114-56: French U16 team crushes Estonia and advances to Euro quarters

The French U16 men’s team rolled through their EuroBasket U16 round of 16 game in Tbilisi on Tuesday, inflicting a real beating on Estonia (114-56). A collective and physical demonstration that allows Nicolas Absalon’s young Blues to advance to the quarterfinals, where they will meet Italy, who defeated Germany earlier in the day (85-65).

EuroBasket U16

– Round of 16

France U16114

Estonia U1656

Total domination in all aspects

Physically superior and relentless on defense, the French forced 34 turnovers from their opponents, scoring 56 points off them, including 37 in transition. The gap was already significant in the first quarter (29-14), and it kept growing (53-30 at halftime, 80-43 at the end of the third quarter).

Individual performances matched the collective demonstration:

• Nathan Soliman (2.01 m, 16 years): 20 points on 6/9 shooting, 7 rebounds, 0 turnovers, 24 efficiency rating in less than 20 minutes.

• Aaron Towo-Nansi (1.78 m, 16 years): 12 points on 6/11, 4 rebounds, 9 assists, 5 steals, 23 efficiency rating in 22 minutes.

• Messi Yangala: 17 points on 8/12, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 20 efficiency rating in 21 minutes.

• Alassane Traore: 9 points on 4/5, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 18 efficiency rating.

• Mathias Fabien: 10 points on 5/6, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals, 18 efficiency rating in less than 20 minutes, with several spectacular dunks.

🇫🇷 Nathan Soliman (6’8″, 2009) was once again the standout performer for France 🇫🇷 in their U16 EuroBasket Round of 16 win over Estonia 🇪🇪, combining elite scoring efficiency with leadership and hustle. The versatile wing used his size, skill, and poise to control the game on… pic.twitter.com/cA5ApKkSzG

— Scouting lab (@scouting_lab) August 12, 2025

The only downside: modest three-point shooting (3/16 from beyond the arc). But it’s difficult to worry about this 2009 generation even under these conditions.

On to the quarters against Italy

The challenge will be greater this Wednesday (11:30) against the Italians (second in Group D behind Latvia), who also impressed by largely dominating Germany (85-65). A duel that promises to be a real test for the so far unstoppable young French team.