The champions celebrated while the fans booed and the losers cried robbery.
The European Championship ended in disarray late Sunday with Yugoslavia winning the title, Lithuania nearly abandoning the final and Croatia walking out during the medal ceremony as Balkan politics overshadowed the end of tournament.Guard Aleksandar Djordjevic scored 41 points to lead Yugoslavia to the gold medal, 96-90 over Lithuania.
With 2:15 left in the game, Lithuania nearly walked off the court in protest.
Lithuania's Saulius Strombergas was called for charging, sparking furious protests from the Lithuanian bench. The Lithuanians were given a technical foul and for a while refused to come back on the court.
The Yugoslav players went to the Lithuanian bench, pleading with them to return.
When they did, Djordjevic hit two free throws to give his team a decisive six-point lead, 89-83, and the Yugoslavs held on to prevail in a high-quality, highly dramatic match.
But the game was almost forgotten in the following controversy.
The Lithuanians said they were sorry they didn't abandon the game.
"We were not brave enough to do that," a furious Lithuanian coach Vladas Garastas said.
"It was a terrible refereeing. We couldn't go on, we couldn't stand it. There was a political hand in the game."
The Lithuanians charged that Bora Stankovic, the Yugoslav secretary general of FIBA, the world governing body of basketball, had fixed the schedule to favor the Yugoslav team.
Croatia, which won the bronze medal, left the podium as the Yugoslavs received their gold medals and before the Yugoslav national anthem was played.