U16 MEN

By Jared Grellet

Ilija Dokovic helped Serbia with a good overall performance of 13 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists

Serbia have secured themselves a spot in the second round of the Dadu U16 European Championship Men, defeating Slovenia 71-64 in their final Group C encounter.

Going behind by 10 points early in their do-or-die game, Slovenia fought back in the second quarter courtesy of the outside shooting of Domen Janc who picked up two crucial three-pointers to bring the Slovenes back within a point just over a minute out from the half.

Serbia were unable to shake their rivals back off, with Slovenia finally tying scores on another Janc three-pointer with just over six minutes to play.

Despite Slovenia then tying scores on three more occasions, Serbia did not let them take the lead as Vasilije Vucetic and Vukan Stojanovic lead Serbia to safety, combining for eight points on an 11-2 run to secured the win.

Matej Kavas had his best game of the tournament to date for Slovenia, scoring 20 points.

Ilija Dokovic and Jovan Starincevic ended with 13 points for Serbia, while Ivan Daskolovic picked up a 10-point, 12-rebound double-double.

The win also guarantees that Germany and Lithuania will move into the second round.