France outlast Italy in overtime thriller, set up matchup with Spain in the Final

IZMIR (Turkey) - The Final of the FIBA U16 Women's European Championship 2023 is set as France will face Spain for the crown anew after the former outlasted Italy in the Semi-Finals and Spain dominated Finland.

France knocked off the Italians in a scintillating affair, 69-66, in overtime - thanks in large to Claire Dalstra's 12-point, 12-rebound double-double and Emma Broliron's team-high 17 points.

Francesca Baldassarre led all scorers with 19 points for Italy, though they came up short in a thrilling encounter as Emma Giacchetti had forced the extra period at the end of regulation.

Spain, meanwhile, used a strong second-half surge to eliminate upstarts Finland, 85-49, in the other Semi-Final encounter. The game was tied at the half at 33-33, before Spain uncorked a 26-9 third quarter to break the game wide open. By then, the outcome was beyond doubt.

Sara Okeke came up with a brilliant performance for the victors with 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Aina Cargol chipped in 12 points and 6 assists. Spain will be playing in their 14th Final and will try to avenge their defeat at the hands of the French in last year's title showdown.

Heli Lehto and Ada Luukkanen both scored 11 points apiece to lead the way for Finland, who will battle for the final spot on the podium on Sunday.

The Classification 5-8 saw two entertaining games with Croatia and Poland winning to set up a showdown for fifth place and the final spot in the FIBA U17 Women's Basketball World Cup 2024. Croatia had to stave off a stubborn Hungary in the fourth quarter to prevail, 86-76, while Poland leveraged superior playmaking and depth to defeat Serbia, 64-51.

Elsewhere, the fight to avoid relegation saw Czech Republic defeat hosts Turkey, 66-48 and Greece overcome Portugal 61-46 with the two losing sides dropping to Division B next summer.

Top Performers

The top performance of the day went to Croatia's Olivia Vukosa, whose 34-point performance was unparalleled alongside 16 rebounds and 4 blocks for a remarkable efficiency rating of 43.

Vasiliki Cholopoulou of Greece came up with a strong performance as well, scoring 30 points as she carried her side past Portugal in their relegation game with an efficiency rating of 36 - adding 10 rebounds and 5 assists.

Slovenia's Tjasa Turnsek also shone brightly with 19 points, 12 rebounds, and 3 assists to lead her team past Latvia in their classification matchup. Her teammate, Maja Uranker, was also among the top performers with 26 points, 9 boards, and 2 assists. Turnsek finished with a 27 efficiency rating, while Uranker had 26.

Klaudia Keller kept Germany alive for a chance to reach the FIBA U17 Womenn's Basketball World Cup 2024 with a strong showing of her own. The forward scored 20 points to go with 10 rebounds on 67 percent shooting from the floor for an efficiency rating of 24.

Results of the Day

Semi-Finals

France 69-66 Italy
Spain 85-49 Finland

Classification 5-8

Croatia 86-76 Hungary
Poland 64-51 Serbia

Classification 9-12

Belgium 72-66 Israel
Slovenia 70-49 Latvia

Classification 13-16

Czech Republic 66-48 Turkey
Greece 61-46 Portugal

Final day pairings

Final
France v Spain

3rd Place Game
Finland v Italy

Classification 5-6
Croatia v Poland

Classification 7-8
Hungary v Serbia

Classification 9-10
Belgium v Slovenia

Classification 11-12
Israel v Latvia

Classification 13-14
Czech Republic v Greece

Classification 15-16
Turkey v Portugal

FIBA