PODGORICA (FIBA U20 Women’s European Championship Division B 2016) – Ahead of Saturday’s big tip off in Podgorica, we take a look at the teams pitched into Groups A and B at the FIBA U20 Women’s European Championship Division B 2016.

Group A sees three teams thrown together who all tumbled from Division A last summer. Czech Republic will bring back last summer’s leading scorer Eva Kopecka and also benefit from a number of players joining who performed impressively at the FIBA U18 Women’s European Championship 2015 in Celje to take a creditable sixth spot. Playmaker Petra Holesinksa is adept at scoring and creating all over the floor and she will pull the strings.

Hungary have a good opportunity to bounce straight back – as they did two years ago. Their main dangers are UE Sopron duo Debora Dubei and Virag Weninger who will step up from the U18 age group this summer. Dubei in particular is an exciting and yet graceful wing player, who can put points on the board in a hurry. Meanwhile Eniko Kuttor has showcased her athleticism at Duquesne University in the NCAA.

Ukraine will once again look to Olga Yatskovets to bring the noise after she netted more points than any of her colleagues in Lanzarote last year. She has genuine quality and is a good rebounder, who will contribute in so many different areas for her country. Vita Horobets didn’t shoot well in Spain last summer, but an improvement from her would go a long way to helping Ukraine challenge their rivals and causing an upset.

There are four nations in Group B and for Croatia, it is a long awaited return to the U20 level after an 11-year sabbatical - their last line-up included EuroLeague Women players Iva Ciglar and Mirna Mazic. The current generation coming through are highly skilled and capable of posting a promotion push, having performed well in the younger youth categories. The absence of Ivana Dojkic is a blow, but look out for the scoring talent of Iva Slonsjak and the power on the glass of Anita Kelava.

Yanina Inkina (BLR) playing last year at the FIBA U18 Women's European Championship Division B.

Belarus are also back in the mix at this event and hoping that they can be competitive as they look to somehow build for the future and replace a golden generation of seniors and veterans who have shone at the global level and will be heading to Rio. Yanina Inkina and Anastasiya Sushchyk can perhaps be the twin turbos for a group of players who arrive in the Montenegrin capital without experience at this event – unlike both Bulgaria and Romania. They both competed in Podgorica last summer finishing seventh and tenth respectively .

Bulgaria will be looking to captain Teodora Dineva for some inspiration, although it is more likely to arrive via the capable hands of Borsilava Hristova who has been playing Stateside during the last year and amassed a wonderful 23.7 points per game the last time she graced this competition.

Romania had a campaign to forget at the 2015 edition after they lost eight of their nine games and so the likes of top rebounder Paula Lenart will want a better memory this time around. The team have been boosted with many players who took a respectable sixth place last year at the FIBA U18 Women’s European Championship Division B - they include guard Ana Ferariu and forward Raluca Matei.

FIBA