In mid-1958, the new management decided to apply to organise the twelfth European Championship, which was scheduled to take place in 1961. Nineteen teams signed up for the championship because at that time there were no qualifying games. They played from dawn to dusk for eight days. With phenomenal performances, Yugoslavia managed to reach the finals against the then-invincible team from the Soviet Union. After an epic struggle, Yugoslavia was defeated, thus winning the silver medal. This first medal in the history of Yugoslav basketball was a result beyond expectations and created new opportunities to compete with the world’s best teams. Coach Aleksandar Popović led the winning team, and Korać won the title of Europe's best scorer with 216 points in nine games. This medal was followed by the rapid popularisation of basketball in the country; new clubs were sprouting up everywhere, and the number of players started to rise. Confirmation that a formula for success had been found came two years later in 1963 at the World Championship in Rio de Janeiro, where the team again won the silver medal, behind Brazil. In this Championship, they defeated both the USA (75-73) and the USSR (69-67). Later that year, at the European Championship in Wroclaw, they won another medal – this time bronze.