By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
History was made in Ljubljana as Belgium beat Spain 64-58 to be crowned FIBA Women’s EuroBasket champions for the very first time.
Trailing by as many as 10 points in the contest, their dream appeared to be fading, but a strong last phase of the game and Kyara Linskens having a career night delivered a landmark victory.
Down by 10 points and looking like they might be running out of gas, Belgium dug deep, worked their way back and when Emma Meesseman stroked a triple to give them the first lead of the game at 56-55, it was a momentum-shifter. The confidence flowed through the Cats and they were the better team from that point onwards.
Kyara Linskens chose the biggest game in Belgium’s history to have her best ever game in a national team jersey. She torched Spain with as she torched Spain with an enormous double-double of 18 points and 15 rebounds, as well as 3 blocks.
Belgium showed incredible basketball in this tournament but also resilience and belief by the bucket load. They could have thought it was not going to be their night but they came together to get it done. Emma Meesseman supported Linskens with a massive 24 points, 8 rebounds and 5 steals which was so important. They always said this was their title to win – and they did it.
Spain fell short but considering they were completely written off by some people after losing their opener, to get the silver medal was some compensation and a comeback. Meanwhile there was a slice of history for Spanish star Alba Torrens who passed Amaya Valdemoro to become the All-Time top Spanish scorer at the event.
Meesseman takes MVP award
There was a double celebration for Belgium leader Emma Meesseman after she added the TISSOT MVP award to her FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2023 winners’ medal.
The forward was phenomenal for Belgium throughout and came up with the goods in the 64-58 Final win against Spain with a typically superb showing of 24 points, 8 rebounds and 5 steals. Across the competition, Meesseman averaged 21.7 points, 8.7 boards, 5.2 assists and 4.3 steals.
She was joined in the TISSOT All-Star Five by her teammates Julie Allemand and Julie Vanloo. The former led the competition in assists by passing the rock and average of 8.7 per game to go with 11.0 points per outing. Her assists per game output set a new All-Time FIBA Women’s EuroBasket competition high.
Meanwhile, Vanloo found the hot hand from downtown and it was her three-point shooting that regularly helped Belgium to impose itself in games. She dropped 24 triples in the tournament and netted 16.2 points per game and 3.2 assists.
Alba Torrens may have been on the losing side in the Final, but she added a TISSOT All-Star Five berth to her resume with 11.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 2,0 assists per game. She also became Spain’s All-Time record scorer at the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket after passing Amaya Valdemoro’s high tide mark in the Final.
Sandrine Gruda also made the lineup after helping France to an eighth consecutive medal as they beat Hungary in the Third Place Game. The center averaged 10.2 points and 4.3 rebounds in the competition, with her leadership at key moments standing out. She also moved into second place in the All-Time rebounding chart.