Division B. The end of the Qualifying Round - Aug. 14, 2008
Qualifying Round for 1st to 8th place - Group E

U18 Estonia - U18 Germany 64-58
Estonia grabbed the first victory in the Qualifying Round for 1st to 8th place on U18 European Championship in Skopje. It means that Estonia improved to 1-2 in Group E but it was not enough for the semifinals. The last ranked team of this group is Germany with score 0-3 but both teams will have an opportunity to fioght for position number five during the following two days. Estonia will meet Hungary tomorrow while Germany will take on Netherlands.

Estonia was the team which dominated from the early beginning. Thanks to Kerttu Jallai (180-F-90), Estonians had 8-point lead at the end of the first quarter. After successful jump shot by Triin Mitt (185-C-90), Estonians touched plus 11 later keeping 37-27 at the half time. Germany tried to do something more through Pia Mankertz (170-G-90) but unsuccessful. Estonia headed into the last quarter with comfortable 51-40. Minus six, how much it was at the end, was maximum of Germany in the last frame.

Kerttu Jallai was the key player for Estonia in this game. She netted 23 points catching impressive 16 rebounds. Triin Mitt followed her with 10 points and 10 rebounds while Hass also had 10 points. Germany got the most from Pia Mankertz, who finished the game having 13 points and 5 reb

   Division B. Qualifying Round Day 1 - Aug. 13, 2008
Qualifying Round for 1st to 8th place - Group E

U18 Germany - U18 Slovenia 50-78
Slovenia didn't have to work very hard in order to beat Germany in the first day of the Qualifying Round on U18 European Championship division B in Skopje. As a reminder, Slovenia advanced to the second stage transferring one victory from the Preliminary Round which means that Slovenians improved to 2-0, what is already enough for the semifinals. In the last game of the Qualifying Round Slovenia will meet Greece fighting for the first place in Group E. On the other hand, with this defeat Germany lost all chances to reach one of the medals.

Slovenia had three players in a great mood in this game. After not so brilliant first half, Slovenians demonstrated impressive performance during the next 20 minutes. Nika Baric (168-G-92), Teja Oblak (172-G-90) and Ines Kerin (172-G-90) were on fire. Germans couldn't find a solution how to stop this trio which led Slovenia to 10-24 in this period. There was a ten minutes to go and Slovenia already had comfortable 16-point lead. Germany couldn't recover from this shock continuing to fall down even more. Slovenians ended this game in style making 11-1 run and booking a spot for the semifinals.

Nika Baric was unstoppable today. She spent 35 minutes on court adding 19 points, 6 boards and 8 assists. Teja Oblak also shined scoring 19 points while Ines Kerin had one points less than her.

Preliminary Group A

U18 Greece - U18 Germany 60-47
Greece remained undefeated after the last game of Preliminary Round on U18 European Championship division B in Skopje. It means that Greece advanced to the Qualifying Round from the top Preliminary Group A. Despite this defeat Germany also booked a spot for the next stage. The good thing for Greece and at the same time the bad one for Germany is that the score from this game will be transferred to Group E. Except of these two teams, participant of the Group E are also Slovenia and Estonia.

Interesting is that Germany ended this game having 15 rebounds more than its opponent. However, the Germans struggled a lot with their stroke, especially from behind the arc and from the free throw line. Greece was a better team from the beginning. Mostly owing to Aikaterini Kontali and Angeliki Nikolopoulou (175-G-91) Greece went on the half time having 5-point lead. After the breather Greeks intensified defense which resulted with many mistakes and missed shots by the Germans. Kontali and her teammates ended this period 16-9 heading into the last frame with plus 12. Very soon Greece extended it to 14 points what automatically meant that game is over for Germany.

Aikaterini Kontali paced Greece to victory in this game collecting 15 points and 4 rebounds. Angeliki Nikolopoulou also netted 15 points while Ioanna Diela (175-F-90) followed her with 10 points and 8 rebounds. Pia Mankertz (170-G-90) netted 12 points for Germany while Jenny Menz (180-F-91) finished the game with 10 points.


U18 Greece - U18 Germany 60-47
(17-13, 15-14, 16-9, 12

   Division A. Finals - Jul. 29, 2008
Final
Lithuania U18 - Russia U18 63:57
Lithuanian Junior National Team narrowly defeated Russian counterparts to celebrate the title at the European Championship in Slovakia. Aurime Rinkeviciute (180-F/G-90) scored 27 points, grabbed 8 boards and dished out 4 assists to lead Lithuania to the first title at this level. Lithuanian guard was named the MVP of the tournament after the game as she averaged 19 points, 8 boards, 4 assists and 2.5 steals per game during the event.
Lithuanian team got to a flying start of the game as Aurime Rinkeviciute and Marina Solopova (180-G-90) drained trebles. Two more three-pointers from Aurime Rinkeviciute late in the period allowed the Baltic team to maintain a 22:13 advantage at the first intermission. Anastasiya Shilova (185-F-91) nailed 7 points during a 9:0 run from Russia that capped the first half and brought them within a single point from Lithuania at halftime. But the Baltic side kept in front throughout the third stanza and rolled to a 50:45 advantage with one quarter remaining. Aurime Rinkeviciute chipped in 5 straight points midway through the final term to give Lithuania an 8-point cushion. Petrushina connected from beyond the arc and Anastasia Logunova added two freebies to shave the deficit to 4 points with under 2 minutes left. However Giedre Paugaite (192-C-90) came up with jumper after misses from Loginova and Petrushina to seal the winning outcome for Lithuania at the end. Marina Solopova had 15 points, while Giedre Paugaite contributed 11 points and 12 boards for the winners. Anastasiya Shilova answered with 14 points for Russia. Ekaterina Kiryanova, Anastasia Logunova and Veronika Dorosheva (188-F-91) secured 8 points each in defeat. Lithuania outrebounded Russia 51:43 and limited their opponents to only 30% accuracy from the field.

Lithuania U18: Aurime Rinkeviciute 27, Marina Solopova 15, Giedre Paugaite 11+12 boards
Russia U18: Anastasiya Shilova 14, Veronika Dorosheva 8+5 boards


3rd-4th spots
Czech Republic U18 - France U18 70:61
Czech Republic Juniors finished the European Championship campaign with a solid win over France to occupy the third spot in the final ladder. Czech team managed to overcome the bitter memories of a narrow defeat to Russia in the semis to knock down French opponents in the Bronze medals game. A tough defense and balanced offense was the key to the Czech success. Zavazalova and Karolina Elhotova (179-G-92) ignited a 9:0

   Division A. Semifinals - Jul. 26, 2008
Semifinals
Russia U18 - Czech Republic U18 62:60
Russian Junior National Team celebrated a dramatic victory against Czech Republic in the European Championship semifinal today. Russia thus advanced to the championship game and would face Lithuania in Nitra tomorrow. Tatiana Petrushina (185-F-90) scored go-ahead free throws with 8 seconds remaining to bring Russia to the victory. The game turned into a real seesaw battle as the teams traded baskets early on. Russia earned a 19:12 lead after the starting period however Karolina Elhotova (179-G-92) and Renata Brezinova (189-C-90) quickly cut the deficit at the start of the second term. Liubov Paskalenko and Anastasiya Loginova (190-C-90) kept Russian team in front throughout the second frame and they accumulated a 35:28 advantage at halftime. Czechs opened the second half with a 9:0 run to surge ahead 37:35. But Russia soon regained the advantage and drove to a 49:43 lead with one quarter to go. Katerina Bartonova (174-G-90) nailed 4 straight points midway through the fourth quarter and Czech Republic squared things up at 54. Soon Karolina Elhotova put Czech team in charge 57:56 with just over 3 minutes left in regulation. Anastasiya Loginova and Renata Brezinova exchanged the baskets before Tatiana Petrushina knotted it all at 60 apiece with 50 seconds to go. Katerina Bartonova missed consecutive attempts to set up a crucial play for Russian team. Karolina Elhotova fouled Tatiana Petrushina and Russian forward won the game. Katerina Bartonova had a chance to save the day for Czech Republic but missed a desperate three-pointer with the time running out. Tatiana Petrushina finished with 16 points and 8 rebounds for Russia. Alexandra Tarasova (192-C-91) netted 14 points and 16 boards, while Anastasiya Loginova added 11 in a win. Renata Brezinova delivered 13 points and 12 boards for Czech Republic. Pavla Svrdlikova (184-F-90) dropped 11 points in defeat.

Russia U18: Kateryna Rymarenko (183-F-90) and Kateryna Dorogobuzova and trailed by 5 points at the first intermission. A barrage of three-pointers from Turkish team allowed them to stretch the gap to 12 points in the second period. They later enjoyed a 15-point distance but Kateryna Dorogobuzova scored 4 points and Hanna Yeremeychuk added 2 more in a 6:0 run that crowned the first half as Ukraine trimmed the deficit to 9 points. Ukraine recovered well in the third stanza as they denied the deficit and spurred ahead following treble from Kateryna Rymarenko and freebies from Kateryna Dorogobuzova. The lead changed hands for several times in the fourth term and Hanna Yeremeychuks trey put Ukrainian team within a single point from Turkey 72:73 with 48 seconds left. Ozge Yavas (169-G-91) nailed one free throw to give Turkish side a 74:72 advantage with 12 seconds left. But Ukraine failed to win the game in the time remaining. Havrylyuk committed a turnover sealing the victory for Turkey. Gamze Takmaz (182-F-91) nailed game-high 29 points to lead Turkish side. Ozge Yavas added 18 points for the winners. Ol'ha Maznichenko (186-F-91) answered with 24 points and 10 boards for Ukraine. Kateryna Rymarenko added 21 points and 8 boards in a losing case.

Turkey U18: Gamze Takmaz 29, Ozge Yavas 18, Duygu Firat (189-F-90) 9
Ukraine U18: Ol'ha Maznichenko 24+10 boards, Kateryna Rymarenko 21


Slovakia U18 - Poland U18 65:57
Klaudia Lukacovicova (193-C-90) scored 23 points and collected 10 boards to lift Slovakian Junior National Team past Poland at the European Championship. Slovakia celebrated their first win at the qualifying round of the tournament. The teams traded baskets early in the encounter. Veronika Cernakova (174-G-90) capped the first stanza with 4 straight points for Slovakia and put them in charge 23:15. Four points from Martina Kissova (184-F-93) allowed the hosts clear off to a 10-point distance early in the second frame. But Poland soon drew things level and trailed by just two points at the interval 35:37. Magda Kaczmarska and Olivia Tomialowicz (182-G-90) netted 5 straight points

   Division A. Qualifying round Day 2 - Jul. 23, 2008 
Group E
Poland U18 - Ukraine U18 73:64
Polish Junior National Team grabbed their first win at the European Championship qualifying round. Today they held off Ukrainian team to improve to 2-2 record in Group E ladder. Ukraine suffered the second consecutive defeat and remained at the bottom of the table in the group. Natalia Pacula and Magda Kaczmarska (183-F/G-90) spurred Polish team to a 12:3 lead early on. Ukraine cut the deficit but still trailed by 5 points at the first intermission. Ukraine used a 12:6 run at the start of the second period to spur ahead. The lead then changed hands for several times and the teams were all square at 31 at halftime. Klaudia Sosnowska (186-F-90), Olivia Tomialowicz (182-G-90) and Magda Kaczmarska pulled Poland ahead early in the third term. But Ukraine stayed at a striking distance. Finally Magda Kaczmarska capped the period with a three-pointer giving Poland a 55:44 advantage with one quarter to go. Yeremeychuk fired 6 points and Ol'ha Maznichenko added two for Ukraine to narrow the gap to 5 points. Olivia Tomialowicz and Magda Kaczmarska were deadly from charity stripe in a key moments and Poland got away with the victory at the end. Magda Kaczmarska nailed 23 points to pace Polish team. Olivia Tomialowicz had 13 points, while Klaudia Sosnowska dropped 12 points in a win. Yuliya Berezynets (180-G-90) and Kateryna Dorogobuzova (187-F-90) scored 14 points apiece in a losing case. Ol'ha Maznichenko added 13 points for Ukraine. Ukraine enjoyed a massive advantage on the glass 34:20 but committed unforgivable 26 turnovers. Poland also converted 44% from the field and 80% from free throw line.

Poland U18: Magda Kaczmarska 23, Olivia Tomialowicz 13, Klaudia Sosnowska 12
Ukraine U18: Yuliya Berezynets 14, Kateryna Dorogobuzova 14

Slovakia U18 - Lithuania U18 52:55
Lithuanian Junior National Team grabbed their fifth win in a row at the European Championship in Nitra. Today they held off the hosts for the second win at the qualifying round of the tournament. Lithuania thus improved to 4-0 record on top of the Pool E. Slovak Republic slipped to 2-2 record and left with little chances of making it to the semifinal. The first frame turned out to be a low-scoring affair with both teams teaming up for 15 points. Slovakia rolled to a 9:6 advantage at the first intermission. Lithuania opened the second frame with a 9:0 run to grab the lead. Slovakia answered with an 11:0 advantage

   Division A. Qualifying round Day 1 - Jul. 22, 2008
Group E
Czech Republic U18 - Poland U18 91:58
Czech Republic Junior Team opened their Qualifying round campaign with win. They defeated Polish counterparts at the European Championship to topple qualifying Pool E. Polish team got to a flying start as they tipped off the encounter with an 11:0 run. However Hanusova and Bartonova scored 9 points to get Czech team back to life. Michaela Stara (172-G-90) and Renata Brezinova (189-C-90) capped the first period with 4 straight points and Czech Republic trailed by just one point at the first intermission. Pulpanova scored the first points of the second frame to give Czech Republic their first lead of the game. Czech team never loosened the grip and drove to a 45:40 advantage at halftime. Barbara Skowronek (189-F/C-90), Olivia Tomialowicz (182-G-90) and Sosnowska cut the deficit to a single point midway through the third stanza. But Czechs capped the frame with an 11:0 rally to make it 61:49 entering the final stanza. Behalova and Eva Skutilova (182-F-90) extended the advantage to 15 points early in the final stanza. Poland were done after a 19:0 run from Czech Republic midway through the term. Czechs built a massive 30-point advantage and never looked back again. Michaela Stara scored 12 points to pace Czech Republic. Eva Skutilova had 11 points, while Renata Brezinova and Karolina Elhotova (179-G-92) knocked down 10 points apiece in a win. Olivia Tomialowicz secured 21 points for Polish U18 Team. Skowronek had 8 points and 7 boards in defeat.

Czech Republic U18: Michaela Stara 12, Eva Skutilova 11, Renata Brezinova 10, Karolina Elhotova 10
Poland U18: Olivia Tomialowicz 21, Barbara Skowronek 8

Slovakia U18 - Turkey U18 53:57
The European Championship in Slovakia reached the qualifying stage with 12 teams remaining in the race for the title. Slovakia and Turkey tipped off their qualifying round campaign earlier today. Slovakia suffered their second straight defeat at the tournament coming up short at the end. The hosts got to a better start of the game as they enjoyed an 8:2 lead early on. Turkey shaved the deficit a bit but still trailed 13:16 at the first intermission. Slovakia opened a double digit lead midway through the second quarter when Maria Felixova converted a layup. Veronika Cernakova (174-G-90) capped the half with a three-pointer and Slovak Republic maintained a 10-point buffer at the interval. But Turkey turned a different team after the long<

   Division A. Preliminary round Day 3 - Jul. 21, 2008
Group A
Czech Republic U18 - Romania U18 105:63
Czech Republic Junior National Team prevailed against Romania in the third round of preliminary action at the European Championship today. Three players scored 14 points for Czech team as they sent Romanian side into classification round. Romania suffered their third straight loss and would fight for the right to remain in Division A now. Bianca Barbu (169-G-90) and Pavel paced Romania in front in the opening minutes of the game but Czech team quickly denied the effort. They capped the first frame with an 18:7 run that put Czech team in charge 31:17. Svrdlikova fueled an 8:0 rally from Czech Republic early in the second stanza as they stretched the margin to 21 points. Andreea Pop and Doinita Panait cut the deficit to 16 points at halftime. The momentum continued for Romania in the third period as Andreea Pop, Alina Chivu (180-F-90) and Bianca Barbu teamed up for 8 points to drag them within 8 points from Czech Republic. However Czechs answered with a 15:1 surge that secured the comfortable cushion. Romania never came closer than 20 points in the reminder of the contest and Czech Republic celebrated their second win at the tournament. Katerina Zavazalova (171-G-90), Eva Skutilova (182-F-90) and Klara Rosenbaumova (182-F-90) dropped 14 points apiece to pace Czech Republic. Dominika Behalova and Stara notched 11 points apiece in a win. Bianca Barbu had 13 points for Romania in defeat. Alina Chivu produced 8 points and 8 rebounds. Czech team outrebounded their opponents 49:38 and forced those to as many as 38 turnovers.

Czech Republic U18: Katerina Zavazalova 14, Eva Skutilova 14, Klara Rosenbaumova 14
Romania U18: Bianca Barbu 13, Alina Chivu 8

Slovakia U18 - Ukraine U18 64:80
Slovakian Junior Team suffered their first loss at home European Championship. They were unable to post the third straight loss coming up short against Ukraine. Slovak Republic opponents bounced back after a stunning loss to Czech Republic and upset the hosts. Ol'ha Maznichenko (186-F-91) knocked down 32 points and collected 11 rebounds to pace Ukraine. The visitors surprised sloppy home side with a 22:6 rally in the opening stanza. Kateryna Dorogobuzova (187-F-90) and Olesya Malashenko (188-F-91) extended the difference to 16 points at the interval. Kateryna Dorogobuzova and Ol'ha Maznichenko gave Ukraine

   Division A. Preliminary round Day 2 - Jul. 20, 2008
Group A
Czech Republic U18 - Ukraine U18 82-36
Czech Republic grabbed the first win in Group A on U18 European Championship in Nitra. At the same time Ukraine dropped on score 1-1. After yesterday's defeat against first neighbor Slovakia, Czech Republic gave a real lesson to Ukrainians. They dominated in all basketball elements against Ukraine, which finished the game committing 44 turnovers. Obviously, defense of Czech Republic looked pretty good in this game. After 3-4 for Ukraine at the early beginning, Czezh Republic made magnificent run 18-2. Renata Brezinova and Karolina Elhotova (179-G-92) took care for it scoring few jump shots as well as couple of free throws. On the other side Ukraine committed four turnovers in the row also missing four lay-ups. The same picture on the court was seen in the following 10 minutes as Czech Republic once again was the team which dominated. With two minutes remaining of the second stanza the hosts in this game created fantastic 28 points lead, 38-10. At that time it was already clear that Ukraine won't be able to come any closer until the end.
Eva Skutilova (182-F-90), who scored 13 points, and Karolina Elhotova, who had 11 points and 5 rebounds, were the best for the winners. Katerina Bartonova (174-G-90) followed these two players adding 9 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Darya Zavidna (178-G-93) and Ol'ha Maznichenko (186-F-91) netted 6 points each for Ukraine. In the last game of the Preliminary Round Czech Republic will meet Romania while Ukraine will take on Slovak Republic.

Czech Republic U18: Eva Skutilova 13, Karolina Elhotova 11 (5 rebs), Katerina Bartonova 9 (5 rebs, 5 as)
Ukraine U18: Darya Zavidna 6 (8 to), Ol'ha Maznichenko 6

Romania U18 - Slovak Republic U18 39-62
At the second day of U18 European Championship Slovak Republic outplayed Romania registering the second victory in Preliminary Group A. Romania is the only winless team in the same group so far with score 2-0. The loosing side succeeded to resists in the first quarter against the hosts of this championship letting them make just one point lead after ten minutes. Actually Romanians had advantage of 4 points with one minute remaining in the first stanza but Slovakia quickly made turn setting the score on 10-11. Thanks to Veronika Cernakova (174-G-90) and Klaudia Lukacovicova (193-C-90), Slovakia created 10-3 run in second quarter grabbing 8 points lead. However until the end of this period Romania succeeded to close the gap on 5 points. Romanians opened third quarter scoring a jump shot for 22-25 but it was signal for the hosts to start playing much stronger. They done it in style so after almost 6 minutes it already was plus 20 for Slovakia, 23-43. Before the last frame the hosts of U18 EC extended its

   Division A: Preliminary round Day 1 - Jul. 19, 2008
Pool A
Slovak Republic U18 - Czech Republic U18 76:72
Veronika Cernakova (174-G-90) dropped 23 points and Slovak Republic Junior Team got to a winning start of the home European championship. They held off a fierce comeback effort from Czech Republic in the second half to celebrate the initial win in Nitra. The teams got into preliminary Group A and tipped off the action earlier today. Katerina Bartonova (174-G-90) and Katerina Zavazalova opened an early lead for Czechs. However Klaudia Lukacovicova (193-C-90) scored 4 straight points to put Slovak Republic in front 11:9 midway through the starting stanza. Cernakova posted 4 points in a row and Slovak Republic claimed a 20:13 advantage late in the period. The hosts kept in front and they opened a double-digit advantage late in the second frame. Barbora Novocka (168-G-90) converted a freebie to give Slovak Republic 47:36 lead at halftime. Klaudia Lukacovicova added 4 points to begin the second half as Slovak team enjoyed a 51:36 advantage. A scoring outburst from Stara as she nailed 9 points allowed Czech Republic to shave the deficit to 8 points. Katerina Bartonova, Aneta Pulpanova and Behalova clawed Czech way within 2 points before Natalia Spodniakova (170-G-90) and Barbora Novocka finalized a 62:56 advantage at the end the third quarter. Elhotova and Svrdlikova propelled Czechs in front 69:68 with just over 5 minutes remaining in regulation. But Slovak Republic retained the lead and were deadly from free throw line to keep their opponents at bay throughout the rest of the contest. Klaudia Lukacovicova produced 20 points and 12 boards for Slovak Republic. Katerina Bartonova answered with 13 points for Czech Republic. Alena Hanusova (187-C-91) had 11 points and 8 caroms in a losing effort.

Slovak Republic U18: Veronika Cernakova 23, Klaudia Lukacovicova 20, Natalia Spodniakova 9, Barbora Novocka 9
Czech Republic U18: Katerina Bartonova 13, Alena Hanusova 11

Ukraine U18 - Romania U18 70:64
Ukrainian U18 National Team opened the European Championship campaign with a hard-fought win over Romania. Ol'ha Maznichenko (186-F-91) exploded with 33 points and 8 rebounds to propel Ukraine to a come-from-behind victory over determined Romanian side. Elisabeth Pavel (192-C-90) scored 6 points early in the clash