Francois Nkoy-Eale Wins FIBA European U20 Championship
T-Bird center Francois Nkoy-Eale won the FIBA European U20 Championship (B Division) with his home country of Latvia on Sunday, July 20.
Latvia defeated Croatia 74-64 in the U20 final to finish the tournament with a perfect 7-0 record. Nkoy-Eale played in all seven games of the tournament averaging 18.6 MPG, 4.6 RPG, 3.4 PPG, and 1 BPG on 55% shooting from the field.
"The feeling of winning a gold will always be amazing, but to win a second gold with almost the same group of guys in a tournament where no one really believed we could win will always be something special to us," Nkoy Eale said. "We knew ourselves what we could do and our coaches put us in a great position to get the job done. It'll always be a blessing to represent my country and it's a bigger blessing to bring back silverware for it."
Nkoy Eale was able to secure his first collegiate offer from La Salle University with his play this summer. He also holds an offer from Cal State Fullerton.
"It's a great feeling to get my first offer. It felt like a reminder that the work is working and definitely a confidence booster that I can achieve my goals," Nkoy Eale said. "Having a bigger role in this year's tournament was also huge for me, proving to myself that I do belong and can compete and will continue to compete at a high level wherever it is in the future. I'm excited for the future and looking to gain even more achievements wherever I am."
The win bumped up Latvian national team from the B Division to the A Division for the 2026 FIBA European U20 Championship next summer. U20 Latvia will play in the A Division for the first time in its country's history in 2026.
"All of us at NMJC were really happy to watch Francois represent Lativia on such a high level and win the Gold," NMJC men's basketball head coach Luke Mackay said. "We are excited to welcome him back to Hobbs and to see how he uses that great momentum from the Eurobasket to have a great sophomore year for the T-Birds."
NMJC men's basketball will begin the 2025-26 season Saturday, Nov. 1 at 5 p.m. MST in Hobbs, NM against Dallas College Brookhaven.