U16 MEN

By Jared Grellet

Luka Bozic (11 points, 10 rebounds) and Croatia were out of reach for a battling England team that never gave up

Croatia have grabbed the last spot available in the second round of the Dadu U16 European Championship, pushing past a dogged English side 78-54

England did well to stick with their heavily-favoured opponents for 30 minutes, trailing 10 points going into the final frame of the night.

But with Croatia allowed to pick up 30 points from the charity stripe, it was always going to be difficult for Andreas Kapoulas' team to stay with the Croats up until the end.

Relying on their height advantage, Croatia's guards looked for their big men inside the paint with Marko Arapovic picking up 14 points and Lovro Mazalin recording a 21-point, 11-rebound double-double. Leon Tomic added 16.

Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye topped scoring for England with 13 points.