Hungary, Spain and Belgium join France in the Quarter-Finals, Turkey crash out

LJUBLJANA / TEL AVIV (Slovenia / Israel) - There was joy for Hungary, Spain and Belgium as they all got the Day 3 wins they needed to join France in the FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2023 Quarter-Finals.

Hungary caused the biggest upset by outlasting reigning champions Serbia, while Belgium stayed unbeaten after taking down Italy and advanced from Tel Aviv with Spain, who comfortably beat Greece. There was also huge disappointment for Turkey as they saw their dreams shattered after being beaten by a triumphant Slovakia.

Spain sail into Quarter-Finals; Monumental Mack takes Montenegro past Latvia

After their opening day loss to Latvia, some people might have written off Spain's title chances but two games later they have advanced to the Semi-Finals after seeing off Greece 76-60. Forward Raquel Carrera came up with a nice 14 points, 8 boards and 5 steals, while Cristina Ouvina did the business in the backcourt with 12 points and 6 assists. Greece will now face Czech Republic in the Qualification For the Quarter Finals.

It was a day to remember for Montenegro as they pipped Latvia 61-58 in Group A off the back of an extraordinary display from Natasha Mack. The forward posted one of the biggest double-doubles in the history of the competition to see her team through. She finished the contest with 22 points and 20 boards, becoming only the third player in competition to pass the 20 landmark in both categories. Meanwhile, her 20 rebounds was the joint fifth highest ever. Montenegro face 

Day to remember for Hungary, Slovakia send Turkey home

Hungary produced a superb performance to shock the previously unbeaten Serbia as they claimed the 5 point plus win they needed to go directly to the Quarter-Finals. Completing a thrilling 81-75 success, they were led by Virag Kiss who had arguably her best ever game in a national team vest. The forward was exceptional with a double-double of 21 points and 11 boards.

It means Serbia are guaranteed second place in the group and will compete in the Qualification to the Quarter-Finals against Great Britain, who finished third in Group C. 

Slovakia showed remarkable resilience to bounce back from two big opening defeats to take an 80-66 win against Turkey which put them into third place and a Qualification for the Quarter-Finals game with Germany. It also meant Turkey were eliminated. Barbora Wrzesinski and Terezia Palenikova were the main architects. The former garnered 13 points, 7 assists, 4 boards and 4 steals, while the latter dropped 20 points. 

Germany secure second place; Slovenia sign off with heads held high as France stay unbeaten

Germany took second place in Group C after squeezing out Great Britain 62-61 to record successive victories. Leonie Fiebich stood out with 13 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists, with the Brits led by 18 points from Temi Fagbenle and a double-double from Kristine Anigwe of 14 points and 10 boards. 

Slovenia finished winless after losing to Quarter-Finals bound France 73-68. Although at  least the co-hosts signed off with an encouraging performance that bodes well for the future. Eva Lisec impressed with  16 points and 11 rebounds, while France were propelled mainly by 14 points and 5 assists from Sarah Michel.

Belgium back into the Quarter-Finals

The Cats continued have extended their run of having never missed the Quarter-Finals since they made a belated return to the competition in 2017. They made it a fourth successive ticket to the last eight by completing a hard-fought 72-64 victory against Italy in Group B.

After two huge wins in their opening outings, this time Belgium didn't have it all their own way, only pulling clear in the final couple of minutes. Julie Vanloo was terrific with 23 points, Emma Meesseman was a tower of strength as always with 20 points and 9 boards, while Julie Allemand dished up 11 assists.

Italy had to be satisfied with a third place finish after Czech Republic claimed second with a 61-52 success against Israel, who bow out as co-hosts having not won a game and seeing their losing streak extended to 23 games in the competition. Veronika Vorackova led the Czech side to the win with an efficient 16 points. 

Daily Highs

Efficiency: 37 - Natasha Mack (MNE)
Points: 23 - Julie Vanloo (BEL)
Rebounds: 20 - Natasha Mack (MNE)
Assists: 11 - Julie Allemand (BEL)
Steals: 6 - Daniel Raber (ISR)
Blocks: 5 - Marie Guelich (GER)

Results

Group A (Tel Aviv)

Montenegro 61-58 Latvia 
Spain 76-60 Greece 

Group B (Tel Aviv)

Belgium 72-64 Italy
Czech Republic 61-52 Israel 

Group C (Ljubljana)

Germany 62-61 Great Britain  
Slovenia 73-68 France 

Group D (Ljubljana)

Hungary 81-75 Serbia 
Turkey 80-66 Slovakia 

Qualification for Quarter-Finals pairings

Game 25: Montenegro vs Italy
Game 26: Czech Republic vs Greece
Game 27: Germany vs Slovakia
Game 28: Serbia vs Great Britain

FIBA