SKOPJE (North Macedonia) - Estonia are the proud winners of the FIBA U16 EuroBasket, Division B 2024 title after beating Romania 76-71 in Saturday's Final.
Meanwhile, Switzerland took the third promotion place beating Belgium in the decisive Third Place Game to seal their place in Division A next summer alongside the finalists.
Romania may have taken an early lead, but everything else went the way of Estonia as a 13-0 run in the first quarter established a double-digit cushion. At the midpoint of the second quarter it was a 32-18 difference. However, Romania cut the lead to 10 at the half and continued that way, making it only a four-point game with 5:22 left to end the third quarter.
The answer was swift and lethal - Estonia came up with a 17-4 run and separated themselves entering the last 10 minutes. Romania would not pull close enough until the end - as they made a late rally to cut the lead to just three points - but Estonia would close out their triumph.
Sten Adamson and Hendrik Pertel scored 15 each for the winners, but Rasmus Vuks posted the highest efficiency as he put up 14 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds. David-Ioan Rasoga led the losing side with 20 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.
Earlier, it was a very exciting showdown as Switzerland ultimately beat Belgium 80-75 and secured a spot among the Division A teams next summer. Belgium spent just one minute and 45 seconds leading in total but pushed the game into a close finish.
Switzerland led with as much as 12 points in the third period of the game, but Belgium's nine unanswered points brought them in front with just three minutes to play. However, from that moment on Belgium was held to only four points as Switzerland finished strong with Dario Cokara's clutch points.
Cokara provided an all-around masterclass of 21 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals as Elyjah Rebetez added 20 points on the winning side. Aaron Ona Embo gave it all with 35 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds, but it wasn't enough for the promotion spot.
Elsewhere, Montenegro earned the fifth place by beating Slovakia 77-57, and Netherlands will finish seventh thanks to a 73-58 success over Sweden. Hungary and hosts North Macedonia round up the top 10 after the former won their encounter 80-71.
Final
Estonia 76-71 Romania
Third Place Game
Belgium 75-80 Switzerland
FIBA