MATOSINHOS (Portugal) - The FIBA U20 Women’s EuroBasket Semi-Finals served up plenty drama on Saturday as Lithuania secured their first-ever Final appearance, while Spain narrowly held off a fierce late comeback from Italy to book their title showdown return.
Away from the Semi-Final tension, the relegation battle came to a close for two nations. The Netherlands' loss to hosts Portugal sealed their drop to Division B, while Czechia suffered the same fate after a crushing defeat to France. The final spot will be decided on Sunday, with France meeting Latvia in a winner-stays-up battle. Stay up to date with the tournament and check out the latest results, group standings and competition system for all the information you need.
Key Storylines
Lithuania reach historic first Final with thrilling one-point overtime win over Sweden;
Spain survive a late surge from Italy to reach back-to-back championship games;
Netherlands and Czechia confirmed as first two teams relegated to Division B.
Semi-Finals
From the opening tip, neither Lithuania nor Sweden gave an inch in a pulsating Semi-Final that had fans on the edge of their seats throughout. The teams traded leads regularly in a physical, high-intensity battle that ultimately required overtime to decide a winner.
In a game defined by resilience and clutch plays, Lithuania held their nerve to seal an 80–78 victory and book their maiden appearance in the U20 Women’s EuroBasket Final. It was a complete team effort from the winning side, who had five players finish in double-figures scoring, paced by Daniele Paunksnyte's 21-point, 9-rebound, 4-assist showing.
Even so, Sweden had a chance to send the game into double overtime after Lourdes Da Silva Costa was fouled with four seconds remaining. However, a missed first free throw forced her to intentionally miss the second, hoping to grab the rebound and get another shot. Lithuania secured the board instead, sealing their victory.
Da Silva Costa, one of Sweden’s standout players throughout the tournament, finished with 18 points and 8 rebounds, while Tilda Trygger delivered a monster effort with 13 points and 19 rebounds.
Lithuania will aim to make more history on Sunday against Spain, while Sweden will regroup with hopes of securing their first podium finish since finishing third in 2015.
It could easily have been Italy facing Lithuania in the Final instead of Spain, as the nine-time champions just survived a monumental rally in the day’s other Semi-Final clash.
After building a comfortable 17-point lead through one quarter - which dwindled to a still significant 14-point advantage by the end of the third - Italy mounted the mother of all comebacks in the fourth quarter, outscoring the 2024 runners-up 21-13 and cutting the deficit to just two points following Candy Edokpaigbe’s two free throws with 12 seconds left.
Spain managed to regain their composure under intense pressure, with Gina Garcia and Marina Mata stepping up at the free-throw line to push the lead back to five, where they held on to win 73-67 in a breathless finish to an epic battle.
Spain will go for their first gold medal in the competition since 2022 against Lithuania tomorrow, while Italy seek to match the bronze they won last year against Sweden.
Top Performers
Poland’s Natalia Rutkowska was a defensive powerhouse in their 83-73 victory over Slovenia, recording an impressive 5 steals and 4 blocks alongside 19 points and 7 rebounds. Her tenacious defense constantly disrupted Slovenia’s flow and was a driving force behind Poland’s hard-fought win.
Elif Istanbulluoglu starred for Türkiye with 20 points and 16 rebounds, finishing with a game-high efficiency rating of 28, but it wasn’t enough to secure the win as her side fell 78-80 to Israel in the Classification 5-8 game.
Ceren Akpinar was just as impactful alongside her teammate Istanbulluoglu, delivering 22 points and 6 assists along with a steal in a losing effort for Türkiye, who will now fight for 7th place against Iceland tomorrow.
Sweden’s Tilda Trygger was a force on the glass, grabbing 19 rebounds alongside 13 points and a block, finishing with an efficiency rating of 24. Her dominant inside presence kept Sweden competitive, though they still fell agonizingly short in their Semi-Final defeat to Lithuania.
There the Türkiye duo will have to contend with the force that is Kolbrun Armannsdottir. The forward led Iceland’s charge with 21 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists, posting an efficiency rating of 22 in a strong individual showing despite Iceland falling short in their 5-8 Classification game against Belgium.
Results of the Day
Semi-Finals
Sweden 78-80 Lithuania Spain 73-67 Italy
Classification 5-8
Belgium 90-75 Iceland Türkiye 78-80 Israel
Classification 9-12
Germany 59-54 Latvia Poland 83-73 Slovenia
Classification 13-16
Czechia 69-94 France Portugal 58-49 Netherlands
Final
Lithuania vs Spain
Third Place Game
Sweden vs Italy
Classification 5-6
Belgium vs Israel
Classification 7-8
Iceland vs Türkiye
Classification 9-10
Poland vs Germany
Classification 11-12
Slovenia vs Latvia
Classification 13-14
Portugal vs France
Classification 15-16
Netherlands vs Czechia
FIBA