Slovenia defeats Italy, captures country's first-ever U18 European title
Slovenia's under-18 men's basketball team thrilled fans at the FIBA U18 European Championship in Trento, Italy, capturing the country's first-ever U18 European title with a dominant 88-71 victory over Italy in the final.
The triumph continues an outstanding run for Slovenia's youth national teams, CE Report informs via the Basketball Federation of Slovenia's official website.
Following the U20 team's European title earlier this summer, it marks the country's second youth European championship of the year and its 18th medal across youth international competitions—one from a world championship and 17 from European championships.
The U18 team's historic gold medal is the fifth European Championship medal in the category for Slovenia. The team previously won silver in 2002 (Germany) and 2021 (Türkiye), and bronze in 2019 (Greece) and 2024 (Finland).
The victory also places Slovenia in European basketball history. It became only the fourth country, and the fifth instance overall, to win both the U18 and U20 European men's titles in the same year, joining Serbia, Spain, and Türkiye. Serbia achieved the feat in 2007, Spain in 2011 and 2022, Türkiye in 2014, and now Slovenia in 2026.
Just two weeks earlier, Slovenia's U20 team had claimed the European title on home soil, giving the country two youth continental championships in the same summer.
Coached by Domen Zevnik, Slovenia started the final with Stefan Joksimović, Maks Ciperle, Lukas Bojović, Igor Stjepanović, and Martin Cizej. Cizej scored the opening basket before Italy briefly equalized at 2-2. Slovenia quickly took control with two three-pointers to move ahead 8-2 and dominated the remainder of the opening quarter, leading 27-15.
The Slovenians built the foundation for victory in the first half, opening up a 19-point lead (36-17) before taking a 50-37 advantage into halftime.
Italy mounted its only serious comeback early in the third quarter, cutting the deficit to 50-46 in the 22nd minute. However, after a timeout by Zevnik, Slovenia immediately regained control.
The lead grew to 65-48 by the 27th minute and 72-52 early in the fourth quarter. Slovenia never looked back, stretching the margin to as many as 25 points (79-54) before sealing an emphatic 88-71 victory.
Stefan Joksimović once again led Slovenia with 24 points, eight rebounds, and five assists. He was also named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament and selected to the All-Tournament Team.
Lukas Bojović added 21 points, Igor Stjepanović scored 15, Maks Ciperle contributed nine points, nine rebounds, and six assists, while Jusuf Karišik recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Slovenia defeated Lithuania (83-76) and Bulgaria (88-66) in the group stage before losing to Germany (98-88). In the knockout rounds, the team beat Latvia (86-76), Israel (95-87), Spain (90-71), and Italy (88-71) in the final.
The championship also secured Slovenia a place at the 2027 FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup, which will be held in Pardubice, Czech Republic, from June 26 to July 4 next year.
Photo Facebook/EuroBasket
