SKOPJE (North Macedonia) - The emerging nations in Division B will all compete for a spot in next summer's top tier FIBA U16 EuroBasket.
The tournament will take place in Skopje, North Macedonia from July 26 to August 4.
Who is participating?
A total of 22 teams will compete for the Division B title. They have been split into four groups with two groups of six and two groups of five. The Group Phase is as follows:
Group A: Romania, Slovakia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Netherlands Group B: Estonia, Switzerland, Poland, Hungary, Iceland, Kosovo Group C: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ireland, Czechia, Ukraine, North Macedonia, Cyprus Group D: Austria, Norway, Great Britain, Georgia, Portugal
What is the schedule?
The Group Phase will take place across the first six days of the tournament with a rest day on July 29 and August 1. Classification games will begin on August 2, as well as the Quarter-Finals.
The competition will continue in the form of the bracket with the Quarter-Finals, until the Final on August 4, with the Classification games also determining each of the 22 positions.
As Serbia cannot be relegated as hosts of the 2025 edition, if they finish between 14th-16th in Division A, then only the top two teams from Division B will earn promotion.
Who were the winners in 2023?
Latvia powered past Belgium 75-69 in last year's Final to win their first Division B title and with that, a ticket to the FIBA U18 EuroBasket event this summer. Roberts Blums hit five three-pointers and shot 9-for-18 from the field for a game-high 23 points to go along with 9 rebounds and 2 assists.
Despite the loss, Belgium join the Latvians at FIBA U18 EuroBasket with last year's relegated nations - Czechia and Poland dropping to Division B. Even though they finished in the relegation places, Finland keep their place in Division A due to hosting this year's event.
Former MVPs
Blums was phenomenal throughout the tournament and rightfully claimed the MVP trophy for his efforts in guiding Latvia to the 2023 championship. As well as starring in the Final, he averaged 20.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 1.3 assists a contest. He led Latvia in points and was second on the team in rebounds and steals.
Here are the previous five MVP winners:
2023: Roberts Blums (LAT) 2022: Elliot Cadeau (SWE) 2019: Noam Dovrat (ISR) 2018: Nathan Kuta (NED) 2017: Luka Samanic (CRO)
Roll of honor
Sweden have the most gold medals in Division B with three, however with their bronze medal last summer, Montenegro equal Poland with the most overall medals with five.
How to watch?
All the action will be available to watch live on the FIBA YouTube channel - and can also be accessed via the respective game pages on the website.
Want more action?
The best way to keep up to date for all of the action is via the official tournament website as well as following NextGenHoops across social media - on X, Instagram and Facebook.
Don't forget to check out the action from the FIBA U18 EuroBasket and FIBA U18 EuroBasket, Division C tournaments.
FIBA