Jordi Rodríguez contributed 18 points for Spain in the final at the Főnix Hall in front of 4,000 spectators, which finished level at 63-63 after the fourth quarter.

France led by two points with 46 seconds of regulation time remaining, but Zacharie Perrin fouled and Spain took full advantage to level the match with a shot from Rodriguez in the left corner.

In overtime, two free throws from Rafael Villar with 26 seconds remaining decisively turned the contest in Spain's favour, and Ab Sediq Garuba added another in the closing stages to ensure his team triumphed 73-69.

Izan Almansa provided 14 points, five rebounds, four steals and one block in the final and won the tournament's most valuable player award.

Spain head coach Daniel Garcia admitted the final had been a stern examination of his team's credentials.

"The final was difficult," Garcia said.

"We believed until the end.

"France had a great performance but we fought until the last moment.

"Sometimes basketball is more than just numbers and our heart made the difference in the end."

Spain had beaten France 88-69 on their way to topping Group A, in which they also won 83-56 against Canada and 83-74 against China.

They thrashed Lebanon 102-20 in their first knockout match, then triumphed 85-47 over Argentina and 83-51 against Turkey to reach the final.

France had beaten the back-to-back defending champions the United States 89-86 in the semi-finals, but lost their second consecutive final at the Under-19 World Cup.

The US were then beaten 84-70 by Turkey in the match for bronze.