Spars wins thriller with Venice for fifth place

U18 Spars Sarajevo locked up fifth place at the Adidas Next Generation Tournament Belgrade by winning an 81-83 thriller over U18 Umana Reyer Venice. Deni Radak collected 21 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists to lead Spars while Djordje Topolovic posted 20 points and 9 rebounds and Nikola Micic added 17 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and the game-saving block at the buzzer. Nicola Berdini paced Venice with 25 points, while Leonardo Biancotto had 19 points and Davide Casarin chipped in 12 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists and 7 steals in the loss.

Topolovic had 5 points as Spars stayed close early at 10-5. But Biancotto knocked down 3 three-pointers in scoring 11 points as Venice pushed the lead to 27-15. It was 29-17 after 10 minutes. Venice failed to score in the first 3 minutes of the second quarter and Harun Huseinspahic completed a three-point play and Haris Dedajic nailed a three-pointer to help Spars even the game 29-29 with a 0-12 run. Giovanni Bellato hit a triple at the other end to make it 36-32. Aleksandar Bulatovic and Radak both had and-ones to give Spars its first lead at 36-38. The lead switched hands three times and Berdini scored Venice’s final 6 points for a 45-43 lead at the break. Luca Possamai’s two baskets started the scoring in the second half for a 49-43 lead. Spars responded with an 0-8 run for the first of seven lead changes with Radak scoring the final 3 points of the third quarter to lead 61-63 after 30 minutes. Berdini and Casarin both hit three-pointers to put Venice back ahead and Possamai put the Italian side up 73-69. Micic and Bulatovic connected from long range as Spars regained control at 75-80. Berdini countered with 2 free throws and a four-point play to put Venice back ahead 81-80 with 49 seconds left. Spars secured the final lead change through Nino Herenda’s three-pointer with 18 seconds to play and Micic sealed the win by blocking Casarin's potential game-winning three-point attempt at the buzzer.