HERAKLION (Greece) - France are the new FIBA U16 EuroBasket champions after dethroning 2023 winners Spain in an exciting Final showdown.
Meanwhile, Serbia returned on the podium for the first time since 2017 by beating hosts Greece in the Third Place Game.
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Key Storylines
France proved to be the best team in Heraklion by beating title holders Spain and winning the title;
Serbia overpower hosts Greece to win bronze, their first medal in seven years;
Poland relegated to Division B after losing to Georgia in the battle for survival.
Final
Spain continued their most impressive run by entering their fifth Final in a row, hoping to repeat their 2023 success. France, on the other hand, were looking for their first title since 2017, in which they ultimately succeeded with an 82-70 victory.
France set the tone early, separating themselves with a 10-point lead in the first quarter. Once they got in the ascendancy, they never looked back as the lead at the half was 45-36.
Spain tried to ensure a thrilling finish, but couldn't get closer than a four-point deficit in the third - as last year's winners never led in the game and the scoreboard stopped at 82-70 to signal the time for France's much deserved celebration.
Tournament MVP Cameron Houindo once again led the victors with a double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds as Aaron Towo-Nansi added 16 points. Matthys Mahop did a little bit of everything as he posted 10 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. On the losing side, Marcos Zurita proved to be a big game performer with 21 points.
Third Place Game
Serbia were looking to return on the podium for the first time since 2017 and succeeded in that mission with 74-65, providing Greece with the same heartbreak they experienced two years ago when they also lost the battle for the bronze.
Greece never even had the lead in the game with Serbia finding the rhythm early on and ending the first 10 minutes with a 10-point difference. There was no doubt after that with lead remaining in that area, if not expanding well into the double-digit territory.
It was a 16-point cushion at one point in the fourth quarter with Greek run only embellishing the score - Nikola Karalic's three to separate Serbia at 70-62 with just over a minute to go was the exclamation point that ended all doubts about the third podium spot.
Vuk Danilovic posted 24 points, while Andrej Bjelic had a stat line close to a triple-double with 15 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists. On the losing side, Chrysostomos Chatzilamprou led the pack with 21 points.
Top Performers
Bulgaria had a relegation heartbreak on Friday, but picked up the pieces and beat Croatia 82-63 in the game to avoid last place. Svetoslav Slavov led their effort with 25 points, 10 rebounds and 2 assists for an efficiency of 32 - the highest on the final day.
Thomas Acunzo of Italy was especially inspired in the paint with 14 points - without a miss - 11 rebounds and 4 blocked shots in his team's 86-63 win over Israel to grab the fifth spot. His teammate Randy Livingston Jr offered a helping hand with 19 points, 8 assists and 3 steals from the guard position.
Finland's Reino Saivosalmi had an all-around showing of 26 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds, which amounted to an efficiency of 28 in a close 82-79 success over Slovenia for 11th place.
Georgia ultimately avoided relegation by beating Poland 75-57 in the battle for the 13th. Mate Khatiashvili once again came up clutch with a big stat line of 28 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists, finding his way into the Top Performers lineup on consecutive days.
Results of the Day
Final
Spain 82-70 France
Third Place Game
Greece 65-74 Serbia
Classification 5-6
Italy 86-63 Israel
Classification 7-8
Türkiye 77-98 Latvia
Classification 9-10
Lithuania 87-64 Germany
Classification 11-12
Slovenia 79-82 Finland
Classification 13-14
Poland 57-75 Georgia
Classification 15-16
Bulgaria 82-63 Croatia
FIBA