Latvian U-17 women's basketball team loses to Italy, will compete for 11th place at World Cup
Latvia's U-17 women's basketball team lost to Italy 59:63 on Saturday in Brno at the World Cup and will play for 11th place on Sunday against the loser of the Egypt vs. Colombia match.
Latvia's U-17 women's basketball team suffered a defeat against Italy 59:63 (17:11, 13:15, 14:17, 15:20) on Saturday, August 24, in the 9th-12th place classification at the World Cup in Brno. The team will finish the tournament with a match for 11th place.
Marta Arsentjeva led Latvia in scoring with 11 points and also grabbed eight rebounds. Evelīna Sirsniņa and Šarlote Skrebele each added 10 points, while Patrīcija Tikmere and Jeļizaveta Naidjonova contributed eight points each. Naidjonova also recorded five assists. For Italy, Emīlija Manji scored 18 points, and Sofija Zukona had eight points and 17 rebounds.
On Sunday, Latvia will face the loser of the Egypt vs. Colombia game to determine the 11th-place finisher.
In the group stage, Latvia finished third in Group A after losses to Australia (65:76) and the USA (53:105) and a win over Côte d'Ivoire (69:44). In the round of 16, they lost to China (60:83), but then defeated Czechia (72:59) in the first 9th-16th place game.
The team includes players from basketball schools in Daugavpils, Jūrmala, Ogre, Valmiera, and Rīga. Six players — Šarlote Skrebele, Jeļizaveta Naidjonova, Patrīcija Tikmere, Evelīna Sirsniņa, Enija Brokāne, and Adele Priedīte — finished fourth at the European U-16 Championship last year. Six players made their debut at this level in Brno.
Head coach Ilze Ose-Hlebovicka is leading the team at this level for the third time. This is the 10th appearance for Latvian youth teams at the World Cup. The best result so far is eighth place, achieved in 2003 (U-21 women) and 2018 (U-17 women).
