Italy Women’s Basketball prepares for World Cup amid U16 EuroBasket action

The Italian Women’s National Basketball Team is preparing for the FIBA Women’s World Cup in Berlin with a series of friendly matches against Belgium. In their first test in Kortrijk, Italy secured a 64-63 victory, led by Costanza Verona with 12 points. However, in a subsequent test, the team suffered a narrow 62-60 defeat to the reigning European champions. Coach Capobianco noted that while the team showed high-level play, they face challenges in managing physical contact and defensive transitions after limited training time.

Simultaneously, the FIBA U16 Women’s EuroBasket is underway in Romania. Spain has dominated the tournament with massive scoring margins, including a 128-13 win over Bulgaria. In other matchups, Serbia and Spain continue their strong performances, while Turkey and Hungary secured their first victories. The German U16 team fell to Slovenia with a score of 39-81, and the Hungarian team achieved a decisive 82-55 win against Germany. Romania’s U16 team concluded the group stage with a loss to Croatia, following previous defeats to Serbia and France.