CFBB staves off late rally by L’Hospitalet

U18 CFBB Paris started its Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Kaunas by holding on for a 72-77 victory over U18 Torrons Vicens L’Hospitalet in Group A. Juhann Begarin scored 21 points with 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals and 3 blocks to lead the two-time continental champion. Timothe Crusol added 14 points and Maxime Carene chipped in 12 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks. Mauro Abad paced L’Hospitalet with 15 points and Isaac Mayo scored 14 points in the loss.

Mayo knocked down two three-pointers early on to give L’Hospitalet an 8-4 lead. The game went back and forth the rest of the quarter with five ties and four lead changes, the fourth coming with an 8-2 finish to the quarter as L’Hospitalet led 22-19 after 10 minutes. CFBB started the second quarter with a 2-11 run with Victor Diallo scoring 5 points to lead 24-30. The advantage was up to 26-33 before Marti Rosado scored 6 points in a 10-3 surge to knot it at 36-36. CFBB tallied the final 7 points of the half to lead 36-43 at the break. Crusol hit a three-pointer early in the third quarter and Begarin scored 4 points as the French side opened a 39-50 advantage. L’Hospitalet was able to trim it to 44-50 but CFBB put together a 1-11 run and led 49-65 after 30 minutes. Two Carene baskets pushed the gap to 54-71 with less than 3 minutes. CFBB fell apart with 4 turnovers and 4 missed free throws as L’Hospitalet pulled within 71-75 but the hole had been too big.