KK Zagreb starlet Ante Tomic could hardly have asked for a better EuroCup.

The competition has given the youngster, who turned 20 on February 17, a chance to cut his teeth in a major European tournament.

Hot-shooting Krunoslav Simon and KK Zagreb built a double-digit lead and then held on for an 80-74 win over Barons Riga in Croatia on Tuesday to force a deciding third game in their EuroCup quarter-final.

Simon, a 1.97m shooting guard, had his best game of the competition by making five of seven attempts from three-point range on his way to a game-high 17 points.

Latvia international Armands Skele scored 10 of his game-high 25 points late in the game to help Barons hold off a determined KK Zagreb in their EuroCup Quarter-Final series opener in Riga.

Barons prevailed 67-58 and will now attempt to finish of Zeljko Pavlicevic's team in Croatia next week.

KK Zagreb have been a big hit in the EuroCup this season and Jakov Vladovic is a huge reason why.

The point guard leads the team in scoring at 14.6 points per game, and he tops the Zagreb charts in assists (7.0) and steals (1.3).

Where would KK Zagreb be without Ante Tomic? Answer: Probably not in the EuroCup Quarter Final Round.

With yet another sublime performance on Tuesday by the young Croatian center - he scored 19 points and hauled in nine rebounds - Zagreb beat Olympia to book a ticket to the next stage of the competition where they will take on BC Barons of Riga.