SKOPJE (North Macedonia) - The Final of the FIBA U16 European Championship 2023 is set as Italy will face Spain for the crown after the former surprised France in the Semi-Finals and reigning champs Lithuania were beaten.

Italy made history as they reached their first title game at the event since winning the crown in 1991 as they knocked off France 77-63. The Italians shut down France's offense in the third quarter, giving up just nine points to take control of the game.

Maikcol Perez came up with a monster performance with 25 points and 15 rebounds, and Matteo Accorsi chipped in 15 points for the winners. Italy will be playing in their sixth Final, having lost in 1971, 1979, 1981 and 1987.

France will attempt to bounce back and take third place as Jahel Trefle was the only starter in double figures with 12 points and Hugo Yimga had 14 points off the bench.

Italy's opponent in the Final will be Spain after the five-time champions defeated Lithuania with a comfortable 80-63 win. The Spaniards finished the game strong, especially defensively as they allowed just seven points in the fourth quarter.

Gildas Gimenez poured in 29 points and Quarter-Finals hero Andy Huelves contributed 11 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 7 steals. Arturas Butajevas scored 15 points in the loss.

The Classification 5-8 saw two dramatic games with Germany and Slovenia winning to set up a showdown for fifth place and the final spot in the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024. Germany used a 38-9 surge to go from 13 points down to 14 points ahead in beating Greece 79-73 thanks to Davi Remagen's 27 points.

Slovenia's leader Mark Morano converted a layup with 4.3 seconds left for a 74-72 victory over Serbia - a contest that included 23 lead changes and 18 ties. Mahmutovic finished with 22 points.

Meanwhile, the fight for relegation saw Montenegro defeat Belgium 83-70 while Israel stayed alive with a 71-48 win against hosts North Macedonia to set up a winner-take-all battle with Montenegro to avoid going down to Division B.

Top Performers

The top performance of the day went to Djordje Djukanovic as he helped Montenegro beat Belgium in a crucial game in Classification 13-16. Djukanovic scored 23 points on 10-of-11 shots and 2-of-2 free throws and also had 18 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 1 block for a tournament high efficiency of 44.

Maikcol Perez came up with a historic performance as he carried Italy past France into the Final with an efficiency of 36 - the second best in the tournament. He poured in 25 points on 10-of-13 shots and 4-of-8 foul shots while also grabbing 15 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals and 1 block.

Another winner in the Semi-Finals shined as Gildas Gimenez registered an efficiency of 34 for Spain against Lithuania. He made 12-of-16 shots and his only free throw for 29 points and added 7 rebounds, 1 assist and 3 steals.

Davi Remagen kept Germany alive for a chance to reach the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024 with a strong showing against Greece. He scored 27 points on 9-of-17 shots and 5-of-8 free throws to go with 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals for an efficiency of 25.

Ahmet Aydin also produced an efficiency of 25 in Turkey's win over Latvia. He made 5-of-6 field goal attempts and free throws for 15 points and also had 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 4 blocks.

Results of the Day

Semi-Finals

Italy 77-63 France
Spain 80-63 Lithuania

Classification 5-8

Germany 79-73 Greece
Slovenia 74-72 Serbia

Classification 9-12

Poland 79-49 Finland
Latvia 57-75 Turkey

Classification 13-16

Belgium 70-83 Montenegro
North Macedonia 48-71 Israel

Final day pairings

Final

Italy v Spain

3rd Place Game

France v Lithuania

Classification 5-6

Germany v Slovenia

Classification 7-8

Greece v Serbia

Classification 9-10

Poland v Turkey

Classification 11-12

Finland v Latvia

Classification 13-14

Montenegro v Israel

Classification 15-16

Belgium v North Macedonia

FIBA