Semi-Finals
- France 81 - 72 Holland
MVP : Isabelle Slim (Hol) 11 pts, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals
If the first 10 minutes may have led the casual observer to anticipate a convincing victory for 'Les Bleues', they would have been mistaken. The Dutch battled back to win both the 2nd and 3rd quarters and deep into the 4th, the match was still anybody's. But with Emese Hof, a massive presence for Holland in these championships, fouling out with 5 minutes still on the clock, the Dutch were left with a huge hole in their defences and France pulled away to win a place in the final and the chance to defend their title...against Spain...again! Excellent 50.8% field-shooting percentage from France (a tournament best) and 5 of their players ended the match in double figures; Elodie Naigre (14), Marie Mané (13), Aby Gaye (12), Mousdandy Djaldi-Tabdi (11) and Lysa Millavet (11).
- Spain 76 - 50 Russia
MVP : Leticia Romero (Spa) 17 pts, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals
Early Spanish defensive pressure paid dividends, more or less killing the game off by the break, when the home team already led by 21 points. 23 turnovers were evidence of the difficulties Russia faced in keeping hold of the ball on offence and Spain have never really been troubled on their way to a successive final meeting with arch-rivals France, who in spite of a few wobbles along the way, are also unbeaten in the tournament.
Classification Games
- Ukraine 49 - 62 Germany
MVP : Tetiana Antoniuk (Ukr) 10 pts, 12 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals
In spite of another excellent performance from Antoniuk, Ukraine remain without a win and will drop into Division B next year. They committed 25 turnovers, leading to 25 costly German points, and only made a measly 2 of 15 triple attempts, whereas the Germans displayed decent accuracy, making 6 of 17.
- Italy 78 - 68 Slovak Republic
MVP : Lucia Hadacova (Slo) 11 pts, 8 rebounds
Stellar shooting was the foundation for this Italian victory. They made 47.5% from the field, including a stunning 48% from 3-pt range and will now play for a fifth-place finish.
- Czech Republic 72 - 76 Hungary
MVP : Dora Nagy (Hun) 23 pts, 13 rebounds, 3 assists
The Czechs sent the Hungarians to the line a whopping 33 times and paid the price, with Hungary scoring 27 points from 81% free-throw shooting.
- Poland 37 - 49 Portugal
MVP : Maria Kostourkova (Por) 11 pts, 14 rebounds, 2 steals
Not a great shooting display from either team but Portugal were well on top of rebounding, winning the battle of the boards 48-37. They also took better care of the ball, committing 13 turnovers to Poland's 21.
- Belgium 56 - 64 Serbia
MVP : Dragana Stankovic (Ser) 15 pts, 16 rebounds, 2 assists
A fifth consecutive victory for Serbia, who will play for 9th-place tomorrow. They were too big and strong in the paint, making 47.8% of their 2-pt attempts.
- Latvia 44 - 79 Turkey
MVP: Hülya Coklar (Tur) 14 pts, 11 rebounds, 3 assists
A dominant performance in the second and third quarters (won 23-9 and 17-4 respectively) saw an easy win for the Turks, shooting 51.9% from inside and leading assists 17-3. They now face the equally late-blooming Serbia for 9th-place.
Tomorrow's matches (All times are local - add 1 hour for CET)
- 11:15 Ukraine vs Czech Republic (15/16th place)
- 13:30 Belgium vs Latvia (11/12th place)
- 13:30 Slovak Republic vs Poland (7/8th place)
- 15:45 Germany vs Hungary (13/14th place)
- 15:45 Italy vs Portugal (5/6th place)
- 18:00 Serbia vs Turkey (9/10th place)
- 18:00 Holland vs Russia (3rd/4th place)
- 20:15 France vs Spain (Final)