Serbia crowned U18 European champions

BRATISLAVA (FIBA U18 European Championship 2017) - Serbia have been crowned 2017 U18 European champions, defeating Spain 74-62 in Sunday evening's Final.

Trailing by a point at half-time, tournament MVP Nikola Miskovic started the Serbian charge with the first five points of the second half, as Serbia outscored Spain 21-11 in the third quarter to set up the championship victory - giving them their first title at this level since 2009.

The two sides were joined on the podium by Lithuania, who earlier in the day defeated Turkey in an overtime thriller, 97-88 in the Third-Place Game.

Miskovic was joined in the All-Star Five by Sergi Martinez from runners-up Spain; bronze-medalist Arnas Velicka of Lithuania; Turkey's Ragip Berke Atar; and tournament leading scorer Sani Campara, from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Meanwhile, there was disappointment for Slovenia and hosts Slovak Republic, who were relegated to Division B for 2018. Latvia, who finished in 15th place, avoid dropping down, on account of hosting the Division A championship in 2018, meaning only two teams were relegated.

Slovenia and Slovak Republic will be replaced by Division B finalists Croatia and Great Britain. On Sunday evening in Tallinn, Estonia, Croatia defeated Great Britain 90-84 after overtime, completing an unbeaten run through the competition. 

MVP Luka Samanic of Croatia headlined the All-Star Five and was joined by Jaydon Kayne Henry McCalla of Great Britain, Matthias Tass of Estonia, Amit Ebo of Israel and Ivan Alpiev of Bulgaria.

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