U18 FC Barcelona made a powerful start to its adidas NextGen EuroLeague Finals challenge, overcoming a halftime deficit to outmuscle U18 Crvena Zvezda Belgrade and claim a 97-83 victory. Mohamed Dabone epitomized Barca’s physical dominance with 23 points and 9 rebounds, while Sayon Keita compiled a remarkable stat line of 14 points, 10 rebounds and 7 blocked shots. Joaquim Boumtje-Boumtje and Mohamed Keita both scored 13, and Jakob Siftar netted 11. Zvezda was paced by Luka Janjusevic with 18 points, supported by Ognjen Simjanovski (15 points), Aleksej Nedeljkovic (13 points) and Jovan Bikic (12 points, 8 boards). Barca overcame a woeful day from long-range (2-of-28 on three-pointers) thanks to its power around the rim, converting 38 two-point shots and grabbing 23 offensive rebounds. Zvezda dominated the early possessions for a 0-5 start, before consecutive scores from Boumtje-Boumtje gave Barca its first lead, which was extended to 24-18 after ten minutes. A 2-10 run took Zvezda ba...