Day 1 of European Championship U16 women Division A - Aug 5, 2006
The games of TERMOSTERS U16 European Championship women 2006 were held in Kosice, Slovakia. Pavlopoulou and Diela's four free throw miss make the game intense, but Ukraine didn't seize the chance and lost the game with Greece 50-52. Low percentage of FG and too much PF prevent the host Slovak Republic winning the first game. Russia took advantage of their all-around capability and won the game with Estonia. Czech Republic grabbed 17 offense rebounds make them obtain the more chance to shoot the ball and controlled the game in their own way.

Day 1 Games

Group A
Ukraine - Greece 50-52
Ukraine: Dorogobuzova 24p, Malashenko 10p+15r.
Greece: Nikolopoulou 16p, Diela 8p+10r.
Croatia - France 37-64
Croatia: Huljev 12p+7r, Bacic 12p.
France: Cavallo 14p+10r, Tchatchouang 11p, Plagnard 10p.

Group B
Serbia & Montenegro - Slovak Republic 76-64
Serbia & Montenegro: Knezevic and Zivanovic 15p, Krnjic 9r.
Slovak Rep: Laszloova and Cernakova 13p, Felixova 9p+12r.
Hungary - Poland 54-63
Hungary: Sarok 15p, Kantor 12p+7r.
Poland: Tomialowicz 28p, Kaczmarska 12p.

Group C
Russia - Estonia 58-31
Russia: Petrushina 17p, Loginova 10p.
Estonia: Neeme 13p+9r, Haas 6p+5r.
Lithuania - Spain 65-66
Lithuania: Paugaite 22p+13r, Rinkeviciute 17p, Narviciute 11p+10r.
Spain: Garcia 17p, Xargay 11p.

Group D
Belarus - Turkey 60-51
Belarus: Tsimchanka 12p, Adamik 11p.
Turkey: Sarper and Eldas 11p, Canitez 10p+10r.
Czech Republic - Belgium 81-61
Czech Rep: Behalova 20p, Bartonova 15p+8a, Zavazalova 14p.
Belgium: Snauweart 13p+8r, Van Heyst 13p, Mestdagh 12p.

Anete Steinberga

   Div B: Final Days results as they happen - Bronze for Romania
3rd - 4th Place match
Romania  72-63 Italy (12-15, 18-19,18-12,24-17)
In a hectic opening session, the 3-pointer shooting of Romania kept them in the game as they were not able to get their inside game going as Italy applied an aggressive full court press.
The game came to  life in the final quarter as both teams started with 3-pointers as the lead changed four times before Gabreila Munteanu decided matters in the final determining act. She first brought the scores levels (56-56) with an excellent 45° 3-ponter, to equalise and in the very next play drove to the boards to put Romania back in the lead for the final time.
Italy came back to within 1-point but Gabreila Munteanu hit her last big 3-pointer for the night to demoralise the Italian bench and then Bianca Barbu did the rest with her pace and free throw shooting as Romania held their nerve to take this match.

5th - 6th Place Match
Bosnia & Herzegovina  48 -74 Slovenia (10-16, 11-19, 15-18, 12-21 )
The records book will read that Slovenia have only lost one match is this championships and yet finished 5th. Nika Baric and Matea Tavic  two of the younger players in this championship faced off for the first time and despite the one sided nature of the contest did not disappoint. Nika Baric won the last battle between the two players as she stole the ball and put in the last point of the match. Nika Baric top scored with 24 points with Teja Oblak scoring 20 points. Matea Tavic finished with 19 points.

7th - 8th Place Match
Germany 61 -62 Bulgaria (10-11,17-19,20-23, 14-9)
In a match that the lead changed 7 went down to the wire has Germany made a last burst and when Anne-Lisa Rexroth sunk a 3-pointer (61:62) with 40 seconds remaining, it appeared that the lead may change once more. It was not to be and Bulgaria finish 7th and the gallant German team have to make do with 8th place.

9th to 11th Place Classification
Israel 62 - 55 Luxembourg (16-13, 12-16, 14-13, 20-13)

9th Finland
10th Israel
11th Luxembourg

12th to 14tth Place Classification
England 61 -38 Netherlands (12-12; 12-7, 22-12, 15-7)
12th England
13th Ireland
14th Netherlands

15th to 17th Place Classification
Portugal  67-55 Austria (24-13,15-12,15-13,13-17)
15th Portugal
16th Austria
17th Iceland

   Div B: Finland beat Luxembourg and Austria win at last

Lisy Hetting

   Div B: Day 10 news and results - Aug. 12, 2006
Latvia and Sweden have booked their place in Div A next year after victories against teams that they had lost against during the first round pool matches. Italy and Romania will meet tomorrow in the match for Bronze.
In the classification series Bosnia recovered some of their old form to beat Germany, while Slovenia with 39 points by Nika Baric beat Bulgaria.
Finland finished the competition with a hard fought victory against Israel, according to Finland head coach "Kia Ignatius was great defensively but you can’t stop Naama Shafir but she did enough". Iceland lost to Portugal and will finish in 17^th place. England had to wait until 34 seconds before the end to put down Ireland in the last classification game of the day.

Romania 60 – 81 Latvia
Ina tough game Latvia contained Alina Chivu and in the last quarter had Anete Steinberga mark Elisabeth Pavel as they put on a 14-3 run to close the game.

Sweden 64 – Italy 58
A massive 3-pointer from down town by Frida Fogdemark got the final quarter off to an explosive start as Sweden opened up a 15- point lead (51-36). Italy switched to full court that worked initially but them quicker Swedes hit Italy on the break and used the boards to maintain their advantage (62:52) after 28 minutes. Sweden’s patience and aggression was enough in the end to hold of the Italy.

5th - 8th Place Results
Germany 49 - 59 Bosnia and  Herzegovina
Bulgaria 56 - 73 Slovenia

9th - 17th Place Results
Finland  58 - 48 Israel
Iceland 58 - 66 Portugal
Ireland 59 - 61 England 

   Div B: Ireland takes revenge on Netherlands - Aug. 11, 2006
Netherlands 46 – 76 Ireland (12-17,15-13,12-23, 7-23)
The Irish started in their aggressive style and got off to a (0:7) start, Netherlands were having problem dealing with the Irish aggression but a Van den Adel 3-pointer restored confidence to the team. The Netherlands started to make a game of it and when Ten Caat hit her only 3-pointer of the period and suddenly Netherlands was back in the game. Ireland answered back  as the O’ Reilly sisters hit the last two shots as Ireland went on to finished the first quarter 5-points up.
Ireland continued to run at the Netherlands and used their physical strength to hustle under the boards but strangely enough was not able to take hold of the game. When the Netherlands put a six-point run together the game was tied (27:27), it required a 3-pointer by Rockall to steady the Irish nerves.
An 11-point run in the third quarter got the Irish off to a good start as they started to dominated Netherlands and began as the score reached a a maximum lead of 18 points. Ireland relaxed a little towards the end of the quarter but still held a big lead (39:53).
The Irish  encouraged by the Slovenia players continued to apply the pressure as they slowly pushed up  their advantage (43:61). The Netherlands continued to suffer as they missed their all thier shots in the last five minutes of a very one sided game.
Ireland Orla O’Reilly top scored with 22 points followed by her Sinead with 17 points, not forgetting the hard work of Claire Rockall with her 8 assists in a good team performance. The Netherlands only managed to hit 18 of 66 in a match they will quickly want to forget.

   Div B: Day 8: Italy, Latvia and Sweden make the semi-finals and Classfications thrillers - Aug. 10, 2006
Germany 48 - 62 Sweden (10-15, 14-12, 6-18, 18-17)
In a caution opening by both teams that lacked creativity only the individual exploits of Cleopatra Forsman B; Goga and Ireti Amojo got their teams going.
Cleopatra Forsman B; Goga was the key in Sweden taking an early lead in the this game but it was not until the end of the second period when German came back with a 7:0 run to go into the interval down by 1 thata game really took off. The German defence has restricted Sweden to 0 of 9 from 3-point land at half time.
Sweden hit their first 3-pointer in the second quarter as Sweden's patient approach in attack and their perimeter shooting did the trick as the Germans began to tire during an energy sapping third period. Germany made a game of it in the last quarter but was never able to get within ten points as Sweden played the game out.

Bosnia and Herzegovina 40 - Italy 72 (16-16, 7-19, 7-18, 10-19)
An indifferent first period with very little engagements as Bosnia dominated the boards, but Italy finished the first period with a buzzer jump shot to tie the game. A switch to a mixture of zone and Man to Man restricted Bosnia to 14 points during the second and third period as Italy slowly extended their lead in a very flat game.

Latvia 77 - Slovenia 78 (18, 15-24, 21-19, 20-17)
A curious end to the match. Slovenia required to win by 7 points to qualify for the semi-final and strangly enough with the game tied at (76:76) tied with  seconds remaining, instead of holding on for overtime, they hit a basket to go in front. Latvia made for trips to the free throw line but only made one and missed a 2- point buzzer at the end to lose the match.

Romania 50 - Bulgaria 74 (17-16, 9-17, 13-23, 11-18)
Romain rest Pavel and Chivu and played the match with only 8 players.

Classification Games

England makes hard work of things

Portugal 67 – 71 England (14-13, 10-16, 27-11, 9-13)
England and Portugal are no strangers to each other, after they played each other in a 3 match series in Portugal prior to coming out here in a series that Portugal won.
Maria Correia was the thorn in the England side as she hit shot after shot when it hurt England most. The first quarter was an evenly contested affair with Portugal edging in front. The second period was rather scrappy, while England managed to stifle Santos Bernardeco effectiveness; Clark hit 6 of England’s first 8 points as opened up a 5-point lead by half time.
After the interval England became more aggressive in defence and kept Portugal scoreless for 8 minutes during an England 16 point run over two periods to lead by 16 going into the fourth.
England dropped the pace going into the final quarter and the sanction was immediate as Santos Berardeco now had the space and time to wave her magic and Correia hitting crucial points as Portugal went on a (20:4) run to bring the score level (51:51) after 26 minutes. England went back in front as Jones made two free throws. With 1.26 left on the game clock Chiemeka hit a 3-pointer to extend England lead to six, England appeared to have the game won. Portugal fought back and with less then 7 seconds on the shot clock Airosa tied the game (58:58)
Correia hit a 3-pointer to put Portugal in front and England on the back foot. England hit back with a Joseph jumper inside the paint and took the lead through Jones a few seconds later; Berardeco then hit Portugal 2^nd three of the period to put Portugal back in front once more. Portugal lead was short lived as Chiemeka 2-pointer jumper brought the score level once again (64:64).
With England ‘s dismal performance at the free throw line Bernardeco failure to hit two was a blessing in disguise for England. Moments later Jones put England in front for good and even through England only managed to hit 5 from 10 throws in the last 56 seconds  they held on for the victory as Portugal hit a late 3-pointer

The Netherlands leave it late
Austria 55 - 57 Netherlands  (19-7   19-11   3-19   14-20 )
Austria was so close to claiming their first victory at these championships but a pair of missed free throws by De leeuw and a Ten Caat lay-up 2 seconds before the end was the difference between the two teams.

Finland beat Iceland
Iceland 35 - 89 Finland (14-27   8-22   4-23   9-17)
Finland gave Iceland a 10 point head start but finished the first quarter with a 15 point run of their own. The misery continued for Iceland as they trailed Finland by a whopping 25 points by halftime and never recovered

   Div B: Day 7 classification results - Aug 10, 2006
Ireland - Iceland 73 - 59
Ireland has a rest day and must wait for the result of the Finland - Iceland match today for the final placing in the groups

Israel - Portugal 54 - 49
With this victory Israel have qualified for the 9-11 place matches and will play on Saturday

Luxembourg - Austria 39 - 31
Luxembourg have also qualified for the 9-11 place matches

   Div B: Group F: Latvia in semifinal, Slovenia and Italy in thriller and Bosnia and Herzegovina are out - Aug 9, 2006
Latvia 78 v 50 Bosnia and Herzegovina (22-11, 21-12, 16-7, 20-20)
It did not take long for Latvia to get into their game, only 4 minutes in what turned into a calm team collective victory. Bosnia was at the receiving end of 4 different Latvian sides in one game, one for each quarter.
The first quarters witness Latvia the calculator as they put together a series of quick breaks to open up a 10-point lead. The second quarter was Latvia the entertainer, after they concluded their early run of 15 points, they traded basket for basket with Bosnia without allowing Bosnia to take control. The third quarter Latvia the assassin as they choked Bosnia creative machine Matea Tavic is a clinical display of man to man marking while in the last quarter, Latvia the human.
A good team display with all the players getting useful minutes.

Slovenia 62 Ã¢â‚¬â€œ 73 Italy (19-12, 10-18, 11-20, 22-23)
Ina great display of Perimeter shooting and nerves Italy overcame a 10-point deficit in the second period with a 13 point run of their own in a second quarter revival with an amazing 8 of 11 set the tone of for an explosive second half.
Martina Picotti who has a quiet tournament up till now was the catalyst in the Italian offence with her brave inside play (22 points and rebounds) and most likely the block of the tournament on Teja Oblak.
The lead changed an amazing 4 times during the third period with Slovenia holding on by keeping their nerve from the free throw until Italy landed 3 3-pointers and finally opened up a 10 point lead going into the final quarter.
Both teams continued to go at each other all during the final quarter as if their lives depended on it. In a good game of fast break counter attacking basketball, neither team was really able to outshine the other but Italy held their advantage with some crucial down town shooting and a Martina Picotti on grand form.

   Div B: Day 6 Results - Aug 8, 2006
Italy – Latvia (14-15, 9-25, 23-6,13-17)
There was very little action in the first part of the match as both teams found it difficult to penetrate the other defence. Latvia decided run more at the Italians towards the end of the second quarter and hit them for 13 consecutive points as Italy managed to miss every shot (4/13 2’s & 0/6 3’s during the 2nd period”) to lead at the interval (23:39)
Italy was a new team after the break and after a demonstration in the art of long distance shooting Italy to tie the game in the 29th minute.
The final period was end to end stuff with Italy making the long shots while Latvia having more luck at the boards making more inside points. A 3-point game going into the last minutes was decided 10 second from the end when Steinberga split a pair of free throws to ease Latvia to Victory
Martins Zibarts (Latvia's head coach' describe the victory in one word “Team Spirit”

Germany 70 - 50 Bulgaria (20-14, 17-13, 16-9, 17-14)
A fast start from Germany saw them race into the lead after a pair of 3-pointers by Mankertz and Rexroth to take early control of the game (13:2). Bulgaria rallied back with also a pair of 3’s by Stankova both teams exchanged baskets at the end of quarter (20:14.)
In a very tactical second quarter Germany edged a head (37:27).
The game was not exciting as Germany's defence kept the Bulgarians clutching at straws for most of the second half and only when the game was safe that Bulgaria started to score more points.

Bosnia and Herzegovina 58 - Slovenia 75

Classification Round Results

Netherlands 40 Luxembourg 43
Finland 63 Ireland 57
England <69> Israel 79

   Div B: Group E: Romania start with a win - Aug 8, 2006
Sweden 57 – 64 Romania (13:26, 18-17, 20-8, 6-13)
In a strong Romanian first period that Romania lead from start to finish with Eliabeth Pavel (26 for the game scoring 13 points, as they quickly opened up a 10-point lead as they completely dominated Sweden in all sectors of the game (13:26).
Romania dominated the early part of the second period before a switch to man to man not only slowed Romania advance but saw a big improvement in Sweden’s shooting as they out pointed Romanian is the second part of the period (16:18) to trail by 12 at the interval (31:43).
Sweden continued to apply the pressure at the start of the third quarter and within minutes was only trailing by 7 points. Sweden physical style was not really appreciated by Romania as Sweden continued to fight back and when at the death Astrom quickly followed by Ahlin put in big shots, the game was tied (51:51).
The leads changed several times during this action packed last quarter as neither side allowed space . Romania at last started to mix it physically with the Swedish team and it was on the last 54 seconds that the game was decided. Barbu hit two free throws (57:61), a situation forcing Sweden to chase their shots and make quick fouls leaving the way for Romania to consolidate their advantage from the free throw line.

Coaches Comments:
Romania: "not happy, we have two more games against Bulgaria and Germanythen we will see"
Sweden: " we were totally outscored at the beginning of the game and they were making their shots and we did’nt make our shots, we thought we had a chance if we out some pressure on them from the inside. When were behind we dared take our shots but when we were close, then we got afraid"

   Div B. Group D: Joy for Bulgaria, tears for Finland - Aug 6, 2006
Slovenia v Iceland (20-13, 13-19,15-12, 20-14)
In a dull opening , both sides exchanged baskets and the lead changed several times before a (7:0) run put Slovenia in control of the game. With nothing at stake it required a lot of jumping up and down by the Slovenia coach to keep his team motivated. Iceland gained confidence and almost overturned Slovenia by the interval.
A 9-point sequence at the beginning of the third appeared to put Slovenia on their way especially as Kerin was driving the offensive as their lead increased to 12 points. Another drop in intensity allowed Iceland to come back to within 2 points before the start of the last quarter.
A final quarter (10:4) finally made the game for Slovenia.

Finland 56 – 66 Bulgaria (24-15,15-14, 9-28, 8-9)
A perfect starts for Finland as they dominated Bulgaria (20:6) in just 8 minutes. With the capacity crowd chairing them on the Finish "Wolves " continued to perform wonders as they maintained a healthy lead at half time. In a little over 6 minutes, Bulgaria through Stankova and Marinova turned the game completely around in a quarter that started and ended with 3-pointer with 2 others sandwiched in between to take firm control of the game. The final quarter was quite dull in comparison to the third period as Finland struggled to come to term with the Bulgarian defensive system.
After match comments
Stanislav Boyadjiev (Bulgarian Head of Delegation) was more than happy with the victory, after our relegation from Div A last year it is important that we qualified for the Quarterfinal as we would like to return back as soon as possible

   Div B: Group C Latvia eliminate Engand, Romania remain unbeaten - Aug 6, 2006
Romania 62 – 52 Austria ( 21-18, 13-10,24-5,4-19)
With qualification assured for the next phase Romania was able to restrict the playing time of several key players. The lead changed several times in a lively first half as neither side was really able to take hold of the game. This was to change during the third period as Romania put together a (17:2) run to open up a 19 point lead that appeared to be comfortable enough to secure victory. Austria managed to put together a 12 point run at the end of the game as Romania lost their concentration to the annoyance of their coach

Latvia – England (18-15,23-9,19-17, 18-17)
In an absorbing first period with the lead changed several times Latvia gained the advantage at the end of the first quarter with a 3-point Buzzer by Niedola., thatjust happened to be the start of a Latvia 10 point run as Latvia opened the first lead of consequence (29:18).
Latvia continued to dominate England in all areas of the game and opened up a17 point lead by half time. England fight back in the third was undone at the end when Kristin hit two good baskets that more or less ended England’s hope a comeback The last Quarter was a scrappy affair with Latvia doing enough to keep England at bay.
Martins Zibarts (Latvia Head Coach)
A much better team performance, the team was motivated, gave 100 %and got the job done and I am pleased about that. We now have to work hard in the next phase to achieve our primary objective