ISTANBUL (FIBA U20 Women's European Championship Division B 2018) – Turkey could be one of the favorites to seal promotion back to Division A when they step out at the FIBA U20 Women's European Championship Division B 2018 in Oradea.

For a country with arguably the best domestic league on the Continent and with a senior national team that booked consecutive Olympic Games appearances, in addition to also heading to the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2018 in Tenerife, it’s perhaps surprising to see them pitched into Division B.

A return to the top tier at U20 level is high up on the agenda and so far at least, the signs have been good during a productive preparation period. Turkey will also look to the imposing and towering presence of Inci Guclu and Meltem Yildizhan in the paint, and the smarts of Merve Ari.

Turkey eased past Czech Republic 55-48 off the back of 19 points and 6 rebounds from Ilayda Guner and she will be one of the main guns in Romania too. Indeed, Turkey will face the Czechs during the Group stage when the action gets underway next month.

Guner also fired 19 points when her team smashed past Ukraine 75-44. The talented forward will have the additional motivation of wanting to make up for being on the relegated side in Matosinhos last summer.

FIBA