Russia beat France (68-64) to win the group and most importantly take a perfect record into the second round of the competition. France may need to win all three games in the next round to qualify for the semi-final.
3 July France - Czech Republic
4 July France - Spain
5 July France - Slovak Republic
France never looked back after a (27-9) start as they put aside Turkey (64-41) to clinch the title. Spain beat host Italy in the final match (66-55) to finish in second place.
All in all it has been a good preparation for France with 10 straight wins. They lost one match to Slovakia at the end of May. France will travel directly to Novi Sad and get ready for the championship which tips off on Friday.
Spain will still start as favourites as this generation of players have won the last three U16 Europeans and are the defending champions. Carlos Colinas has put together a strong squad and they will arrive at the venue in plenty of time. Other nations to watch out for are Serbia the hosts, Russia, Slovakia and Sweden.
Italy had no answer for France as they lost by 22 points on the second day of the tournament.
Spain recorded a victory over Turkey but did they have to sweat for it. Spain have recovered from their late start on Saturday and got off to a flying start before relaxing a little too much allow Turkey back into the match and by half time the score tied(33:33). The top of the third was all Turkey as they kept the Spanish at bay and appeared to have everything in control. The game changed for good for Spain after a contested decision resulted in a technical for Turkey. Spain managed to compose themselves and went back in Front and never looked back as they controlled the final period to win by 15 points.
France 66 - Italy 44
Spain 62 - Turkey 47
The Spanish team arrived late after complication with flights and it showed as it took them 30 minutes to get into this game. This tournament is the last one for the 4 teams taking part before they the Europeans U18 which start on Friday.
France dominated the boards in the first half of the match and punished Spain for every little mistake and built up a comfortable lead (31-20) at the interval.
France extended the lead to 13 points going into the final quarter and appeared to have the game wrapped up. The Spanish head coach Carlos Colinas had other ideas and his team started to play the type of basketball that has made them a dominate force in Europe over the last few years. They dominated the final period by ran of out time and fell short by 6-points
France 49 - Spain 43 ( 17-12,14-8,10-8,8-15)
France: Aubert (0) , Michel (8), Cata Citiga (5), Lokoka (4), Tchatchouang (14), Plust (8), Brossais (2), Amant (5), Dahane (2)
Spain: Fernandez (2) Abalde (4) Torrens (5) Bahi (4) Nicholls (4) Alba Gacria (6). Bea Rey (4), Marta Xargay (5), Laura Herrera (6), Marta Perez (1), Jorge (-), B. Sanchez (0)Preparation started way back in March with a preliminary roster of 22 girls. This list was then reduced to 15 players in May when the final preparation started. The 12 players that will represent France next week are:
Marielle Amant (189-C-89)
Isis Arrondo (164-G-89)
Camille Aubert (170-G-89)
Carine Brossais (183-F-89)
Ana-Maria Cata-Chitiga (191-C-89)
Laurie Datchy (175-G/F-90)
Carole Leclair (184-F/C-89)
Lorraine Lokoka (184-C-89)
Sarah Michel (178-F-89)
Melanie Plust (173-G-89)
Doriane Tahane (192-C-89
Diandra Tchatchouang (186-F/C-91)
Staff:
Head Coach Francois Gomez
Assistants: Jérôme Fournier and Gwénaël Pestel
The squad is currently in Italy and have matches against Italy, Spain and and Turkey.
The European Women U18 champoinship tips-off on Friday.
