European U20 Championship Division A – Day One

European U20 Championship in Division A started on Thursday in Debrecen, Hungary.

In group A the defending champions Spain started with a 34 point win against Belarus with Queralt Casas being the only Spaniard in double digits. All 12 Spanish players scored. In a Baltic duel Lithuania edged out Latvia in the final quarter to claim their first win. Kriste Druskyte recorded a double-double for Lithuania with 18 points and 11 rebounds.

Sweden managed to pull out a close win against Poland in Group B action. Loise Noaksson put Sweden on top for the final time with less than two minutes to play. Farhiya Abdi led Sweden with 21 points. Dutch guard Zera Butter became the top scorer of the competition in day one as she scored 24 points in Netherlands win against Italy.

Group C saw last year’s sixth placed Ukraine fall to Turkey by 20+ points. Turkish guard Pelin Bilgic made all 9 of her field goals, finishing the game with 21 points. Ukraine’s Alina Iagupova needed 19 shots to score 22 points for Ukraine. Sara Chevaugeon was the only player in the game to reach double digits as France held Portugal to 33 points.

Natasa Kovacevic gave Serbia their first win in a dramatic fashion with a buzzer beater three pointer in the overtime against Slovak Republic. She finished the game with 20 points. Russia started the tournament with a win despite shooting from the floor with a less than 30% accuracy. They offset that by forcing 20 turnovers while turning the ball only 7 times themselves.

Group A

Lithuania – Latvia 71-66
Lithuania: Druskyte 18 (11 reb), Grigalauskyte 14, Okockyte 12, Valiuskyte 9
Latvia: Bridina 18, Rozenberga 12, Reine 12, Dukate 11

Belarus – Spain 39-73
Belarus: Papova 10, Filonchyk 7, Musatava 3, Rashchenia 3, Voishal 3
Spain: Casas 16, Gil 9, Espana 8

Group B

Sweden – Poland 56-54
Sweden: Abdi 21, Zahui 13, Drammeh 8
Poland: Zietara 16, Stelmach 14, Kuras 6, Szczepanik 6

Netherlands – Italy 72-67
Netherlands: Butter 24, de Kleijn 16, Lammerink 10
Italy: Galbiatti 14, Pertile 13, Dotto 9

Group C

Ukraine – Turkey 61-86
Ukraine: Iagupova 22, Chek 15, Pokrovenko 6, Kirilyenko 6
Turkey: Bilgic 21, Kavurmacioglu 13, Guler 12, Cora 12

Portugal – France 33-55
Portugal: Domingues 6, Faustino 6, Almeida 6
France: Chevaugeon 12, Konteh 8, Diallo 7

Group D

Slovak Republic – Serbia 67-68 OT
Slovak Republic: Balintova 13, Kissova 13, Oravcova 12, Hruscakova 10
Serbia: Kovacevic 20, Brajkovic 14, Dijan 10

Great Britain – Russia 49-55
Great Britain: Busch 16, Green 9 (12 reb), Hamilton 8
Russia: Stolyar 13, Tikhonenko 9 (11 reb), Kiseleva 8