NIS (Serbia) - Serbia claimed their fifth FIBA U18 European Championship crown, defeating back-to-back winners Spain in Sunday's Final to complete a perfect 2023 campaign.

The tournament hosts celebrated an 81-71 victory in front of an emphatic home crowd in Nis to get back on the throne for their first time since their last triumph in 2018.

Instrumental in the title-decider, Nikola Topic top scored the winners with 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting and added 8 assists, while Mitar Bosnjakovic chipped in with 21 points and 7 rebounds.

Mario Saint-Supery and Hugo Gonzalez did the heavy lifting in a losing effort for Spain with 17 and 16 points, respectively.

Having spearheaded the champions throughout the invincible campaign, Topic was named MVP of the event, with teammate Bogoljub Markovic also making the All-Star Five. 

Aday Mara and Hugo Gonzalez of Spain also received the all-tournament selections, with Germany's Ivan Kharchenkov rounding out the list.

Earlier in the day Germany made history with their first-ever FIBA U18 European Championship podium finish, defeating France 67-59 in the Third-Place Game behind 15 points and 8 rebounds from Johann Grunloh.

Tidjane Salaun was the only player in double figures for the French, finishing the contest with 10 points and 6 rebounds.

Turkey ended the tournament on a high note and claimed fifth place with a 90-88 win over Israel, while Greece topped Slovenia 66-62 to finish seventh in the final standings.

In the relegation bracket, Denmark kept their place in Division A with an emphatic 102-87 triumph over Poland, who will drop down to Division B together with the previously relegated Czech Republic.

Despite finishing in the relegation zone, Finland avoided the drop as hosts of next year's FIBA U18 European Championship.  

Final standings

1. Serbia
2. Spain
3. Germany
4. France
5. Turkey
6. Israel
7. Greece
8. Slovenia
9. Italy
10. Croatia
11. Lithuania
12. Sweden
13. Denmark
14. Poland
15. Finland
16. Czech Republic

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About FIBA
FIBA (fiba.basketball) - the world governing body for basketball, is an independent association formed by 212 National Basketball Federations throughout the world. It is recognized as the sole competent authority in basketball by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

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