Serbia edge Turkey and Lithuania for prestigious Turgut Atakol Tournament laurels

ISTANBUL (FIBA U20 European Championship 2017) - Serbia took home the laurels at the 22nd edition of the prestigious Turgut Atakol Tournament in Istanbul over the weekend, topping many of the elite European teams preparing for the FIBA U20 European Championship 2017.

With four wins in five games, the Vanja Marinkovic-led Serbian side secured top spot in the standings, leaving behind tournament hosts Turkey, with an identical 4-1 record, in second place thanks to a head-to-head tie-breaker.

Serbia was the only team to get the better of the home side throughout the week-long tournament, nipping Turkey for an 83-81 victory on Friday behind a 24-point display by Marinkovic, who reeled in the scoring crown with a tournament-high 17.8 points per game.

Turkey secured a second-place finish by defeating Lithuania 85-82 on the final day of action in Istanbul to deny the Baltic side, who dropped to a 3-2 mark, the tournament trophy.

Having picked up an unexpected loss to Russia along the way, Lithuania were still in prime position to contend for gold after dealing Serbia a 78-65 blow earlier in the tournament, but a loss to Turkey saw them slip all the way to third in the standings.

Montenegro finished fourth with a 2-3 mark ahead of the fifth-placed Russia with the same record, while Latvia couldn't get on the board and finished winless at 0-5.

The FIBA U20 European Championship 2017, featuring cream-of-the-crop talent from the best national teams from across the continent, will tip off later this week in Crete and will take place from July 15-23. 

FIBA