GDYNIA (Poland) - France survived a major back-and-forth battle but defended their crown at the FIBA U20 EuroBasket 2024 with an 82-78 victory over Slovenia in the Final for the country's third title.
Slovenia took second place and Greece grabbed the bronze medal for the second straight summer.
Stay up to date with the tournament and check out the latest results, bracket and competition system for all the information you need.
Key Storylines
France talent shines through to break hearts of Slovenia and win the championship
Greece grab bronze for second straight year - again beating Belgium in the Third Place Game
Relegated Türkiye will play in Division B for the first time since 2004 after losing by one point to Iceland in Classification 13-14
Final
France came into the tournament hoping to add a third crown to their ones from 2010 and 2023, and their depth of top level players proved too much in the end with a thrilling win.
Neither team was really able to open much of a lead for most of the game, though Slovenia were up nine points midway through the second quarter. Slovenia were up 59-54 after 30 minutes. They found themselves up 72-64 with under four minutes to go but France answered with the next 8 points to knot the game.
France went up four points only to see Arne Osojnik drained a three-pointer with 23 seconds left. After Alexandre Bouzidi split two free throws for France, Osojnik missed a corner three and France were victorious.
Zacharie Perrin tallied 19 points and 10 rebounds and Noah Penda added 15 points and 14 rebounds for France, who became the fourth country to win this competition three times - along with record medallists Spain, Greece and Serbia. Urban Klavzar scored 23 points in a losing effort.
Third Place Game
Greece repeated their performance from last summer, beating Belgium 70-68 in the Third Place Game to grab the third spot on the podium. Greece won their seventh medal in the U20 EuroBasket and second bronze - one year after also knocking off Belgium in the 2023 Third Place Game.
Greece allowed just 8 points in the third quarter in fighting back from 11 points down in the second stanza. Theodoros Konstantinidis picked up 19 points and 5 assists - by far his best game of the tournament after totalling 14 points in the first six contests - and Vangelis Zougris tallied 14 points, 13 rebounds and 4 steals.
Top Performers
Jakub Necas had another strong showing for Czechia but his 27 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals for an efficiency of 36 were not enough in a 94-85 loss to Lithuania in Classification 5-6.
Iceland came up with a huge victory in beating Türkiye 96-95 in the Classification 13-14 game to remain in Division A. Tomas Thrastarson poured in 26 points to go with 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal and 3 blocks for an efficiency of 33.
Greece will be going home with the bronze medal for the second straight summer after a 70-68 win over Belgium. Vangelis Zougris was masterful for the Greeks with 14 points, 13 rebounds, 1 assist and 4 steals to register an efficiency of 28.
Izan Almansa also had an efficiency of 28 in Spain's 106-80 blowout win over Poland with 23 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists.
Emre Melih Tunca did all he could for Türkiye against Iceland but 26 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists and 1 block for an efficiency of 27 were not enough to keep the country in Division A.
Results of the Day
Final
Slovenia 78-82 France
Third Place Game
Belgium 68-70 Greece
Classification 5-6
Czechia 85-94 Lithuania
Classification 7-8
Poland 80-106 Spain
Classification 9-10
Italy 69-58 Israel
Classification 11-12
Serbia 75-68 Germany
Classification 13-14
Iceland 96-95 Türkiye
Classification 15-16
North Macedonia 81-69 Montenegro
FIBA