HERAKLION (Greece) - Italy were crowned FIBA U20 EuroBasket champions for the first time since 2013 after defeating Lithuania in Sunday's Final.
They led for the majority of the contest, including by 16 points at half-time, on their way to confirming an 83-66 triumph to end a 12-year wait to recapture the trophy.
It was another Final defeat for Lithuania - after also coming up short in 2016 and 2022 - since winning their last title in 2012.
Francesco Ferrari starred in the Final for Italy with a game-high of 26 points, and also earned the top honor of tournament MVP.
Joining Ferrari in the All-Star Five lineup were Lithuania's Mantas Juzenas as well as Roman Domon of France, Pavle Nikolic of Serbia and Greece's Alexandros Samodurov.
The quest for a three-peat for France ended at the Semi-Finals stage, but they responded on the final day to take the last step on the podium with a 73-62 success over Serbia. Meanwhile, Neoklis Avdalas recorded the first triple-double at the event since 2019 with 14 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists in Greece's victory over Israel.
In Yerevan, Armenia, the FIBA U20 EuroBasket, Division B tournament saw Latvia defeat Croatia in the Final with Türkiye claiming the third promotion spot alongside the finalists. The trio will replace Finland, Ukraine and Iceland in Division A next summer after they finished in the bottom three.
Final Standings
Italy
Lithuania
France
Serbia
Greece
Israel
Slovenia
Spain
Czechia
Poland
Romania
Belgium
Germany
Iceland
Finland
Ukraine
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