sytnikov scored nine points in an 11-0 run for a 69-52 cushion, which was 73-60 after 30 minutes. Tomaszewski and Michalski started the final frame with three-pointers and Gordon’s triple cut the gap down to 77-73. But Sytnikov drained a big three-ball for an 87-79 advantage with 54 seconds to play and Arka could not get closer than four points in the final minute.