PITESTI (Romania) - Spain will play Slovenia in the FIBA U16 Women's EuroBasket Final after both teams won their respective Semi-Finals in Pitesti on Friday.
Meanwhile, in the Classification 5-6 Game, Italy will face Serbia on Saturday, with the winners joining Germany, Latvia, Slovenia, and Spain in next year's FIBA U17 Women's Basketball World Cup in Czechia.
You can 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
Spain coasts into Final; routs Latvia;
Slovenia also advance with SF win over Germany;
Italy and Serbia to battle for the last FIBA U17 Women's Basketball World Cup spot;
2024 champions Finland relegated to Division B along with Belgium.
Semi-Finals
Spain sent a strong message of intent as they breezed their way into Saturday's Final with a convincing 81-24 victory over Latvia.
The Spanish held Latvia to single digits for all four quarters, leading from start to finish, and holding Latvia to just 11 percent from the field in an all-around show of dominance.
Amelia Alonso led Spain with 15 points in what was a very balanced scoring effort from the victors, as all 12 got on the scoresheet. Helena Araja paced Latvia with 5 points, as they can immediately bounce back from this loss and continue on their quest for a podium finish in the Third Place Game.
Slovenia recovered from a poor second quarter to overcome Germany 57-41 and advance to the Final in the second Semi-Final.
In a closely fought first period, Germany held Slovenia to just three points in the second to take a 31-27 lead at the break. The Slovenians bounced back to keep their counterparts to just four points and had the upper hand in the fourth to secure the win.
Veronika Ferjancic and Tija Kisovec both had 14 points to lead Slovenia. Mia Wiegand led all scorers to no avail for Germany with 16.
Top Performers
France fell 64-63 to Italy in a thrilling encounter that showcased the undeniable talent on display on the court. One of those was Lindiwe David Essaga, who hit three triples on her way to 31 points. She also grabbed 6 rebounds and dished out 3 assists for an efficiency rating of 32, but it was in vain.
Hosts Romania were on the right side of a one-point win as they edged Israel 73-72 in their Classification 9-12 game. The tournament's leading scorer, Ioana-Vanessa Velcea solidified her place at the scoring summit with 31 points, which included seven three-pointers. Velcea also dished out 4 assists for a rating of 27.
Joy for Romania, but despair for Israel, as Michal Abudram's double-double of 12 points and 14 rebounds, along with 4 blocks in a stunning defensive display, was impressive, but ultimately, not enough to seal the win for her side.
Ema Bartosova was instrumental in Czechia's 74-66 success over Belgium, which relegated the latter to Division B. Bartosova secured a double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds to go with 2 assists for a rating of 24.
Serbia still holds on to hope of a spot in next summer's FIBA U17 Women's Basketball World Cup, as they downed Poland 70-56 in their Classification 5-8 game. Mia Avramovic bagged herself a double-double of 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting, and 11 rebounds to go with 4 blocks in the win.
Results of the Day
Semi-Finals
Spain 81-24 Latvia Slovenia 57-41 Germany
Classification 5-8
France 63-64 Italy Serbia 70-56 Poland
Classification 9-12
Israel 72-73 Romania Croatia 69-70 Hungary (OT)
Classification 13-16
Czechia 74-66 Belgium Finland 66-74 Great Britain
Final
Spain vs Slovenia
Third Place Game
Latvia vs Germany
Classification 5-6
Italy vs Serbia FIBA