PITESTI (Romania) - The emerging nations in Division B will compete for a spot in next summer's FIBA U18 EuroBasket.
The tournament will take place in Pitesti, Romania, from July 25 to August 3.
Who is participating?
A total of 22 teams will compete for the Division B title. They have been split into four groups, with two groups of six and two groups of five. The Group Phase is as follows:
Group A: Iceland, Ireland, Poland, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Great Britain Group B: Romania, Georgia, Denmark, Ukraine, Portugal, Azerbaijan Group C: Hungary, Switzerland, Finland, Estonia, Czechia, Kosovo Group D: Netherlands, Norway, Croatia, Montenegro, Slovakia
What is the schedule?
The Group Phase will take place over the first six days of the tournament, with rest days on July 28 and July 31. Classification games and the quarter-finals will begin on August 1.
The competition will continue in the form of a bracket with the Quarter-Finals, until the Final on August 3, with the Classification games also determining each of the 22 positions.
You can find the schedule, here.
Who were the winners in 2024?
Hosts North Macedonia celebrated winning the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2024, Division B title last year after defeating Austria in the Final 98-88.
North Macedonia were ruthless throughout, leading for the majority of the game and gaining promotion to this summer's FIBA U18 EuroBasket. Nikola Janichikj dominated the Final with 30 points, Stefan Stojkovikj added 15, and Sergej Mladenovski got 14. Nico Zeleznik had a game-high 21 points for Austria.
Earlier, Bulgaria scored an 85-64 win over Poland to take third spot and, more importantly, earn promotion to Division A next summer.
Former MVPs
Janichikj's 30 points in the Final was just another highlight as he rose above all others as the tournament's MVP in leading North Macedonia to the title in Skopje.
An unstoppable scorer that found multiple ways to terrorize defenses, Janichikj led the tournament in scoring with an average of 22.6 points per game. He also pulled down 5.4 rebounds and dished out 4.1 assists.
Here are the previous five MVP winners: 2024: Nikola Janichikj (MKD) 2023: Roberts Blums (LAT) 2022: Elliot Cadeau (SWE) 2019: Noam Dovrat (ISR) 2018: Nathan Kuta (NED)
Roll of honor
Sweden has the most titles in Division B, with three and one silver medal. Montenegro will aim to equal that mark this summer with victory in Romania.
Position | Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sweden | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
2 | Montenegro | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
3 | Czechia | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
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 EuroBasket and FIBA U18 EuroBasket, Division C tournaments.
FIBA