FIBA U19W - Three tickets left on offer for Quarter-Finals
KLAIPEDA/PANEVEZYS (FIBA U19 World Championship for Women) - It promises to be an exciting final day of the Eighth-Final Round at the FIBA U19 World Championship for Women on Wednesday, with three spots for the Quarter-Finals still open, after Australia became the fifth team to seal their place.
The Gems inflicted a first loss of the tournament on Brazil, courtesy of a stunning 69-51 win which was mainly facilitated by the shooting pair of Casey Samuels and Alex Wilson. The former led her team with 21 points, whilst the latter had an all-action 13 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.
Japan breathed life into their chances of progressing into the last eight and set up a winner-takes-all showdown with Russia, after toppling Serbia 87-67 off the back of a powerful 29-12 third quarter.
Once again Miyuki Kawamura was a pivotal figure, grabbing 22 points and shooting a superb 73.3% from the floor. Her contribution was perfectly complimented by a double-double for Mirai Tamura, who collected 14 points and a sensational 10 assists to extinguish the hopes of the Serbians who can't progress.
Russia lost 80-72 to Spain, despite having had the upper hand during a solid first half and getting 18 points from Julia Gladkova in the game. Although even if they had won the game, they would still have had to beat Japan to advance. Astou Ndour picked up 13 points and 10 rebounds for Spain whilst Belen Arrojo added 19 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Leticia Romero did the job defensively with five steals.
On the penultimate day of action in Panevezys, Netherlands and specifically Lisanne De Jonge, left the hosts heartbroken with a barrage of three-pointers to take a critical 72-65 success and set up a thrilling final day, with four teams still fighting for the last two Quarter-Final places.
De Jonge made a trio of long-range shots from the exact same spot during crunch time, as the Dutch side punished Lithuania for a final quarter littered with turnovers when they had looked well set to take victory. Kourtney Treffers did the hard work inside for Netherlands with 21 points and 12 rebounds.
China and Canada both suffered losses to France and USA respectively, who will now go head-to-head to try and top the group. France shut down China in a big way to prevail 62-43 and deny them a place in the Quarter-Finals - for now at least.
The French defense did a good job of keeping the in-form Chinese frontcourt away from the hoop and center Aby Gaye did an excellent job at the other end of the floor, with 11 points from five of seven shooting to go with 11 rebounds.
The USA are also sat with five wins and no losses after they won comfortably against their North American rivals 88-54, with Breanna Stewart adding 17 points, seven assists and five rebounds.
There was finally a first win since landing in Lithuania for Argentina, who inked a 70-51 success in the Classification Round against Mali. Julieta Armesto was the pick of the bunch for the winning team with an efficient 11 points and five rebounds, whilst Christinie Dakouo had her best game in a Mali vest with 16 points and five boards.
Korea continued to pile on the agony for still winless Senegal as they sailed to a 97-64 win. It was a notable day for the youngest player in the competition, 1998-born Ji Su Park, who had nine rebounds, eight points and six assists. Aida Ndiaye was on fire in defeat, recording a terrific 21 points and nine rebounds.
