NEWCASTLE (Paul Nilsen’s Women’s Basketball Worldwide) – The dust is settling on the FIBA U16 Women’s Championship and so it’s time to bring you the A to Z of how things went down in Udine.

A is for All-Star Five of Luisa Geiselsoder, Leonie Fiebich, Ainhoa Lacorzana, Mihaela Lazic, Sara Madera.

There was an amazing reaction from the German players when Luisa Geiselsoder was named MVP

B is for Belarus who reached their first Quarter-Finals in a decade.

C is for ‘Coach of the Year’ and I am giving my vote to Italy’s Giovanni Lucchesi for what he did here and in Zaragoza at the FIBA U17 Women’s World Championship.

D is for defence and it was outstanding from both France and eventual champions, Spain in particular.

E is for every play-caller amongst the top eight nations did a good job and it meant their respective teams largely delivered either against or above their potential.

F is for France who won six games and lost the other by a single point. They could and should have won the tournament, but like Italy in 2015 when it was a similar scenario, they settled for bronze. It was actually their first podium finish in six years.

G is for Germany who were terrific and recorded six victories in a row to reach the title game. They made their first Final at youth level in any age category [men or women] and should be immensely proud. They were described as dark horses before the tournament and rode their way into the limelight.

H is for history for two years running in the competition, since 2015 witnessed Portugal reach the Final for the first time.

I is for it’s been a long time since a powerhouse like Russia didn’t even make the top ten.

J is for just when you doubt Turkey after they are awful and lose their first four games, you have to hold up your hands and give credit to them for turning it around and winning their last three.

K is for Kseniya Malashka who at 16-years-old played for the senior Belarus team at the FIBA Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament and if she is looked after and plays for the right club team could be a big the next big thing for her country.

L is for Luisa Geiselsoder who deservedly took the MVP and she has made huge strides since the previous edition of the event in Matosinhos.

M is for my alternative All-Star Five which would be Dalia Donskichyte, Oceane Monpierre, Kseniya Malashka, Emily Bessoir and Jelena Mitrovic.

Dalia Donskichyte is a real find for Lithuania and the playmaker looks like she has what it takes to go far - even if she is on the smaller side in terms of her size.

N is for next year’s FIBA U19 Women’s World Championship which will also be in Udine!

O is for only Latvia felt like they underachieved in a big way taking into account their talent and experience. Tenth was not good enough with those players and two wins against Russia can’t paper over the cracks of a campaign that should have pushed for a medal.

P is for promotion and congratulations to Poland who took the Division B title in Oradea and will play in Division A next summer with Romania and Netherlands.

Q is for quality which was arguably not as high amongst the top teams as in past editions, although overall the competition level felt more consistent.

R is for relegation and it was Slovak Republic, Sweden and Portugal who tumble into the second tier for 2017.

S is for Serbia who survived in dramatic fashion on the last day by beating Portugal 77-74. Credit to Jelena Mitrovic who always has a smile on her face regardless of the situation and contributed a brilliant 23 points and 23 rebounds.

T is for three relegations for Slovak Republic in a disastrous summer which has now seen them drop to Division B at U16, U18 and U20 level.

U is for Udine which is one of the most beautiful places any youth tournament has ever been played.

V is for volunteers who as always, do such a terrific job and so a ‘grazie mille’ to each and every one of them!

W is for why not have three days of group competition, then a rest day, the Round of 16 and Quarter-Finals, then a second rest day and then a great last two days with everyone refreshed? The young players looked too tired by Sunday and it lowered the quality and spectacle.

It's the tenth time Spain have cut down the net in celebration as they racked up a fantastic milestone by taking a tenth gold at the event.

X is for ‘X-factor’ and Spain’s was their tradition of success and ability to press teams so well and make them crack. Congratulations on making it ten wins in this tournament which is astonishing!

Y is for YouTube and the curtain falling on the three women’s youth events in Europe which have been seen b thousands of people live and for free thanks to the FIBA channel which is hugely important.

Z is for zest and I love watching players who have it. The energy and movement off the ball of Laura Piera of Spain was particularly infectious and while it does not get recorded on the statistics, these kind of intangibles can’t be overlooked.

Paul Nilsen
FIBA

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