GIBRALTAR (Gibraltar) - Azerbaijan moved one step closer to defending their title at the FIBA U16 Women's EuroBasket 2024, Division C as they will face Cyprus in Sunday's Final in Gibraltar.
Azerbaijan relied on their returnees from last year's winning team with a comfortable 92-62 victory over Albania, taking over the game for good with a 33-10 second quarter.
Angelina Ismayilova collected an impressive 24 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 8 steals; Deniz Gokcol tallied 23 points and 10 rebounds; Leyla Allahverdiyeva picked up 18 points and 19 rebounds; and Sitara Abbasova contributed 10 points and 10 rebounds to the win.
All four players helped Azerbaijan claim their first U16 Division C championship last summer.
Their opponent in the Final at the Tercentenary Sports Hall will be four-time Division C winners Cyprus. The islanders, who last won in 2022, survived a low-scoring battle with Malta 54-48.
There were 13 lead changes but Cyprus did not trail in the second half and won despite scoring just 7 points in the fourth quarter. Anna Koukouri scored 13 points to lead the way.
Malta and Albania will face off for third place. Malta finished second twice (2014 and 2017) and took third place in 2022. Albania's only podium was second place in 2008.
In the Classification 5-8 Games, Nitsa Sabadashvili scored 22 points with 12 rebounds as Georgia beat hosts Gibraltar 77-41, and Kelin Shajanian poured in 34 points in Armenia's 82-75 win over Republic of Moldova.
Final (Sunday July 14)
Azerbaijan vs Cyprus
Third Place Game (Sunday July 14)
Albania vs Malta
FIBA