HERAKLION (Greece) - The future stars of international basketball will compete in Greece this summer in the prestigious FIBA U20 EuroBasket showpiece.
The event takes place in Heraklion, Greece, from July 12-20.
Who is participating?
A total of 16 teams will compete for the U20 EuroBasket title. They have been split into four groups of four. The Group Phase is as follows:
Group A: Poland, Spain, Israel, Finland Group B: Czechia, Lithuania, Greece, Romania Group C: Germany, Belgium, Italy, Ukraine Group D: Serbia, France, Slovenia, Iceland
What is the schedule?
The Group Phase will take place across the opening three days of the tournament before a rest day on July 15. Teams are seeded for the Round of 16 stage based on their group position. The competition will continue in the form of a bracket until the Final on July 20, with Classification Games also determining each of the 16 positions.
The full schedule can be found, here.
Who were the winners in 2024?
France retained their FIBA U20 EuroBasket title by coming from behind to beat Slovenia 82-78 in Gdynia, Poland.
Having trailed for most of the contest, with Slovenia's lead peaking at nine points, the French moved up a gear when it mattered and hit their counterparts with a 28-19 spurt in the fourth quarter to get the job done.
Zacharie Perrin led France to gold with a double-double of 19 points, 10 rebounds, along with 5 assists and 3 blocks, while Noah Penda chipped in with a 15-point and 14-rebound double-double himself to go with 5 assists.
Urban Klavzar led all scorers with 23 points for Slovenia, which made its first Final appearance at the U20 EuroBasket in 20 years. Slovenia's silver medal finish also earned them their first podium place at the event since 2006, when they finished third.
This year's hosts, Greece, completed the top three in Gdynia, edging Belgium 70-68 in a rematch of the Third Place Game in 2023 to secure back-to-back bronze medals.
Türkiye, North Macedonia, and Montenegro were relegated. At the same time, Division B winners Romania, runners-up Ukraine, and Finland, who finished third, all earned promotion.
Former MVPs
Perrin's double-double performance in the Final was his masterpiece of what he had achieved all tournament long. He received the Most Valuable Player honors after a stellar campaign that saw the forward put up 15.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game for an average efficiency of 18.2 in the title-winning run.
To further illustrate his consistency on the big stage, Perrin did not have an efficiency below 17 in the Knockout Phase. He was the true heartbeat of this French side.
The previous five winners of the tournament's MVP are as follows:
2024: Zacharie Perrin (FRA) 2023: Ilas Kamardine (FRA) 2022: Juan Nunez (ESP) 2019: Deni Avdija (ISR) 2018: Yovel Zoosman (ISR)
Roll of honor
Serbia remains at the summit for this age group, with more titles than any other nation. Spain still has the most overall podium finishes with 14, while France joined them on three titles - along with Greece.
Position | Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Serbia | 4 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
2 | Spain | 3 | 5 | 6 | 14 |
3 | France | 3 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
How to watch?
All the action will be available to watch live on the FIBA YouTube channel, and can also be accessed via the respective game pages on the website.
Want more action?
The best way to stay updated about all of the action is to visit the official tournament website and follow NextGenHoops on X, Instagram, and Facebook.
Don't forget to check out the FIBA U20 EuroBasket, Division B tournament in Armenia.
FIBA