History still happening at U16 European Championship Women in Matosinhos
MATOSINHOS (2015 U16 European Championship Women) - History continues to be made at a highly eventful and exciting U16 European Championship Women after Portugal picked up a maiden youth medal by reaching
MATOSINHOS (2015 U16 European Championship Women) - History continues to be made at a highly eventful and exciting U16 European Championship Women after Portugal picked up a maiden youth medal by reaching their first-ever final with a memorable 64-44 derby win against Spain.
Beatriz Jordao received a standing ovation from the 4,000 strong crowd after a double-double of 16 points and 14 rebounds. There were also plaudits for Ana Ramos who had an outstanding 10 assists and Mariana Silva who scored 19 points.
Portugal will lock horns with Czech Republic who booked a third consecutive Final at the event after they claimed a 65-53 Semi-Final triumph against the previously perfect Italy. Veronika Sipova came good with 17 points, 8 boards and 4 steals.
Latvia also wrote a major headline on the penultimate day by clinching their first-ever place at the FIBA U17 Women's World Championship. They crept past Hungary by 71-68 to spark scenes of jubilation at the buzzer. Alekse Gulbe starred with 16 points and 12 rebounds, while Luize Septe racked up 19 points.
There was also joy for France who handed Russia a gut-wrenching 61-59 loss to take the last remaining spot on offer for the FIBA U17 Worlds. They overturned a 17-point deficit and denied Russia the win after a buzzer-beater from Emmanuelle Tahane. It followed on from Tima Pouye scoring 18 points and also sinking a massive three-pointer to level matters inside the last minute.
In the Classification Round there was disappointment for both Netherlands and England who suffered relegation to Division B. The former lost a real tearjerker 66-59 in overtime against Slovak Republic and England remained winless after going down 53-44 to Belgium.
Both Belgium and Slovak Republic will play each other on the final day of the competition to see who retains their Division A status and who suffers a tumble into the second tier.
Finally, Germany claimed a 65-45 win against Croatia behind 11 points and 19 rebounds from Nyara Sabally and they will play Serbia for ninth spot after they rode to a narrow 63-61 win against Turkey.
Go to http://u16women.fibaeurope.com/en/default.asp for full coverage of the 2015 U16 European Championship Women.
FIBA