Spain wins U16 European Championship
After a tightly contested match that went all the way to an overtime decision, Spain wins U16 European Championship, defeating Serbia 65:63.
The game was close all throughout, with several lead changes causing momentum swings in either direction. Spain was ahead of Serbia at the end of the first period 17:15, but Serbia turned up their defensive intensity and took control of the contest at the half 33:30. The Serbian squad looked like they were going to come away with the victory but a 7:1 rally by the Spaniards in the dying moments of the game was enough to force an overtime period. Samuel Rodriguez (200 cm) made the last jumper to seal the victory for Spain and was dominant with an impressive double-double performance with 15 points, 14 rebounds and three blocked shots. Xabier Lopez (197 cm) and Ramon Vila (202 cm) added 14 and 10 points respectively for the Spanish team.
The Serbians were led by Nikola Rakicevic (198 cm) who led all scorers with 19 points. Stefan Peno (193 cm), whose mother is Guyanese, was the only other Serbian who managed to hit double figures with 10 point of his own.
Here are some of the highlights of the game:
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