Latvia celebrate first ever Final spot; flawless France await

KLAIPEDA / VILNIUS (Lithuania) - Latvia have punched a ticket to their maiden FIBA U20 Women's European Championship Final and will meet unbeaten France in Sunday's title game. 

Latvia showed plenty of heart and fight as they came back from a poor start against Serbia and a 13-point deficit to complete a nail-biting, but memorable 56-53 victory. 

Having worked their way back into the game, it set up a tense finale and it was a combination of defense and two huge triples from 19-point Vanesa Jasa inside the last two minutes that sealed the deal for Latvia.

Although they did have to survive a last-gasp shot from Nevena Rosic rimming out on the buzzer as Serbia tried to force overtime, having been punished for scoring just six points in the last period.

It was surprisingly one-way traffic for France in their derby clash with neighbors and 2022 winners Spain as they rolled their way to a dominant 75-47 success. Helped hugely by a 15-4 first quarter shutdown of their rivals, their strong start gave them the upper hand and they never looked back as they made their first Final in eight years.

Some accurate three-point shooting as well as plenty of stellar defensive work proved a potent combination, with France led by Sara Roumy who posted a smart 15 points. It was a big team effort, with all 12 French players scoring and Spain's struggles highlighted by only Gisela Sanchez reaching double-digits with 14 points. 

Meanwhile, Belgium suffered relegation after losing 70-53 to Czech Republic. There was also a defeat for Lithuania who will finish in the bottom three after going down 72-60 to Sweden, though they will not be relegated as they are hosting the Division A competition next summer. 

Top Performers

Vittoria Blasigh posted her best display of the competition and attained the highest performance efficiency valuation of the day with 27 to help Italy beat 92-68. She stepped off court having contributed 21 points, 4 steals, 3 rebounds and 3 assists.

Her teammate Matilde Villa shows no signs of slowing down as she impressed for Italy yet again and also landed back in the Top Performers list once more after a super shooting effort for 18 points as well as grabbing 5 rebounds and 4 assists.

Selin Gul wasn't able to prevent Turkey from slipping 63-54 against Portugal despite a double-double of 16 points and 16 boards.

Valentyna Kadlecova impressed again for Czech Republic as they took down Belgium to preserve their Division A status - claiming 24 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals in the win. 

Finally, Milena Bigovic enjoyed her shooting night after making all her shots en-route to 10 points, 9 rebounds and 5 steals for Montenegro, but they fell 65-48 to Finland.  

Results of the Day

Semi-Finals

Spain 47-75 France
Serbia 53-56 Latvia

Classification Games 5-8

Israel 68-92 Italy
Turkey 54-63 Portugal

Classification Games 9-12

Poland 60-73 Hungary
Finland 65-48 Montenegro

Classification Games 13-16

Lithuania 60-72 Sweden
Belgium 53-70 Czech Republic

FIBA