Belgium beat the wire 76-75 after extra time against Bulgaria in their second match in Group D of the FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship Division B on Saturday in Matosinhos in Portugal.
Antwerp player Noah Mewsen, who owned the victory basket 16 seconds after the whistle, was the top scorer in the match with 25 points, while Adadio Polit added 18 points and Lukijan Zisevich 16 points.
On Friday, the Latvian-trained Young Belgian Lions team ranked third in Group D with 3 points, the same total as Bulgaria, which finished second. Latvia, which won 73-75 over Portugal, leads with 4 points. Portugal and Switzerland each have one point.
Belgium will face Switzerland again on Sunday (4.30pm BST) and Portugal on Wednesday (9.30pm).
The 22 teams were divided into two groups of five and two groups of six. The top two of each group will advance to the quarter-finals, and the third and fourth play classification matches for places 9 to 16. The bottom two of the five groups will play seeding matches, and the bottom two of the six groups will play seeding matches to remain in Division B.
The finalists and third place winner will be promoted to Division A in 2024.
