PLOIESTI (Romania) - Montenegro completed a comeback from an 11-point deficit to stun Slovakia in overtime and earn their place in the FIBA U18 Women's EuroBasket, 2024 Division B Semi-Finals, where they will be joined by Bulgaria, Greece and Czechia.
They eventually secured a 65-57 success after a gruelling encounter. Slovakia maintained their level throughout the low-scoring first half and then separated themselves with a 10-0 run to start the third.
It was a 47-36 lead for Slovakia early in the fourth stanza, but a comeback ensued; Montenegro answered with an 9-0 run to make it a one-point game at the midpoint of the last quarter, and cool hand of Jelena Bulajic prevailed at the end as she sank a clutch three to force overtime with 54-54.
In the added time, Montenegro opened with six unanswered points and it was smooth sailing to the end as the victors were led by Atina Radevic and her 23 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals. Bulajic added 21-point, 10-rebound double-double, in addition to the important three-pointer.
Bulgaria got their place in the last four with a very convincing first half performance that earned them a 12-point lead over Lithuania, only to see things get complicated in the third. Lithuania made a 16-point swing in that period of time to move into the driving seat.
However, Bulgaria moved into turbo mode in the last four and a half minutes and turned a four-point deficit into a 73-66 win with a stellar defense and even better offense, scoring 16 points in that stretch. Denitsa Manolova was the leading force with 25 points and 12 rebounds, as Dimana Kostova scored 18.
Greece earned their spot in the Semi-Finals as they finished the opening 10 minutes with a 22-13 lead and never looked back in their 68-50 success over Great Britain, led by Vasiliki Cholopoulou and her 14 points on 4 threes, 5 rebounds and 5 assists.
Czechia allowed Bosnia and Herzegovina only 20 points in the first half to build themselves a 21-point lead which only grew until the end. It ended with an 84-47 victory with their offensive duties split evenly as only Ema Blahova and Katerina Kalna got into double digits on scoring with 10 apiece.
The two winning sides on Saturday will secure promotion to Division A next summer, while the third and final spot will be decided on the last day.
Elsewhere, Sweden, Ukraine, Denmark and Ireland got their victories as Classification Groups 9-18 continue to shape up their standings.
Semi-Finals Pairings
Bulgaria vs Montenegro Greece vs Czechia
FIBA