Germany defeat Montenegro for Division B crown

PODGORICA (Montenegro) - Germany showed they are the class of the FIBA U16 Women's European Championship 2023, Division B as they cemented an undefeated run to the title, capping off their third Division B crown after staving off hosts Montenegro.

Germany successfully secured their return to Division A with a 65-57 victory. They had to rely on their defense in this one, forcing 28 Montenegro turnovers thanks to 17 steals. This compensated for the fact that Germany lost the battle of the boards, 44-40, to the hosts.

Clara Bielefeld was splendid for Germany in the Final with 13 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. Not surprisingly, she ended up as the tournament's MVP. Uliana Kolesnyk also did well for the winners with 9 points on 4-of-5 field goal shooting.

Ksenija Nisavic and Sanja Aksam led the hosts with a combined 34 points. They had already earned promotion to Division A by reaching the title showdown.  

Elsewhere, on the last day of the competition, Alva Hagerstrom carried Sweden to third place with 13 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 three-pointers. The Swedes upended Estonia, 61-52. Laura Liisa Grunmann's 14 points paced Estonia, which finished among the top 4 for the first time ever.

Iceland defeated Great Britain, 69-62, to claim fifth place, paced by Kolbrun Armannsdottir's 14 points. Lithuania claimed seventh with a 65-56 victory over Romania. Slovakia finished the tournament in ninth place after a 66-48 win over the Netherlands.

Polina Tupalo was outstanding on the final day, collecting 24 points, 8 steals and 6 rebounds in a 70-49 win for Ukraine over Austria for 11th place, while 13th spot went to Denmark after a 59-52 triumph over Ireland.

Bulgaria pocketed 15th place after beating Luxembourg, 78-52, Bosnia and Herzegovina rolled past Norway, 97-35, for 17th place while Switzerland ended up with 19th place after posting a 50-34 win over Cyprus.

Final standings

1. Germany
2. Montenegro
3. Sweden
4. Estonia
5. Iceland
6. Great Britain
7. Lithuania
8. Romania
9. Slovakia
10. Netherlands
11. Ukraine
12. Austria
13. Denmark
14. Ireland
15. Bulgaria
16. Luxembourg
17. Bosnia and Herzegovina
18. Switzerland
19. Norway
20. Cyprus

FIBA