ORADEA (Romania) - France will meet Latvia in Saturday's FIBA U16 EuroBasket Final after winning their respective Semi-Final games in contrasting fashion.
Stay up to date with the tournament and check out the latest results, group standings and competition system for all the information you need.
Key Storylines
Iwani and Eleka guide France to Final by beating Lithuania;
A late flurry sees Latvia punch their ticket to the Final;
Slovenia and Georgia relegated to Division B.
France too strong for Lithuania
France powered their way to the U16 EuroBasket Final by beating Lithuania 92-82 in the Semi-Finals, with Messie-Guethan Iwani and Liham Eleka the stars.
Iwani shot 72 percent, as he had a double-double of 21 points and 16 rebounds, with Eleka bagging 25 points to lead all scorers as France led for the majority of the contest, with one minor blip in the second quarter giving the Lithuanians a glimmer of hope as they took a slender lead. But once France found its rhythm, they were unstoppable.
Danielius Jasikevicius led Lithuania with 21 points.
Latvia's late show sees them overcome Spain
Latvia used a late 9-3 run to pull clear of Spain and claim a 92-87 victory in a thrilling Semi-Final.
Trailing 84-80 with under three minutes left, Latvia found a second wind to take the lead and hang on to it in the clutch, as Spain simply could not contain their counterparts' momentum.
Benjamin Berrouet was the man of the moment, as he has been all-tournament long, posting 26 points and pulling down 15 rebounds to lead Latvia.
Rhys Robinson had 16 points for Spain.
Top Performers
Youssef Zagdoud guided Belgium one step from Division A safety with a herculean performance in his side’s narrow 85-82 win over Slovenia. Zagdoud led the way with 37 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 8 steals. Incredible in all areas of the court, as he sent Slovenia packing from Division A.
Maor Sela did likewise for Israel, with a double-double of 25 points and 11 rebounds, along with 7 assists and 3 blocks in his side’s 91-72 victory over Georgia. His performance was key to his side’s success as Georgia suffered the heartbreak of relegation to Division B next summer.
France’s triumph over Lithuania was down to solid team play and the dominant inside presence of Messie-Guethan Iwani, who got a monster double-double of 21 points and 16 rebounds, as well as 3 steals to guide the French to the Final.
A top-five finish is still on the cards for Greece as they deservedly toppled Poland 102-84. Andrea Barlos was deadly from beyond the arc as he went 5-for-6 from three-point range for 33 points, as well as 4 rebounds and 3 steals.
It wouldn't be a Top Performers list without the evergreen Benjamin Berrouet, who posted double-double numbers once again to lead Latvia to the Final, by edging past Spain. Berrouet had 26 points and 15 rebounds, along with 3 assists and 2 blocks.
Results of the Day
Semi-Final
Lithuania 82-92 France Spain 87-92 Latvia
Classification 5-8
Poland 84-102 Greece Germany 79-52 Romania
Classification 9-12
Italy 60-82 Türkiye Czechia 63-95 Serbia
Classification 13-16
Israel 91-72 Georgia Belgium 85-82 Slovenia
Final
France vs Latvia
Third Place Game
Lithuania vs Spain
Classification 5-6
Germany vs Greece
Classification 7-8
Romania vs Poland
Classification 9-10
Türkiye vs Serbia
Classification 11-12
Italy vs Czechia
Classification 13-14
Israel vs Belgium
Classification 15-16
Georgia vs Slovenia
FIBA