SOFIA (Bulgaria) - The conclusion of the group phase at the FIBA U18 Women's European Championship 2022, Division B means the lineup for the Quarter-Finals in Sofia has now been confirmed.

The top two teams in each group have been rewarded with a place in the last eight and potential promotion to the top tier, while the remaining teams will play classification games for the remainder of the competition.

Four nations heading for the Quarter-Finals move on undefeated, including Group A winners Portugal, who signed off their group campaign by beating Great Britain 67-40, with Gabriela Falcao producing 14 points and 6 boards.  

Talented center Dorja Iva Zaja claimed another double-double in a Croatia vest

Second place in Group A went to Croatia, who overwhelmed North Macedonia 96-43, including 16 points from Ivona Jakovljevic and a customary double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds from Dorja Iva Zaja. 

Still flawless, Slovenia came out as Group B winners, landing a 66-42 triumph against Ukraine to finish 4-0. Zala Srot shone brightly with a smart 9 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals.  Bulgaria claimed a precious 70-66 success against Estonia to seal second place in Group B, with the victory founded on 23 points and 8 assists from Monika Borisova, plus 12 points and 15 boards from Denitsa Manolova.

Slovakia were crowned Group C winners after outlasting Netherlands 58-54 in a duel for top spot. Once again, Nina Janstova was the standout baller and coralled 12 points and 17 rebounds. for Slovakia, while the Dutch team still advances to the Quarter-Finals after taking second place. In the same pool, Iceland celebrated their first win as they beat fellow strugglers Norway 51-46.

Meanwhile pole position in Group D went to Serbia as they shut down Denmark 102-41 with Jovana Spasovski putting up 18 points and 9 rebounds. Karoline Lundin replied with 24 points for the Danes. Romania claimed the last available spot in the Quarter-Finals even thought they lost 64-59 to Ireland. Sarah Hickey had an epic 23 points and 22 points for the winning team, but both Ireland and Austria lost out in a three-way tie, with Romania advancing

Quarter-Finals pairings (Friday, August 5): 

Portugal v Bulgaria
Slovenia v Croatia
Slovakia v Romania
Serbia v Netherlands

FIBA