SPOKANE, Wash. – Gonzaga men's basketball players, Joel Ayayi and Filip Petrusev, were both named to the FIBA U18 European Championship All-Star Five after stellar showings at the tournament.
 
Petrusev helped guide Serbia to their second straight title at the tournament. He had 29 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists in the Final and finished third in the tournament in scoring and rebounds, with 22.3 points and 8.7 boards per game respectively. The upcoming freshman at GU also collected 3.1 assists, 1.3 blocks and 1.1 steals. Petrusev made nearly 61 percent of his shots from the field and 79.5 percent of his free throws. Serbia beat Latvia, 99-90, in the championship game.
 
Ayayi led France to a third place finish, after falling to Serbia in the semifinals. He averaged 15.7 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.7 steals. Ayayi made 50 percent of his shots and nearly 35 percent of his 3-pointers. He scored 22 points in a 79-70 win over Russia in the third place game.
 
With their finishes in the tournament, Serbia and France both qualified for the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2019.