Spain claim another U20 European Championship Women title

LANZAROTE (2015 U20 European Championship Women) - Spain secured their fourth U20 European Championship Women title in five years with a 66-47 victory in Sunday's final against France.

Led by 22 points from tournament MVP Leticia Romero, the hosts took control with an early 13-0 run before holding off the French fight-back.

The success avenged defeat against the same opposition in last year's U20 Final and completes the set of European U16, U18 and U20 titles for several of the Spanish squad.

Romero was also named in the competition's All-Star Five along with team-mate Laura Quevedo, France's Aby Gaye and Marine Johannes, and Emese Hof from the Netherlands.

Earlier on Sunday, the Netherlands secured their first-ever top-flight European basketball medal with a 63-51 victory against Russia in the Third-Place Game.

Janis Ndiba inspired the Dutch to the ground-breaking triumph with 22 points and 14 rebounds while drawing 11 fouls and converting all 11 of her free-throws.

The podium finish went some way to atoning for a heart-breaking defeat on the buzzer at the same stage of the U18 European Championship in 2013, a game which eight of the players on court on Sunday were a part of.

Conversely, Ukraine, Czech Republic and Hungary were relegated to Division B for 2016.

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece and Sweden will replace those teams in the top-flight after earning promotion from U20 European Championship Women Division B in Podgorica, Montenegro.

It will mark the first time Bosnia and Herzegovina have competed in U20 European Championship Women Division A while Greece and Sweden achieved instant returns having dropped down a level in 2014.

Final Standings of U20 European Championship Women 2015:
1. Spain
2. France
3. Netherlands
4. Russia
5. Italy
6. Portugal
7. Poland
8. Slovak Republic
9. Turkey
10. Serbia
11. Belgium
12. Latvia
13. Germany
14. Hungary
15. Czech Republic
16. Ukraine

Go to http://u20women.fibaeurope.com/en/default.asp for full coverage of the 2015 U20 European Championship Women Div. A.

FIBA