TAMPERE (Finland) - Germany secured their maiden FIBA U18 EuroBasket title after prevailing against 2023 champions Serbia, 93-83, in Sunday's Final.
They raced out of the blocks to lead by as many as 20 points in the first half, but needed to repel a strong fightback from Serbia, who have now made it onto the podium in five of the last six editions.
Christian Anderson led the way for Germany with a game-high 31 points with Ivan Kharchenkov nearing a triple-double with 18 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists, while Savo Drezgic had 30 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds for Serbia.
The MVP award went to Israel's Ben Saraf, who finished as the tournament's leading scorer with 28.1 points per game having had two 40-point games - including in a heartbreaking double overtime loss to Serbia in the Semi-Finals.
Saraf was joined in the All-Star Five lineup by two members of Germany's title-winning roster with Anderson and Hannes Steinbach earning their places, with Serbia's Drezgic and Urban Kroflic of Slovenia also featuring.
It was Slovenia who ensured they claimed the final step of the podium with an 84-70 triumph over Israel in the Third Place Game, earlier in the day.
Hosts Finland were relegated alongside Denmark and Croatia, while North Macedonia were winners of the Division B tournament on home soil in Skopje - with Bulgaria also earning promotion along with beaten finalists Austria.
Final Standings
Germany
Serbia
Slovenia
Israel
France
Lithuania
Belgium
Sweden
Italy
Greece
Türkiye
Latvia
Spain
Croatia
Finland
Denmark
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