BASKETBALL players Euan Johnston and Finlay Steel Reigned on the international stage as they helped Scotland to a fourth-place European Championship finish.

The Dunfermline Reign duo were part of a 12-man Scottish squad that travelled to Tirana, Albania, for the Under-16 European Championship last month.

Competing in Division C of the competition, Johnston and Steel faced off against the hosts, Moldova, San Marino and Luxembourg in the pool stage, with the top two advancing to the semi-finals.

In their opener with Albania, the Scots showed they meant business with a 90-66 victory, in which Steel, who alongside Johnston plays for Reign's under-18s, chipped in with six points and four rebounds while winning his first international cap.

Moldova were then defeated by a convincing 98-58 scoreline, a game in which Johnston started and pulled down five rebounds, and three steals, which was followed by a comfortable win over San Marino.

That set up a winer-takes-all clash with Luxembourg for top spot and, after a hotly-contested game, the Reign stars were celebrating once more.

A 76-63 victory was aided by five points scored by Johnston, after which they took on Andorra in the last four.

Although their opponents had finished second in their pool, they had tournament Most Valuable Player (MVP) Marti Chamorro in their ranks, and the six-foot, five-inch player netted 31 points and grabbed 22 rebounds in the contest.

That helped his side to a 77-67 win, which meant the Scots had to regroup for a clash with Wales and the chance to win the bronze medal.

However, a strong Welsh team overcame Scotland, winning the match 84-72.

Despite losing out on a medal, the experience proved invaluable for the Reign players, who return to domestic duty next month, as Johnston finished averaging 16 minutes per game, scoring 2.3 points and grabbing two rebounds, with Steel averaging nine minutes a game, scoring two points and 2.3 rebounds.

Scotland head coach Darryl Wood, who formerly coached with Reign, said: "We came in really well prepared and this has been one of the best groups of players I have had the chance to work with.

"Ultimately, we came up short in the key games, but all the players will have learned something and will improve.

"Euan and Finlay did a great job out in Albania and they both have bags of potential to improve and become excellent players for Reign in the future."

In addition to Johnston and Steel, two more Dunfermline players have been shooting hoops for Scotland for the first time.

Lachie Pringle and Kristin Wilson were selected for their respective under-14 teams to play against England in Manchester, an experience that club chair James Steel described as "an eye-opening experience" against "much bigger and stronger opposition".

He commented: "We are so proud of all of the players and coaches from Reign that have represented Scotland this summer, especially Kristin representing our girls' and women’s players, and the work our coaches are doing to get females active.

"Our aim at Reign is to use basketball to develop great people and Euan, Finlay Lachie and Kristin are the latest players to show others that if you work hard you can go places."

In addition, Reign coach John Day travelled to Chisinau, Moldova, as part of the Scotland staff at the Women's Under-16 European Championship, Division C, which was also held last month.