REGENSBURG (David Hein's Eye on the Future) - Greece winning the 2015 U18 European Championship was a long time coming. Not necessarily because Hellas had last won the U18 crown back in 2008. But more so for Greece's main trio of leaders.

Vasileios Charalampopoulos, Georgios Papagiannis and Dionysis Skoulidas have been playing summers together since 2012, and they finally reached the top step of the podium in Volos - beating Turkey 64-61 in the U18 Euros Final. The trio combined for 43 points, 29 rebounds, seven assists, three blocks and two steals as they would not be denied. 

Charalampopoulos was named MVP of the tournament on home soil and Papagiannis was included in the All-Star Five. Skoulidas meanwhile averaged nearly 10.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists as a major cog for the title winners. 

It was a huge relief for those three guys who had been close a number of times - and had never even reached a final. 

Charalampopoulos appeared internationally for Greece for the first time in 2011 at the U16 European Championship - playing two years younger than the rest of the competition. He was joined by Papagiannis and Skoulidas a year later and the country finished ninth at the 2012 U16 European Championship before jumping to third in the 2013 U16 Euros - losing in the Semi-Finals before taking third place.

But the Greeks would have to wait a while to get back to the podium. 

Playing a year younger, the Greek trio finished fourth at the 2014 U18 European Championship - losing again in the Semis and then in the Third-Place Game as well.  

Charalampopoulos and Papagiannis headed to Dubai for the 2014 FIBA U17 World Championship - while Skoulidas was out with a broken wrist - and the Greeks gave the United States a tough fight in the first game of the tournament but lost against Australia in the Round of 16 and ended up finishing a disappointing 12th. 

This summer started with the Greeks hosting the 2015 FIBA U19 World Championship in Heraklion and Charalampopoulos, Papagiannis and Co. ready to finally win some hardware. Once again, Greece gave the United States a tough test - this time in the Semi-Finals. But once again, the Americans prevailed. And Greece lost in the Third-Place Game to leave another tournament empty-handed. 

That left just one more chance for a title - the 2015 U18 Euros - after the Greeks were relegated to Division B at the U20 European Championship. 

Greece started in Volos with a win but then had back-to-back losses against Lithuania and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Greece still managed to advance to the Second Round and picked up three straight wins, playing tough defense while Charalampopoulos was outstanding, nearly collecting a triple-doubles (15 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds) through three quarters against Turkey in the Second Round before sitting out the final 10 minutes. 

Charalampopoulos would get his triple-double two games later against France in the Quarter-Finals. And then the trio of veteran leaders said enough is enough and collected 45 points, 26 rebounds, 9 assists, 5 blocks and 2 steals in Greece's 68-58 Semi-Final win over Lithuania.

Finally, the Greeks had reached a Final. The last time Greece had gotten to the U18 title game was when they hosted the event in 2008 in Amaliada and Pyrgos and current stars such as Kostas Papanikolaou, Kostas Sloukas and Vaggelis Mantzaris guided Hellas to their first crown in the age group.

Charalampopoulos, Papagiannis and Co. were determined to not let their chance slip through their hands. And the Greeks - urged on by the home crowd in Volos - got the job done.

The players obviously were thrilled to have won the U18 title. But for Charalampopoulos, Papagiannis and Skoulidas relief was certainly a major emotion. Their long journey together had finally produced a title - it was definitely a long time coming.

David Hein

FIBA 

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