ISTANBUL (Türkiye ) - There will be plenty of talented ballers stepping into the court in Istanbul looking to light it up and show their potential when the curtain is raidsed at the FIBA U16 Women's EuroBasket 2025, Division B.
The tournament in Istanbul will provide a platform for the best young players on the Continent and you can use the fan poll below to cast your vote and tell us which player you think will have the biggest impact in the competition.
Firstly, here are the leading candidates to watch out for.
Ayse Melek Demirer - Türkiye
FORWARD / CENTER
Birth Date: February 16, 2009 (16 years old) Height: 6ft 1in / 1.85 cm
If the host nation want to celebrate a return to Division A and get the party started in Istanbul, then Demirer will be one of the main pillars of a promotion push. Only just missing a tournament double-double in 2024, the aspiring Galatasaray baller was recently crowned blocks champion of the U18 Turkish league. Her size and work in the paint took her side past Fenerbahce for an U18 title and now she might add more silverware to her 2025 collection.
Mia-Elle Lieverst - Netherlands
GUARD
Birth Date: May 8, 2009 (16 years old) Height: 5ft 11in / 1.80 cm
Lieverst is one of the most excting prospects in years for Netherlands and showed it at U20 recently with brilliant displays against much older players.. She also starred in 2024 with an electrifying tournament as she poured in a phenomenal 21 points per game, as well as harvesting boards and assists. She could now be an MVP frontrunner.
Gabija Galvanauskaite - Lithuania
SMALL FORWARD
Birth Date: December 28, 2009 (15 years old) Height: 5ft 10in / 1.78 cm
Still only 15-years-old despite an eye-popping 5 FIBA youth tournaments already, Galvanauskaite is super talent who will play at her third edition of U16. She has already played this summer for Lithuania at U18's and remarkably, performed last year aged 14-years-old at U20 level. This shows her maturity and named an U16 All-Star, with a stellar double-double of 13.1 points and 11.7 rebounds per game in 2024, expect her to be dominant again in 2025.
Dominika Murzova - Ukraine
FORWARD
Birth Date: April 8, 2009 (16 years old) Height: 6ft 0in / 1.75 cm
It proved to be a challenging tournament last summer for Ukraine, but the major silver lining was the emergence of Murzova as a real leader on the court. The forward topped her team's scoring chart and grabbed plenty of steals at the other end of the floor to get it done for her country. A championship winner with BK Frank Ivano Frankivsk last season, she'll be look to kick on and come up with an even bigger show for Ukraine in this second FIBA outing.
Sophie Kunert - Austria
GUARD
Birth Date: April 5, 2009 (16 years old) Height: 5ft 9in / 1.75 cm
This will the the third consecutive edition that Kunert will step out in the competition and that emphasizes her maturity and talent level. She was a driving force last summer for Austria as they impressed by taking a Quarter-Finals ticket and that will be the target once again. Especially if she can repeat the kind of all-action production of 2024 that returned 11.9 points, 3.6 boards and 2.6 assists per game - as well as making an impact defensively.
Deyana Stanislavova - Bulgaria
FORWARD
Birth Date: June 22, 2009 (16 years old) Height: 5ft 10in / 1.79 cm
There is no denying that it was a challenging campaign at the last edition of the competition for Bulgaria as they struggled to make an impression, finishing in 15th place. The silver lining came in the emergence of Stanislavova who showed her nice mix of strength and skill. Her game has also been elevated by the experience of playing against older pros in the Bulgarian league last year, where she netted almost 12 points per outing with Lokomotiv.
Evgenia Toumpaniari - Greece
FORWARD
Birth Date: November 9, 2009 (16 years old) Height: 6ft 0in / 1.84 cm
While Greece were left hugely disappointed by their relegation from Division A last summer, there were still some positives and none more so than realizing the potential of Toumpaniari. With some impressive shot selection against the best players on the Continent, she converted almost 60 percent en-route to 6 points and 7 boards per game. With another year of growth, she might be looking to increase that output towards double-double territory.
Millie Boje Sorenson - Denmark
FORWARD
Birth Date: April 19, 2010 (15 years old) Height: 6ft 0in / 1.82 cm
Sorenson will come into her first edition as Denmark's most likely go-to player because of her scoring power and skill-set. The forward showcased that perfectly recently by being crowned MVP of the U16 Scania Cup as she impressed everyone with her game. Since she is 2010-born, expect this to be the first of two impressive editions.
FIBA