By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Greece edged Turkey in the final of the FIBA Europe U18 tournament (64-61) and won the gold in a game which turned out to be a duel between two young stars, MVP Vasilis Charalampopoulos of Panathinaikos and Furkan Korkmaz of Anadolu Efes.
In the end, this duel was practical with Charalampopoulos sealing the win with two free throws on the way to a total of 23 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. He got help from center Giorgos Papagiannis (12 p., 15 r.), one of the biggest NBA prospects in Europe.
Korkmaz had 15 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists, but didn’t score in the second half and missed two crucial free throws in the end of the game. Baris Ulker (13 p., 7 r.) and Enes Taskiran (12 p., 6 r.) did their best. Turkey lost the chance for a historic three-peat in U18 Eurobaskets, while Greece returned to the top for the first time since 2008.
Lithuania won bronze and the all tournament team consists of: Edin Atic (BIH) Martinas Varnas (LTU) Furkan Korkmaz (TUR) V.Charalampopoulos (GRE) G.Papagiannis (GRE).