SAMSUN, Turkey (U16 International Tournament) - Lithuania completed a formidable seven-game winning streak on Saturday to step on the top of the podium at the prestigious U16 International Tournament organised by the Turkish Basketball Federation (TBF) in Samsun. 

The Baltic nation and Serbia marched undefeated through the week-long event which included 11 national teams of U16s and the U15 Turkey side, to set up a mouth-watering clash in the big final.

Lithuania made their intentions clear from the start as they built a 17-6 cushion at the end of the first quarter and although Serbia overcame their offensive struggles in the second, the Baltic side held on for a 76-69 win. 

Domantas Vilys paved the way for the champions with 25 points on 3-for-6 three-point shooting, six rebounds and three assists.

Rokas Jokubaitis chipped in with 15 points and five boards as Lithuania saw ten of their players write their name on the scoresheet.

Marco Pecarski meanwhile had a game-high 26 points and added four rebounds for Serbia in a losing effort.

Vilys, who averaged 16.5 points and 4.2 boards in Samsun, was voted as Tournament MVP while Pecarski led the competition in scoring with 27.1 points per contest.

"We had an excellent tournament here," said Lithuania head coach Donatas Velicka.

"We battled against really strong teams. 

"For our young players this is a truly productive experience, and we're happy to be leaving with a first-place finish."

For our young players this is a truly productive experience, and we're very happy to be leaving with a first-place finish. -  Velicka

Turkey meanwhile bounced back from their Friday semi-final 81-77 defeat to Serbia in impressive fashion to claim the remaining spot on the podium.

The hosts came out guns blazing and raced to a 32-5 lead over Argentina en route to a comfortable 85-51 win in the game for third place.

Mert Camci and Efe Yurtlu scored 13 points apiece and combined for 11 rebounds to lead Turkey, who went 9-of-17 from three-point range, while Juan De la Fuente finished with 15 points for Argentina.

"It was really important for us to respond this way after the semi-final loss," said Turkey head coach Semih Soguksu.

"In a game like this whichever team wakes up earlier and wants it more wins. 

"Our team found success by playing really good defence in the first half." 

In the game for fifth place, France out-defended U15 Turkey 55-39 behind a 10-point, eight-rebound and four-steal display by Babacar Niasse.

Mustafa Kurtuldum had 12 points for Turkey in defeat.

Latvia claimed seventh place after a third-quarter surge propelled them past Germany, 67-65.

Adrians Snipke had 15 points and Valters Veveris added 13 for Latvia while Matthew Meredith finished with 14 points for the Germans.

In the game for ninth place, Montenegro out-scored Ukraine 21-5 in the final stretch to pick up a 69-62 win, on the back of a monster double-double of 20 points and 20 rebounds by Nikola Zizic.

Slovenia concluded the tournament on a high note as they enjoyed an 81-40 rout of Bulgaria in the game for 11th place, with Nik Dragan registering a double-double effort of 17 points and 15 boards.

"This was a great week of basketball and I congratulate the medallists as well as all the teams who competed in Samsun," TBF Director of Sport Barbaros Akkas said.

"This tournament gives some of the most promising young talents in international hoops the opportunity to test themselves against elite competition. 

"At TBF we see this tournament as investment in the future of not just Turkish Basketball, but also international basketball."

FIBA