Photo: FIBA

Serbia has been crowned champion of the FIBA U16 EuroBasket, a triumph that some already see as a promising sign for the nation’s future in the senior ranks.

According to the official press release: “Serbia claimed their second FIBA U16 EuroBasket title after overturning a half-time deficit to beat Lithuania in Saturday’s Final.”

Lithuania started strong and looked firmly in control after building a 53–43 lead at halftime. But Serbia responded with remarkable resilience, storming out of the locker room to deliver a decisive 32–15 third-quarter run.

With momentum fully on their side, the Serbian youngsters closed the game confidently to seal a “memorable 99–86 triumph.”

The star of the final was Petar Bjelica, who poured in 25 points to pace the Serbian offense. Ognjen Simjanovski followed with 22 points, while Nikola Kusturica put together a near triple-double masterpiece of 18 points, 14 rebounds, and eight assists.

Kusturica’s all-around brilliance throughout the tournament earned him the MVP award. As the press release highlights, “Kusturica earned the MVP honors after an outstanding tournament for Serbia with averages of 20.0 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game.”

The All-Star Five was rounded out by Kusturica and Bjelica, joined by Lithuania’s Gabrielius Buivydas, Lun Jarc of Slovenia, and France’s Nathan Soliman.

Slovenia, meanwhile, celebrated its first-ever podium finish at the event after overcoming Italy 79–71 in the Third Place Game.

Beyond medals, the competition also decided World Cup berths: “The top five teams also earned qualification to the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2026 with France claiming the final European spot by beating Latvia in the Classification 5-6 game.”

At the other end of the standings, Estonia, Finland, and Switzerland suffered relegation to Division B after finishing in the bottom three.

Their places in Division A will be filled by Belgium, Poland, and Czechia, who earned promotion at the “FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2025, Division B tournament in Skopje, North Macedonia.”

For Serbia, the championship marks not only their second-ever U16 crown but also a reminder of the nation’s deep basketball tradition.

With rising stars like Kusturica and Bjelica leading the way, the victory may be a glimpse of the next golden generation preparing to follow in the footsteps of their senior counterparts.