LAKTASI (Bosna and Herzegovina) - Group B sees the champions of the inaugural Youth Basketball Champions League tournament, Igokea host the event in Laktasi and welcome perennial contenders, Ludwigsburg, who have arrived with a roster loaded with German international players and reliable performers at this level.
They also welcome debutants BC Sabah who are the wildcard of the whole event. The only thing we know about this Sabah roster is that they aren't short of size.
The first game of this group will tip off at 17:30 CET on Tuesday, and will see Sabah as technically the home team, even though they will be facing Igokea in their home arena.
This is certainly one of the most intriguing encounters of day one, and with a strong and experienced Ludwigsburg roster waiting for both teams after this, a win will be vital for both teams already.
Igokea m:tel
Igokea have a new head coach and a new look to their roster this year. Zeljko Krunic takes over from Boris Jokanovic on the sidelines and his roster includes just four returning players from last year's event.
2008-born guard Mico Milovanovic is the only senior of the four. 1.99m Serbian U16 international guard, Luka Galic is from their 2009 generation, as is 2.07m forward Djordje Dragic. 2010-born, 1.97m shooting guard Marko Grubesic is also returning from last season.
1.96m, Serbian shooting guard, Ognjen Perisic missed last year's edition but played the year before in 2023, whilst being two years young and put up 5.3 points and 2.3 rebounds. He will likely be a player to watch for this year's team.
Another one to watch will be 2009-born, 1.92m Bosnia and Herzegovina U16 International, Ognjen Stankovic. 1.93m forward, Djordje Djukanovic was a Montenegro U16 International last summer and put up 10.6 points and 5.6 rebounds in the U16 EuroBasket, Division B. Djukanovic will surely be another to keep and eye on.
Igokea get things started in this group on Tuesday at 17:30 against newcomers BC Sabah. Looking at this roster, there can be no doubt that the Semi-Finals are a realistic aim, at least.
Porsche BBA Ludwigsburg
Ludwigsburg enjoyed a best-ever, fourth-place last year and made the most of their underdog status to catch teams off guard with their up-tempo style and boisterous team spirit.
This year Ludwigsburg will surely have to shed the underdog tag.
Kenan Youdom and Yohann Tchouaffe both went on to get selected for Germany's National Team in last summer's U16 EuroBasket. Both were key players for Germany, with Youdom playing 23 minutes and put up 7.7 points and 5.5 rebounds, whilst Tchouaffe played 20 minutes and produced 5.1 points and 3.3 rebounds.
Xavier Van Lierop has taken over from Khee Rhee as head coach for this event and he will also be able to count on Lars Danziger from last year's team.
1.93m wing man, Danziger had 10.5 points, 6.8 assists, and 5.8 rebounds in last year's event. Along with Youdom and Tchouaffe, Danziger gives this Ludwigsburg a talented and experienced core to compete with the best teams at this event.
2.10m Brazillian big man Johann Cardoso will give them an inside presence, as will the experienced Armin Pivac, who is also returning from last year.
Also keep an eye out for 1.96m Dutch International, shooting guard Yanu Slingerland. He put up 15 points and 7.4 rebounds on 50-40-100 shooting splits in last summer's U16 EuroBasket, Division B.
Ludwigsburg wait until April 8 at 17:30 to start their campaign against BC Sabah.
After that, they will play the second of a back-to-back against Igokea on April 9. Like the hosts, this Ludwigsburg roster has been constructed to challenge for the Semi-Finals as a minimum.
BC Sabah
And last but not least we come to the great unknown.
Azerbaijani champions, BC Sabah have entered the competition for the first time and whilst we know precious little about their team, what we do know is how ambitious Sabah is as a club. And knowing that, there is every reason to believe they will have put together the absolute best roster available to them for this event.
This roster boasts no less than five players from the Azerbaijan team that competed in last summer's EuroBasket, Division B: Ismayil Abdullayev, Ifeanyichukwu Agbason, Huseyn Mammadov, Mubariz Mirzayev, and Oghuzkhan Guliyev.
2.06m center Agbason was the standout for that Azerbaijan team, with 10.6 points and 10 rebounds in 30 minutes on court. There's no doubt that Sabah will also lean on him to anchor them in the paint for this event as well.
2.00m power forward, Mammadov also put up 7 points and 4.6 rebounds in 26 minutes for Azerbaijan and will make sure that this Sabah team is not left lacking in size and strength.
Head coach Anar Hajiyev was also leading that Azerbaijan team on the sidelines last summer and will know exactly what he can get from his team in this event.
They probably couldn't have asked for a tougher assignment to start life in the YBCL with a matchup against Igokea, but whatever you do, don't count this Sabah team out.