France preserve top-flight status
HELSINKI (FIBA U20 European Championship 2016) – France secured their FIBA U20 European Championship Division A status for 2017 after coming through a relegation decider on Sunday.
France faced Belgium in the Classification Game for 13th Place after beating Finland on Saturday, having lost their first five games of the tournament.
The loser would have joined Finland and Hungary in dropping to Division B for next summer and it was clear that the significance of the game weighed heavy on both teams.
But the French side were able to execute down the stretch to complete a 79-70 triumph.
"Wow, it was a tough game," said France forward Amine Noua.
"Belgium are a good team and we needed to win to keep our place, so it was very difficult.
"It was tough because France needs to stay in Division A. We need to. It was pressure, so it was a big win."
Spain were crowned champions at this level for the first time since 2011, as tournament MVP Marc Garcia scored 21 points to lift his team to a 68-55 victory against Lithuania in the final.
Turkey took home the bronze medal after outlasting Germany.
There were also wins for Italy, Czech Republic, Slovenia and Serbia while hosts Finland went out on a high with a 91-70 defeat of Hungary.
For more on today's action visit the #FIBAU20Europe live feed.
Sunday’s results
FINAL
THIRD PLACE GAME
CLASSIFICATION 5-6
CLASSIFICATION 7-8
Czech Republic 105-103 Ukraine
CLASSIFICATION 9-10
CLASSIFICATION 11-12
CLASSIFICATION 13-14
CLASSIFICATION 15-16
FIBA
