ELON – Elon men's basketball student-athletes Raúl Villar and Iker Garmendia earned bronze medals with Spain following the conclusion of the 2026 FIBA U20 EuroBasket on Sunday in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
 
Spain secured its place on the podium with a 65-54 victory over France in the third-place game at Arena Stožice. The Spanish squad completed the tournament with a 6-1 record and earned the country's eighth bronze medal and 17th overall medal in U20 EuroBasket history.
 
Villar capped an impressive tournament by being selected to the competition's All-Star Five. The point guard led all players with 7.0 assists per game while averaging 8.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.4 steals across seven contests. He also led Spain with an average efficiency rating of 14.0.
 
In the bronze-medal victory, Villar contributed six points, nine rebounds and five assists in 29 minutes. Spain held a 43-41 advantage entering the fourth quarter before outscoring France 22-13 over the final 10 minutes. An 8-0 Spanish run late in the contest extended the lead to 63-50 with 1:27 remaining. Spain also controlled the glass with a 51-36 rebounding advantage, including 24 offensive rebounds.
 
Villar recorded three double-digit scoring performances during Spain's run. He posted 12 points and five assists in an 84-60 group-stage win over Croatia before collecting 11 points, nine assists, four rebounds and three steals against Greece. Villar delivered his best performance in the quarterfinals, finishing with 16 points and 12 assists as Spain defeated Germany 88-69 to advance to the semifinals.
 
Garmendia appeared in each of Spain's first five victories and averaged 8.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game. He accumulated 10 steals and four blocked shots while helping Spain advance through the group stage and the opening two rounds of the knockout bracket.
 
The forward scored a tournament-best 10 points while adding five rebounds and four steals in the victory over Croatia. He followed with nine points, five rebounds and two blocks against Greece before contributing nine points in Spain's 77-59 Round of 16 win over Romania.
 
Spain went undefeated during the group stage with wins over Belgium, Croatia and Greece. It then defeated Romania in the Round of 16 and Germany in the quarterfinals before suffering its lone loss, a 72-65 setback against Serbia in the semifinals. Spain responded the following day by defeating France to secure its first top-three finish since winning the U20 EuroBasket championship in 2022.
 
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