Spain shoot down Italy to defend title in Matosinhos as Greece suffer relegation agony

MATOSINHOS (2016 FIBA U20 Women's European Championship 2016) - There's no stopping Spain at the FIBA U20 Women's European Championship after they sealed a fabulous fifth title success in six editions.

Jose Hernandez and his team successfully defended their crown but it was a nerve-shredding experience as they blew a 19-point lead before eventually scraping past a Cecilia Zandalasini-inspired Italy 61-59. Zandalasini fired 28 points and claimed 10 rebounds, but Spain just had enough to take the silverware in a classic Final match-up as Helena Orts and Maria Conde Alcolado shared 40 points.

There was also jubilation for Russia as they took bronze with a hard-fought 78-72 win against Serbia in the Third-Place game. Raisa Musina proved unstoppable with a wonderful 29 points and 16 rebounds.

In the race to remain in Division A, there was real heartache for Greece who blew a commanding lead against Turkey to suffer a painful 67-65 overtime loss. Serife Onar starred for a relieved Turkey with 20 points.

The other notable performance of the day and indeed one of the most sparkling in the competiton's entire history came from Melisa Brcaninovic. She became only the second player to have ever scored 40 points in a game at an U20 Women's European Championship, as she helped take down Sweden 80-61 with a scorching 75% floor-shooting effort.

Elsewhere, there were also last day victories for Belgium, Poland, Netherlands and Slovak Republic.

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Sunday's results
Final
Spain beat Italy 71-69
Third Place
Russia beat Serbia 78-72

Classification 5-8
Belgium beat France 70-69
Latvia beat Poland 72-67

Classification 9-12
Netherlands beat Portugal 66-61
Bosnia and Herzegovina beat Sweden 80-61

Classification 13-16
Turkey beat Greece 67-65
Slovak Republic beat Germany 52-37

FIBA