KLATOVY/PILSEN (FIBA U17 World Championship for Women) - The race to make the All-Tournament Team at the FIBA U17 World Championship for Women is beginning to heat up with a number of players having already staked their claim for MVP.

The leading candidates have all posted influential performances in the Group Phase and Round of 16 games in Klatovy and Pilsen to help their respective teams reach the business end of the competition and manoeuvre safely into the Quarter-Finals.

Angela Salvadores (Spain)
Oozing class but with a real toughness on court, the Spanish star has shown why she was crowned MVP at the U16 European Championship Women last year with four blistering displays for her team. She is averaging 17.5 points, seven boards, 3.5 assists and 3.5 steals per game.

Debora Dubei (Hungary)
The driving force behind the stunning unbeaten run of the still flawless debutantes, Dubei has registered 17 points and four rebounds per game. However, it is her all-round influence in terms of the intangibles on court and defensive influence which has also impressed.

Julia Reisingerova (Czech Republic)
The most dominant player in the competition under the basket so far, Reisingerova has carried the hopes of the host nation on her shoulders with an eye-bulging tournament double-double of 22.8 points and 13.5 rebounds. She is a real handful to defend in the post and feasts on put-back scores, meaning she could push the Czech team somewhere near the podium.

Katie Lou Samuelson (USA)
The versatile small forward found her touch early from the perimeter with some nice shooting performances and has generally looked like the most dangerous player on the usual stacked USA roster. However, she has not only scored 13.8 points per game, but has displayed an appetite for hard work on the glass too - harvesting 6.2 rebounds per game.

Bridget Carleton (Canada)
A massive factor in her team's run to the Quarter-Finals, Carleton has shown her ability to have an input into all facets of the game with terrific averages of 18.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.2 steals each time she treads the hardwood. She has also made some big shots from behind the thre-point line, which is where she poses the most danger and is currently shooting 52 percent from long range.

With five nations possessing some of the standout players so far, the other quarter-final participants in Australia, France and Japan have generally shared the work around.

The Sapphires have had some excellent contributions on the glass from the likes of forward duo Anneli Maley and Georgia Pineau. The former has a brilliant 13.5 rebounds per game and Pineau has 7.5 each time she steps onto the floor, to go with 12 points per game and a very good 58.3% shooting effort from the field.

Japan have been led by example via captain Yuki Kato who's averaging 11.2 points per game, while Kiri Endo has made some nice plays going to the hoop. The quartet of Tamami Nakada, Rinano Waki, Risa Nishioka and Hinano Mizuno all have more than five rebounds per game and could emerge as potential candidates moving forward.

France have had Ornella Bankole in form with 12.8 points and 5.8 boards per game, but will now be looking for the likes of Alix Duchet and Lisa Berkani to make a big push to land a spot.

Other contenders include:
- Virag Kiss (Hungary) who has played exceptionally well, averaging 12.5 points and eight rebounds per game from a wonderful shooting display of 58.3 percent.
- Iris Junio (Spain) who has been very much part of a twin-turbo boost along with Salvadores, is shooting a scintillating 60 percent en-route to 13 points per game along wish handing out an average of 3.5 assists.
- Joyner Holmes and Asia Durr (USA) have both made solid contributions for the holders and indeed several other of their team-mates could light it up during the tournament finale to come into contention.

With three days of action remaining, it's very much to play for in the race to make the prestigious All-Tournament Team and for someone to be crowned only the third ever FIBA U17 Championship for Women MVP.

FIBA