U18 FC Barcelona is the new adidas NextGen EuroLeague champion after edging out eternal rival U18 Real Madrid, 77-85, in a closely contested thriller at Telekom Center Athens on Sunday. In a game played as the curtain-raiser to the EuroLeague Championship Game for the very first time, neither team led ever by more than 5 points until Barca’s added physicality proved decisive in the closing possessions. The Blaugrana claimed the title for the second time, and the first in ten years. Nikola Kusturica was the chief inspiration, returning from injury to lead his team with a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds. Joaquim Boumtje-Boumtje added 17 points, while Jakob Siftar and Mohamed Dabone both scored 10. Egor Amosov paced Real with 16 points, Fabian Kaiser scored 14, Gunars Grinvalds netted 13 and Ilia Frolov contributed 11. Three-pointers from Kusturica and Diego Ferreras gave Barca the early advantage, but 6 fast points from Grinvalds brought Real level, 8-8. Kayser and Kusturic...