DEBRECEN (Hungary) - Baskets Oldenburg have looked an especially tight unit on the court all week at the Youth Basketball Champions League, in Debrecen..

They started off by defeating eventual finalists Galatasaray in the opener. Two days later, they recovered from the heartbreak of the Turkish giant's 39-point win over Hapoel Jerusalem, that prevented them from making the Semi-Finals, and will face Lenovo Tenerife in the decider for fifth place.

A family connection in the heart of the team is powering this tight unit. Srdjan Klaric, the club's sporting director, has been perched on the end of the bench in Debrecen all week, watching the games and his two sons, Lazar and Djordje, who play in the Oldenburg colors.

Lazar Klaric is leading this Baskets Oldenburg team

For Klaric senior, the Youth BCL experience has been extremely positive.

"It's a very, very good tournament - the organization, everything," he said.

"Everything is at a high level and it's a great experience for the young guys and also great preparation for the playoffs that we have in Germany."

The Youth BCL operates with the same media focus as a Basketball Champions League event, including a standard BCL broadcast camera plan and a professional standard media day. 

Older brother - and team captain - Lazar explained this was the first time he or his teammates experienced this level of media coverage - and they've greatly enjoyed it. 

"We do have some live streams in Germany, but not with this many cameras," he said. 

"Of course [it puts] a little bit more pressure than normal, but it doesn't affect me. I don't think anyone's affected by it, it's just a great experience."

Younger brother Djordje just turned 15 on Friday, as Oldenburg beat Opava to reach the fifth-place game, and has made quite the splash at the event.

He's the youngest player in the tournament and scored 14 points in his first 17 minutes of action, knocking down triples with a real shooter's stroke. 

Djordje Klaric knocking down another triple.

Djordje has played with his older brother throughout the different age groups for Oldenburg, but doing it in front of the cameras has been something new.

"It's just really amazing to play with him in such an arena with cameras and when the commentators say "with an assist from brother to brother" when I hit a three-pointer - that's really cool," he said with a smile.

For Srdjan, whilst it's been a fantastic experience, the tournament has certainly thrown challenges at his sons and the whole team.  Especially on Thursday, when it would take a Galatasaray 39-point win to prevent Oldenburg from entering the Semi-Finals, and the Turkish team did just that.

"Yesterday [Thursday]  it wasn't easy for the guys to watch the game between Jerusalem and Galatasaray and to have the energy for the important game today in these 'small' semi-finals," Srdjan Klaric explained.

Oldenburg going through the wringer watching Galatasaray vs Jerusalem

But the event schedule, like any professional tournament, offers no time for emotions. Oldenburg had to get straight back to it and win against Opava the next day and now are presented with a battle for fifth place,  with BCL stalwarts Lenovo Tenerife.

For the Klaric brothers, the challenge is clear and acute but also the reason they came to Debrecen this week. 

"It will be hard, but I think our guys can do it. If we stay together, stay hard, strong mentally - it is more about how focused we stay and we cannot let the opponent get in our heads," Lazar explained.

"I think we have a chance for sure," said Djordje.

"They have a good roster. But I think ours is deeper and I believe if we play together, we can beat them."