Spain wins the FIBA U18 European Basketball Championship Group A

On August 4, Spain won the FIBA U18 European Basketball Championship Group A championship. With a quasi-final three-pointer from University of Maryland freshman point guard Guillermo Del Pino, Spain defeated France 82-81 in the final, achieving an incredible victory.

Group A champion Spain

del Pino scored a game-high 23 points in the championship game, helping Spain win the sixth title of the U18 event, and Andy Huelves scored 16 points.

Davidson College Spanish center Ian Platteeuw was named the MVP Most Valuable Player of this Championship, playing in 7 games, averaging 22.2 minutes per game to score 10 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists.

Best Five-man lineup

In addition to MVP winner Platou, the best five-man lineup includes French defender Maxence Lemoine, Italian forward Diego Garavaglia, Serbian center Pavle Backo and Latvian point guard Valdis Valters.

Italy has been on the podium for the first time since 2016. They beat Latvia 86-68 in the third round, and St Bonaventure defender Achille Lonati scored 27 points, a continuation of Italy's strong performance this summer. It also won the Group A championship of the U20 Europa League. The victory gave the Italian player another medal, who was born in 2007, who won silver medals at both the U16 Europa League and the 2024 U17 Men's Basketball World Cup.

Group B champion Denmark

‌ At the same time, in the FIBA U18 European Basketball Championship Group B match, Denmark defeated Estonia 83-77 in the final. The two teams, together with third place Slovakia, upgraded to Group A in 2026, and they will replace North Macedonia, Belgium and Sweden, which are ranked last in Group A.

U18 Europa League Final Rankings: 1. Champion Spain, 2. Runner-up France, 3. Third-place Italy, 4. Latvia, 5. Serbia, 6. Slovenia, 7. Germany, 8. Turkey, 9. Lithuania, 10. Israel, 11. Greece, 12. Austria, 13. Bulgaria, 14. North Macedonia, 15. Belgium, 16. Sweden.