U18 Porsche Basketball Academy Ludwigsburg picked up its first victory at the Euroleague Basketball ADIDAS NEXT GENERATION TOURNAMENT Qualifying Tournament – Kaunas by defeating U18 Fenerbahce Istanbul 70-77 in Group A action. Cosmo Gruehn collected 22 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks and Mateo Seric added 21 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks as Ludwigsburg improved to 1-1 in the group. Thorben Doeding chipped in 10 points, 11 assists and 5 rebounds with Jeferson Hiller adding 14 points in the win. Emir Erol scored 20 points to pace Fenerbahce, which dropped to 0-2 in the group. Cengizhan Ivedi added 17 points while Ahmet Can Duran scored just 3 points in hitting just 1 of 11 shots, but did collect 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks.

Efe Gunyeli opened the game for Fenerbahce and Seric hit for Ludwigsburg, which took its first lead, 4-5, on Doeding’s triple. Hiller’s three-pointer made it 4-10. Erol got the deficit to 9-12 on a three only to see Seric score two more baskets for a 9-16 lead. Erol and Burak Eldeleklioglu both knocked down threes and then 4 more Erol points put Fenerbahce ahead 19-16 after 10 minutes. Ludwigsburg opened the second quarter with a 0-8 run with Gruehn scoring 5 points to move ahead 19-24. Ugur Celik’s three-pointer snapped the run before Doeding’s three-point play made it 22-27. Ivedi answered with 5 points in a 12-2 run for a 34-29 Fenerbahce advantage. Baris Yeniay scored inside and Duran followed with a free throw to up the lead to 39-32. Fenerbahce led 42-35 at halftime on Erol’s three-pointer just before the buzzer.

Ludwigsburg scored the first 6 points in the second half and was getting stops on defense. Duran scored Fenerbahce’s first basket of the third quarter to keep his team on top, 44-41. Gruehn’s three-point play gave Ludwigsburg the lead and Quirin Emanga Noupoue made it 44-48. Hiller added a three-pointer and Gruehn extended the lead to 47-53. Ivedi did knock down a three-pointer and 2 free throws, but Ludwigsburg was ahead 54-57 after 30 minutes. Gruehn’s basket made it 56-59 before Erol’s three-pointer tied the game and Mehmet Batur Sahinoz’s put-back had Fenerbahce ahead 61-59. Doeding put Ludwigsburg back in front 63-64 on a three-pointer, but Ivedi knocked down a triple to even the contest again 66-66. Gruehn came back at other end to score and Hiller knocked down a three after Fenerbahce failed to convert for a 66-71 cushion with two minutes to go. Eldeleklioglu did answer with a three-pointer, but Seric put back an offensive rebound and then hit 2 free throws with 44 seconds to play for a 69-74 lead.