ALYTUS & VILNIUS (Lithuania) - The promising young international basketball stars will merge in Lithuania for the FIBA U18 Women's EuroBasket, Division B event this summer.
The event takes place in the Lithuanian cities of Alytus and Vilnius from July 4-13.
Who is participating?
A total of 21 nations will compete for the Division B title and promotion to next year's FIBA U18 Women's EuroBasket. They have been split into three groups of five and one with six.
The Group Phase is as follows:
Group A: Ireland, Germany, North Macedonia, Romania, Sweden Group B: Slovakia, Luxembourg, Estonia, Austria, Netherlands Group C: Bosnia & Herzegovina, Lithuania, Kosovo, Ukraine, Iceland, Azerbaijan Group D: Bulgaria, Croatia, Norway, Denmark, Great Britain
What is the schedule?
The Group Phase will take place across the opening four days of the tournament before a rest day on July 10. Teams are seeded for the Quarter-Finals stage based on their group position.
The tournament will continue until the Final on July 13, with Classification Games also determining each of the 21 positions.
The top three teams will be promoted to next summer's FIBA U18 Women's EuroBasket tournament.
You can see the full schedule, here.
Who were the winners in 2024?
In a battle of the unbeaten teams, Montenegro produced a blistering fourth quarter display to defeat Czechia 63-58 in last year's Division B Final in Ploiesti, Romania.
The Czechs held a 50-45 lead going into the final ten minutes, but were rocked by an 18-8 finish by the Montenegrins as they sealed a precious win to lift the Division B crown.
Talented guard Jelena Bulajic led the winners with 19 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals. Emilie Brzonova hit four triples for the Czechs, scoring 14 points. Elsewhere, Greece won the bronze, besting Bulgaria 70-51.
Former MVPs
Bulajic shone not only in the Final for Montenegro but throughout the tournament, as she claimed MVP honors in Romania. The guard finished third in tournament scoring and finished the event with averages of 21.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.7 steals.
The previous five winners of the tournament's MVP are as follows:
2024: Jelena Bulajic (MON) 2023: Faith Ehi Etute (LUX) 2022: Ajsa Sivka (SLO) 2019: Awak Kuier (FIN) 2018: Kseniya Malashka (BLR)
Roll of honor
Montenegro won its first title last year, while Croatia still leads the medal table overall with four medals, including three top-place finishes.
Position | Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Croatia | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
2 | Belarus | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
3 | Hungary | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
How to watch?
All the action will be available to watch live on the FIBA YouTube channel, and can also be accessed via the respective game pages on the website.
Want more action?
The best way to stay up to date with all of the action is to visit the official tournament website and follow NextGenHoops on social media - on X, Instagram, and Facebook.
Don't forget to check out the action from the FIBA U18 Women's EuroBasket and FIBA U18 Women's EuroBasket, Division C.
FIBA