TAMPERE (Finland) - Germany held off defending champions Serbia 93-83 to secure a maiden FIBA U18 EuroBasket title -while Slovenia defeated Israel in the battle for third place.
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Key Storylines
Germany hold on to beat 2023 winners Serbia to be crowned champions;
Slovenia take last spot on the podium powered by Vit Hrabar's 24-point game;
Spain catch the last train to salvation as Croatia is relegated to Division B.
Final
Germany are the new FIBA U18 EuroBasket champions after defeating title holders Serbia in the Sunday's Final in Tampere. Building on a hot start, the Germans won 93-83 powered by Christian Anderson and his performance of 31 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds.
Ivan Kharchenkov added 18 points and 10 rebounds, and was only two assists short of a triple-double in another impressive display.
Germany shot out of the starting block with 15 unanswered points early in the first stanza and their lead was as many as 20 points before Serbia rallied through Savo Drezgic - helping cut the deficit to just six points at half-time.
Andrej Kostic made a free throw with just over six minutes to go in the third to put Serbia only one point behind, but the period of German domination ensued as Jordan Muller's three made it 70-60 early in the fourth.
Serbia tried another comeback and got as close as 72-69, but couldn't do more as Germany answered with another 14-4 run to distance themselves at the start of the last three minutes - and the celebrations would soon begin at the buzzer.
Third Place Game
Slovenia repeated their 2019 success of making it onto the podium by beating Israel 84-70. It was more heartbreak for Israel, as they had been seconds away from the Final, only to finish outside of the top three.
The victors built an early lead, but it was only a two-point game at the break after Israel pulled closer in the second quarter. However, Slovenia's 15-3 run to start the second half cut the knot and erased any uncertainty.
Vit Hrabar top scored with 24 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, while Zak Smrekar offered the helping hand with 21 points paired up with 9 rebounds and 7 assists for a near triple-double effort.
Top Performers
Elahdji Dame Sarr from Italy provided a game-winning layup to secure ninth spot against Greece - finishing with 24 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals for an efficiency of 33.
Matching that rating was Corentin Efono having scored Belgium's last seven points in the last two minutes, a crucial part of his 26-point performance paired up with 5 steals, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, in their narrow 84-81 win in comeback against Sweden.
The best individual performance in the Final came from the losing side; Serbia's Savo Drezgic gave it his all with 30 points on four three-pointers, also putting up 7 assists and 6 rebounds, but couldn't help to avoid the heartbreak in a 10-point loss to Germany.
Even though Lithuania fell 99-89 to France in the battle for a top-five spot, Kasparas Jakucionis did the scoring part with 37 points. He also added 7 assists and 4 rebounds, albeit in a loss.
Derin Can Ustun pulled Türkiye to an 89-66 success against Latvia to grab 11th place at the end. The Turkish guard was only two rebounds short of a triple-double; 20 points, 10 assists and 8 rebounds his final line on the statsheet.
Results of the Day
Final
Germany 93-83 Serbia
Third Place Game
Slovenia 84-70 Israel
Classification 5-6
Lithuania 89-99 France
Classification 7-8
Sweden 81-84 Belgium
Classification 9-10
Italy 70-68 Greece
Classification 11-12
Latvia 66-89 Türkiye
Classification 13-14
Croatia 71-89 Spain
Classification 15-16
Denmark 81-94 Finland
FIBA