MATOSINHOS (Portugal) - As the dust settles on a fabulous edition of the FIBA U18 Women's EuroBasket, it's time to focus on those players who caught the eye with their efforts.
Here are the leading standout performers from this year's event.
Nell Angloma - France
Forward
Birth Date: June 12, 2006 (18 years old) Height: 1.85m (6ft 1in)
Stats: 18.4 EFF, 14.1 PPG, 11.3 RPG, 2.9 APG, 1.7 SPG - 55.7% FG
France's talented roster and dominance throughout the tournament was as such that MVP Angloma only played over 25 minutes once, in the Final. When she was in the game though, she made sure her presence was felt scoring 26 in 22 minutes in the Group Phase against Israel and 24 points in 21 minutes against Israel. She dropped a 16-point, 9-rebound showing in the Final including a dagger bucket to claim the title.
Awa Fam - Spain
Center
Birth Date: June 17, 2006 (18 years old) Height: 1.92m (6ft 4in)
Stats: 24.9 EFF, 15.9 PPG, 10.7 RPG, 2.4 APG, 1.1 BPG - 68.6% FG
Awa Fam was always due to have an impact in her own age group after taking home MVP honors at the FIBA U20 Women's EuroBasket.
The Valencia Basket Club prospect yet again starred in leading Spain to a Final, posting big numbers in an efficient manner including finishing second in rebounding and will hope next summer she can avoid the fate of losing to France as she did in both tournament's Finals.
Clara Silva - Portugal
Center
Birth Date: May 31, 2006 (18 years old) Height: 1.98m (6ft 6in) Stats: 22.4 EFF, 18.7 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 3.4 APG, 2.0 BPG - 55.1% FG
Silva was home cooking, finishing as the tournament's leading scorer. As her nation's primary scoring outlet, she led Portugal to a top five finish and thus qualification to the FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup 2025.
The Unicaja SD prospect had two 20+ point performances and three double-doubles, including a 20-point, 11-rebound outing in the Round of 16.
Gal Raviv - Israel
Guard
Birth Date: Dec 25, 2006 (17 years old) Stats: 15.1 EFF, 17.3 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 4.7 APG, 2.1 SPG
Leading her nation to a fourth-place finish and also qualification to the FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup 2025, Raviv had an excellent tournament finishing fourth in scoring and sixth in assists. She had three 20+ point performances and played clutch knockout basketball in the Quarter-Finals, where she collected 20 points and 8 rebounds against Portugal.
Jovana Popovic - Serbia
Point Guard
Birth Date: Oct 5, 2007 (16 years old) Height: 1.75m (5ft 9in) Stats: 18.7 EFF, 16.3 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 4.3 APG, 2.6 SPG - 52.9% FG
Popovic was crucial in turning around Serbia's fortunes from a 0-3 Group Phase record to a third-place finish, finishing fifth in tournament scoring and seventh in rebounding. The 16-year-old saved her best performance until last dropping 28 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals, on an efficiency rating of 40, to help win the Third Place Game and claim a spot on the podium.
Iyana Martin Carrion - Spain
Point Guard
Birth Date: Jan 18, 2006 (18 years old) Height:1.74m (5ft 9in)
Stats: 16.4 EFF, 15.9 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 5.0 APG, 2.6 SPG
The tenacious point guard was also key in Spain's run to the Final, regularly diming up teammates to finish fifth in assists and eighth in scoring.
She single-handedly willed her team back into the Final, reducing Spain's deficit from 18 to 4 after dropping 13 fourth-quarter points and finishing with 24 overall, including 5 three-pointers, plus 4 assists.
Petra Bozan - Croatia
Center
Birth Date: Feb 10, 2006 (18 years old) Height: 1.92m (6ft 4in)
Stats: 18.6 EFF, 16.1 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 1.3 APG, 1.6 BPG
Bozan bossed the boards finishing third in rebounding and collecting two double-doubles, while also finishing sixth in scoring.
She went off in a 9-16 Classification Game against Türkiye, where she dropped 25 points with 17 rebounds and 2 blocks but ultimately couldn't do enough to avoid Croatia's relegation.
Tea Cleante - France
Point Guard
Birth Date: Apr 15, 2006 (18 years old) Height: 1.76m (5ft 9in)
Stats: 13.7 EFF, 13.3 PPG, 1.4 RPG, 3.7 APG, 2.1 SPG
Another champion, Cleante was the starting point guard for France orchestrating their offense of stars.
The Pôle France prospect finished 11th in assists, dropping 5+ assists on three occasions and 15+points on three occasions including the final where she contributed 16 points, 7 assists and 3 steals.
Anna Liepina - Latvia
Forward
Birth Date: Apr 15, 2006 (18 years old) Height: 1.76m (5ft 9in)
Stats: 19.1 EFF, 11.7 PPG, 9.9 RPG, 1.3 APG, 1.4 BPG
Latvia went from a 0-3 Group Phase record to a top 10 finish to remain comfortably in Division A, led by Liepina.
In their first Classification Game, Liepina dropped a huge double-double of 23 points and 16 rebounds with 2 blocks as Latvia defeated Germany. She finished fourth in rebounds and top 20 in scoring.
Joyce Isi Etute - Luxembourg
Center
Birth Date: Jul 30, 2008 (16 years old) Height: 1.84m (6ft 0in)
Stats: 17.6 EFF, 18.7 PPG, 13.4 RPG, 2.1 APG, 3.0 SPG
Despite Luxembourg failing to win a game, 16-year-old prospect Isi Etute held her own and some in Division A finishing top as the tournament's top scorer and rebounder.
Being the most trusted scorer on her team, she dropped 15+ points and recorded double-doubles in all but one game, finishing the tournament with a 26-point, 20-rebound showing against Germany. No doubt she will aim to return her nation to Division A in the following summers.
Division B MVP: Jelena Bulajic - Montenegro
Guard
Birth Date: Feb 27, 2007 (17 years old) Height: 1.79m (5ft 10in)
Stats: 14.7 EFF, 21.1 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 1.0 APG, 1.7 SPG
Montenegro were crowned champions in Division B, and their prolific guard took home both the title and Most Valuable Player award.
Bulajic showed her scoring prowess finishing third in points per game with four 20+ point performances, including leading her nation in the Final where they defeated Czechia. The 17-year-old will be looking to make her mark in Division A next summer.
FIBA