MBB | Altuntas, Juzenas Shine at FIBA U20 EuroBasket
7/20/2026 11:29:00 AM | Men's Basketball
LJUBLJANA, Slovenia — Over the past week in Slovenia, Saint Mary's men's basketball players Salih Altuntas and Mantas Juzenas suited up for their respective home nations of Turkiye and Lithuania at the FIBA U20 EuroBasket tournament. Both teams finished ranked in the Top 10 in the 16-team event, with both current Gaels making massive impacts in their teams' performances.
Altuntas helped Turkiye match its best finish at the event since 2022, taking sixth place overall. After dropping two of its first three contests in group play, Turkiye defeated Lithuania in the Round of 16 to guarantee a top-eight finish, and logged an additional win against Croatia to eventually finish in sixth place overall. Altuntas finished second on the Turkiye roster in scoring, averaging 13.6 PPG in the tournament, while leading his squad in rebound (8.1 RPG, second best in the tournament), blocked shots (1.6 BPG, second best in the tournament) and player efficients (17.9, fifth best in the tournament). Altuntas rattled off a pair of double-doubles in the group stage against Germany (19 pts and 14 reb) and Italy (12 pts and 14 reb), while scoring a tournament-high 24 points against Croatia to move Turkiye into the 5th place contest. He finished off the event by converting on 41 of 62 field goal attempts for a tournament best 66.1% field goal percentage.
Juzenas was the driving force for Lithuania in the event, leading his team in scoring (15.1 PPG), rebounding (10.3 RPG, best in the tournament), and player efficiency (22.9, best in the tournament) while ranking second on the team with 3.7 APG. After falling to Altuntas and Turkiye in the Round of 16, Juzenas helped Lithuania run the table in the consolation bracket to finish in ninth place overall, marking its 13th consecutive FIBA U20 EuroBasket top-10 finish. Like Altuntas, Juzenas finished with a pair of double-doubles, including his historic 46 point (new tournament record), 12 rebound performance against Poland, and 11 points and 11 boards in the narrow loss to Turkiye. In the ninth place match against Israel, Juzenas showed off just how strong of a rebounder he truly is, ripping down 20 boards to will his nation to victory.
While still a little over three months away from the Saint Mary's Men's Basketball 2026-27 opener, both Juzenas and Altuntas seemed primed and ready to make a massive impact for the Gaels this upcoming season.
You won't want to miss Mantas, Salih and the rest of your Gaels in action inside UCU Pavilion this season! Upper reserved and general admission season tickets for the 2026-27 men's basketball season are on sale now and can be officially requested HERE.
Fans are also invited to RSVP for the Gaels First Look on Aug. 1, which includes an open practice, an autograph session and a free BBQ for all after practice. To RSVP, click HERE.
Altuntas helped Turkiye match its best finish at the event since 2022, taking sixth place overall. After dropping two of its first three contests in group play, Turkiye defeated Lithuania in the Round of 16 to guarantee a top-eight finish, and logged an additional win against Croatia to eventually finish in sixth place overall. Altuntas finished second on the Turkiye roster in scoring, averaging 13.6 PPG in the tournament, while leading his squad in rebound (8.1 RPG, second best in the tournament), blocked shots (1.6 BPG, second best in the tournament) and player efficients (17.9, fifth best in the tournament). Altuntas rattled off a pair of double-doubles in the group stage against Germany (19 pts and 14 reb) and Italy (12 pts and 14 reb), while scoring a tournament-high 24 points against Croatia to move Turkiye into the 5th place contest. He finished off the event by converting on 41 of 62 field goal attempts for a tournament best 66.1% field goal percentage.
Juzenas was the driving force for Lithuania in the event, leading his team in scoring (15.1 PPG), rebounding (10.3 RPG, best in the tournament), and player efficiency (22.9, best in the tournament) while ranking second on the team with 3.7 APG. After falling to Altuntas and Turkiye in the Round of 16, Juzenas helped Lithuania run the table in the consolation bracket to finish in ninth place overall, marking its 13th consecutive FIBA U20 EuroBasket top-10 finish. Like Altuntas, Juzenas finished with a pair of double-doubles, including his historic 46 point (new tournament record), 12 rebound performance against Poland, and 11 points and 11 boards in the narrow loss to Turkiye. In the ninth place match against Israel, Juzenas showed off just how strong of a rebounder he truly is, ripping down 20 boards to will his nation to victory.
While still a little over three months away from the Saint Mary's Men's Basketball 2026-27 opener, both Juzenas and Altuntas seemed primed and ready to make a massive impact for the Gaels this upcoming season.
You won't want to miss Mantas, Salih and the rest of your Gaels in action inside UCU Pavilion this season! Upper reserved and general admission season tickets for the 2026-27 men's basketball season are on sale now and can be officially requested HERE.
Fans are also invited to RSVP for the Gaels First Look on Aug. 1, which includes an open practice, an autograph session and a free BBQ for all after practice. To RSVP, click HERE.
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