Latvia, Belgium roll into Final to close in on promotion

MATOSINHOS (Portugal) - Latvia and Belgium both celebrated booking a spot in the Final of the FIBA U18 European Championship 2023, Division B, and thereby staying alive for the one available direct promotion spot in Division A next summer. 

Latvia are spending their second summer in the Division B and they reached the Final as they knocked off Montenegro 96-83 in the Semi-Finals in Matosinhos. Latvia pulled away with a 27-12 second quarter and were never challenged the rest of the way.

Juris Vitols had a strong performance for the Latvians

Roberts Blums scored 18 points in the win with Edvards Svalbe adding 16 points and Juris Vitols chipping in 14 points and 7 assists for Latvia, who are just five years removed from finishing second in the Division A as hosts in 2018.

Vladimir Sudar scored 26 points in the losing effort for Montenegro, who dropped to Division B last summer after four years in Division A.

Belgium claimed their spot in the title game with a comfortable 85-62 win over Austria. The Alpine nation actually led by eight points in the second quarter but Belgium reeled off a 29-0 run to lay the foundation for the win.

Adedayo Polet was among the top contributors for Belgium

Noah Meeusen led the way with 20 points while Adedayo Polet and Lukljan Zecevic both scored 15 points for Belgium. Aleksej Kostic (16 points) and Imran Suljanovic (13) combined for 29 points in the loss.

Belgium remain one victory away from playing in the Division A for the first time since 2014. The Belgians finished third in 2018 but only two teams were promoted that summer. 

Montenegro and Austria will square off for third place on Sunday. Elsewhere in the Division B competition, Great Britain bounced back from their first loss in the tournament to Montenegro in the Quarter-Finals to beat Romania and will face Netherlands for fifth place. Netherlands knocked off Slovakia. Hosts Portugal will play Bulgaria for ninth place

FIBA