this Spanish selection U-20 basketball beat Lithuania (61-69) and won his third Europe category with the government of Juan Núñez led by new generation of young players Names like Millán Jiménez, Rubén Domínguez, Michael Caicedo or Miguel Allen will sound strong in the not too distant future.

More than five years after Spain’s last victory at the European Under-20 Championship (Helsinki 2016), Joaquín Prado’s men are faced with a challenge to beat Lithuania again. signed his third title in history. Already in the group stage, Spain outnumbered their opponent in the final With a victory that began six consecutive series in which he came undefeated in the duel for the gold medal.

Lithuania, more erratic in the group stage after two defeatswoke up in time to duel for the title. They also managed to get rid of the host Montenegro, one of the most dangerous teams in the semi-finals. Thanks in part to Mantas Rubstavicius, the tournament’s top scorer with 123 points in six games. Definitely, He was the man Spain had to stop to approach victory.

And it didn’t start bad. First of all, to the rhythm of Michael Caicedo, who started the first quarter so eagerly. Practically He scored almost ten points in a row. He finished with 100% success in all his shots. Thanks to the Barcelona player, Spain took the midfield and had the maximum advantage of fourteen points. extinguished in the third quarter.

Rubstavicius and Dovydas Butka sharpened their aim and Lithuania starts its comeback on the leaderboard. Spain was unsuccessful, accumulating five consecutive minutes without scoring, and for the first time in the match, Lithuania took the lead. He even had a four-point lead (48-44)however, Prado’s team reacted in time to stabilize the match before the final quarter.

Drawn in 48, Spain and Lithuania played for the title in the last ten minutes. Then Rubén Dominguez appeared, who changed Juan Núñez’s low score based on triples. Even so, Spain had no guarantees. They won by a single margin with three minutes remaining (61-62). He even had a chance to take the lead, but Aitor Etxeguren He made an amazing defender Miguel Allen then did well with an exhibit mate (61-64).

Then Núñez left his mark. Courtesy of Caicedo, Millán Jiménez and Rubén Domínguez, this tournament, Spain’s best, resulted in an impossible layup that gave Spain half a championship. With a five-point advantage, a mistake by Lithuania, and Spain’s ball with one minute left, everything was settled.. There was no Baltic miracle and Spain signed the third championship in history to raise a new generation.

Data sheet:

61 – Lithuania (17+18+18+6): Ugnius Jarusevicius (4), Augustinas Kiudulas (4), Augustaas Marciulionis (6), Jokubas Rubinas (8), Mantas Rubstavicius (15) -starting from five- Tadas Budrys (- ), Dovydas Butka (11), Nedas Montvila (2), Hubertas Pivorius (3), Edgaras Preibys (-), Dominykas Stenionis (7) and Martynas Tamulevicius (1).

69 – Spain (26+14+13+14): Hector Alderete (2), Michael Caicedo (13), Aitor Etxeguren (5), Millán Jimenez (3), Juan Núñez (11) -starting from five- Miguel Montesdeoca, Guillermo Díaz (6), Adrià Domenech (4), Rubén Domínguez (17), Guillem Ferrando (2), Sergi Huguet (-), Miguel Allen (6) and Marc Peñarroya (-).

Referees: Wojciech Liszka (Poland), Anastasios Kardaris (Greece) and Thomas Bissuel (France). Without being destroyed.

Events: The final of the European Under-20 Basketball Championship was played at the Bemax Arena pavilion in Podgorica (Montenegro).