U18 Spars Sarajevo started its ADIDAS NEXT GENERATION TOURNAMENT Qualifying Tournament - Marko Ivkovic Belgrade with a 76-72 victory over U18 ALBA Berlin in Group A. Sani Campara collected 22 points and 5 rebounds while Aleksa Stepanovic picked up 18 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks for the winners. Sandro Antunovic chipped in 12 points and 15 rebounds in the victory. Ferdinand Zylka paced Alba with 22 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists while Alexander Moeller scored 11 points in the loss. Philipp Herkenhoff had 9 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals, and Filip Stanic added 4 points and 12 rebounds for ALBA.

Bennet Hundt opened the game for ALBA with a free throw and Sabahudin Jahic scored Spars’ first basket. Both teams struggled to convert offensive with Stepanovic making it 4-3 after 3 minutes of action. After Hendrik Drescher scored to give ALBA a 4-7 lead, Campara, Amar Tiganj and Srdan Kocic all knocked down three-pointers as Spars built a 16-11 cushion. Badu Buck’s trey trimmed it to 18-16, but Kocic was on target again from long range and Spars led 22-16 after 10 minutes. Semir Karic upped the advantage to 25-16 with a triple to start the second quarter. Zylka scored 2 baskets to keep ALBA close and Moeller made it 27-22. Stepanovic answered with an assist and score to up the cushion to 31-22. ALBA held Spars without a score for more than 2 minutes and Zylka’s free throws trimmed the margin to 33-28. Spars responded with 4 free throws and Campara’s triple had the team up 40-30. But Zylka tallied the final 5 points of the half to bring Alba within 40-35 at intermission.

Herkenhoff opened scoring for ALBA in the second half to get the team to within 40-37. But Campara knocked down a three-ball for Spars after nearly 2 minutes without a basket. Campara followed with a three-point play to push the gap to 46-37. And another Campara trey made it a double-digit game 49-39. Lucas Skibbe responded with a three-pointer for ALBA , and it was 55-48 after 2 Moeller free throws and a Skibbe put-back. Stepanovic answered with 4 straight points and Spars was up 59-52 after 30 minutes. Drescher knocked down a trey to get the fourth quarter going and Herkenhoff and Zylka followed with long balls to get ALBA to within 64-63 with 6 minutes to play. Stepanovic answered for Spars and Antunovic made it 68-64 before Moeller’s three-point play cut it to 68-67. Campara nailed a three-pointer from the corner to re-establish a four-point lead. Jahic added two inside baskets as Spars led 76-70 with 1:10 minutes to play. Jahic and Stepanovic both missed 2 free throws and Amar Gegic turned the ball over with 50 seconds left but ALBA was unable to hit its final 5 shots in the final minute.