TBILISI (Georgia) - The future stars of international basketball will converge in Georgia for the FIBA U16 EuroBasket tournament this summer.
The event takes place in Tbilisi, Georgia, from August 8-16.
Who is participating?
A total of 16 teams will compete for the prestigious U16 EuroBasket crown. They have been split into four groups of four. The Group Phase is as follows:
Group A: Estonia, Türkiye, Israel, Lithuania Group B: Switzerland, Finland, Slovenia, France Group C: Georgia, Germany, Serbia, Spain Group D: Romania, Latvia, Greece, Italy
What is the schedule?
The Group Phase will occur across the first three days of the tournament, with a rest day on August 11. The competition will continue as a bracket, beginning with the Round of 16 on August 12 and ending with the Final on August 16. The Classification games will also determine each of the 16 positions.
You can check out the full schedule, here.
Who were the winners in 2024?
France were crowned champions of FIBA U16 EuroBasket for a fourth time after defeating Spain 82-70 in the Final.
Both teams were aiming to complete a perfect tournament in Heraklion, Greece, with Spain also chasing a seventh title at the event, but France prevailed after leading from start to finish.
Cameron Houindo led the way with a double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds in the title decider for France. Marcos Zurita paced Spain with 21 points.
Elsewhere, Serbia landed the bronze by beating hosts Greece 74-65. Vuk Danilovic scored 24 points to help deliver a first medal for Serbia since 2017.
Poland, Bulgaria and Croatia were relegated having finished as the bottom three teams. Estonia captured the Division B title, with the other promotion spots going to runners-up Romania and Switzerland.
Former MVPs
Houindo had double reason to celebrate. He claimed the Most Valuable Player award and also won the title at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2024 with France.
The prodigy averaged 13.9 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks. His versatility and ability to perform in big moments earned him the MVP title, particularly on the defensive end.
From the Quarter-Finals onward, Houindo was only a rebound against Serbia, shy of posting a double-double in three consecutive games, with a big 20-point, 11-rebound performance in the Final itself.
Houindo ended a reign of three consecutive MVPs from Spain. The previous five winners are as follows: 2024: Cameron Houindo (FRA) 2023: Guillermo Del Pino (ESP) 2022: Mario Saint-Supery (ESP) 2019: Ruben Dominguez (ESP) 2018: Roko Prkacin (CRO)
Roll of honor
Spain could not close the titles gap last summer, however, their runners-up finish obtained further strengthens their position as the nation with the most podium finishes in this age group. Despite relegation, Croatia remains in the top three, with four titles overall.
Position | Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Yugoslavia | 8 | 2 | 2 | 12 |
2 | Spain | 6 | 9 | 6 | 21 |
3 | Croatia | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
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 with all of the action is to visit the official tournament website and follow NextGenHoops on social media, such as X, Instagram, and Facebook.
Remember to check out the action from the FIBA U16 EuroBasket, Division B, and Division C tournaments.
FIBA