PIRAEUS (Greece) - Tournament frontrunners France had to come back from behind against Türkiye to get their FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2025 campaign off to a winning start, while co-hosts Greece made light work of moving past Switzerland. Having struggled and trailed for much of the contest, France found their range in the closing minutes to dig out a precious victory and inflict heartbreak on their opponents. Meanwhile after a slow start, Greece moved through the gears and ended up being too hot to handle for the Swiss.
France make it rain in crunch time to take down Türkiye
France slipped past Türkiye 71-69 in the first encounter of this year's tournament as they dug out a hard-fought win thanks mainly to a flurry of triples down the stretch. Migna Toure converted with just over two minutes remaining to give her side the lead, then successive triples from Valeriane Ayayi proved decisive to seal the deal.
Janelle Salaun starred with 22 points for France with Iliana Rupert adding 10 points and 10 boards. A total of 15 offensive rebounds was a difference-maker - as were 14 missed free-throws for Türkiye.
Defeat was tough to take for veteran guard Olcay Cakir who has 18 points, while Teaira McCowan also claimed 20 points and 15 boards.
Go-time for Greece as they put on a show for home fans
There was no stopping Greece from opening their account at the first time of asking as they despatched underdogs Switzerland 87-65 in front of a noisy and huge home crowd in Piraeus. The fans were on their feet as the local favorites moved past their rivals with relative ease, dominating after a pedestrian start to the contest.
Once in full flow, the Swiss simply couldn't keep pace as center Mariella Fasoula showed her class with an outstanding 21 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. There were also nice cameos from Eleni Bosgana and Robyn Parks who shared 28 points.
FIBA