Spain lifted the Future Stars U18s 2009 basketball title on Sunday thanks to a 72-57 triumph over Poland in the final of the Richmond-upon-Thames College and Kingston College co-hosted tournament.

Spain star Migual Servera, tipped as a future NBA and European basketball star, claimed the tournament MVP award ahead of England’s 18-year-old Ryan Richards, who notched 15 points and 20 points in his country’s defeats to the Poles and Spaniards respectively.

England disappointed in the six team competition with only a solitary 76-54 win over Richmond College on Saturday to show for their efforts, before the hosts avenged that defeat with a thrilling 78-63 triumph on Sunday.

Tournament organiser and Richmond College basketball academty head coach Jack Majewski was quick to praise his young side as well as the overall success of the tournament held at the Kingston College Arena.

“We have a very high standard of basketball at our college and this team has attracted some of the best young basketball players in London,” he said.

“We have give them a rare opportunity to play against some of the highest calibre junior national teams in Europe and we are extremely proud we managed to beat the English national team.

“We were delighted to attract the highest level national teams and were actually approached by several other European national teams, and found ourselves in the unenviable position of having to turn down teams that other tournaments would have killed to have in their line-up.

“The great success of this year’s event will now encourage the organisers to look at ways of making this Future Stars Tournament even bigger and better next year.”