By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The 2022 FIBA U20 European Championship concluded with an exciting battle at Podgorica, Montenegro.
Spain overcame determined Lithuania, 69-61, to win the gold medals Sunday evening.
Ruben Dominguez of Movistar Estudiantes tallied a game-high 17 points. FC Barcelona’s Michael Caicedo followed with 13 points. Real Madrid’s Juan Nunez followed chipping in 11 more points.
Nunez, 18, was voted MVP of the tournament. The All-Star Five headliner was accompanied by Mantas Rubstavicius, Fedor Zugic, Noam Dovrat, and Adem Bona in the list of most effective players.
Failing to hold on to an early 14-point lead, the youngsters coached by Joaquin Prado pulled off a solid effort in crunch time, including Miguel Allen making a clutch acrobatic bucket, to secure the victory. The Joventut youngster ended up with six points, four rebounds, one block, one steal, and one assist.
A valid effort for Lithuania settling for the silver medals with an overall record of four wins in seven games. Among the multiple Zalgiris players on the squad, Rubstavicius produced a team-high 15 points.
The gold medal for Spain pushed the all-time high U20 European Championship medal count to 16. Lithuania went up to seven and tied France in third place behind Serbia’s eight. Earlier, host Montenegro edged out Israel to win bronze and enter the medal table with its first-ever top-three finish.
Final standings:
1. Spain
2. Lithuania
3. Montenegro
4. Israel
5. France
6. Turkey
7. Croatian
8. Belgium
9. Italy
10. Slovenia
11. Germany
12. Greece
13. Poland
14. Portugal (relegated to Division B)
15. Czech Republic (relegated to Division B)
16. Ukraine (relegated to Division B)
Ranking first through third in Division B, Serbia, Iceland, and Estonia were promoted to Division A.
Photo Credit: FIBA.BASKETBALL