Ireland’s U20’s beat Hungary 66-55 on Sunday to finish 9th at the FIBA U20 European Championship in Montenegro
Letterkenny’s Killian Gribbin played his part in the win, scoring six points.
It completed an excellent tournament for Paudie Fleming’s side, who won five of their six matches, with the head coach hailing “an incredible group of players”.
Ireland won two of their three group games and just missed out on the quarter-finals on points difference, but they responded from that disappointment in style, with three wins in a row to claim 9th spot.
Head coach Paudie Fleming said: “It was a tough game. All that mattered is that we were +1 at the end and thankfully we did that and more. I thought our defensive execution at times tonight was nothing short of incredible and it highlights the effort and application that these guys always strive to show.
“This is an incredible group of players. They had every reason to fold after the group stages, but they didn’t. They showed resilience, discipline and most of all, togetherness. We have been preaching the only way we go 9th is if we go there together and that is what we did. We finished with the second best record of the tournament at 5-1. I have no doubt that these guys will be the backbone of our senior team for years to come. I am so excited for not just them, but all the other teams to come after them. They have changed expectations with the highest finish by a men’s team and this now becomes our new normal. Irish basketball is in a great place and it’s exciting to think about what is yet to come!”
