Belgium is the new European women’s basketball champion. Led by their star Emma Meesseman, the Belgians defeated Spain in the final with 64-58 (13-17, 12-15, 18-16, 21-10) and won the title of the Old Continent for the first time.
The match in Ljubljana developed very dramatically. Spain led almost throughout, at times by double figures, but Belgium showed character in the last quarter and turned the score in their favour.
In the semi-finals, the bronze medalists from the previous championship eliminated France. Then Emma Meesseman rewrote history by becoming the first female basketball player in the history of the European Championships with a triple-double, and now she was above them all again. The 30-year-old Emma Meesseman, who is a player of Fenerbahce, was the most productive with 24 pts, 8 rebs and 1 ast, and Kyara Linskens excelled with 18 pts, 15 rebs and 2 asts. Emma Meesseman was deservedly named MVP of the tournament.
The most productive of the Spanish women was Queralt Casas with 14 pts, to which she added 2 asts. Alba Torrens, who was at the heart of the success over Hungary in the semi-finals, this time realized only 8 pts.
Thus, Spain remained with the silver medals for the second time after losing the final in 2007.
