LIONESSES TAUGHT THEIR NEIGHBORS A LESSON: Serbia’s young basketball players defeat Croatia and set up a battle for first place in the group!

Serbia’s U16 women’s national basketball team has secured one of the top two spots in Group A at the European Championship in Pitești.

The team coached by Dragan Vuković followed up its convincing win over Romania with another dominant performance, defeating Croatia 73-47.

Serbia will face France on Sunday at 12 p.m. in the third round, with first place in the group—and a more favorable opponent in the Round of 16—on the line.

Just as they did against Romania the previous day, the Serbian team quickly imposed its rhythm and built a double-digit lead. A run of seven consecutive points gave Serbia a 22-9 advantage in the eighth minute.

For the remainder of the game, Serbia never allowed Croatia to get back into contention. Strong defense limited the opposition to just 27 points over the first three quarters, while Serbia extended its lead with numerous easy baskets on the offensive end.

The score stood at 46-21 at halftime and 66-27 after three quarters.

In the final quarter, coach Vuković gave more playing time to players who had seen fewer minutes earlier in the tournament. Unfortunately, Jovana Todorović did not play due to the injury she sustained in the match against Romania.

The top performers for Serbia were Ana Gavrilov with 17 points and eight assists, Nađa Maksimović with 14 points and 16 rebounds, and Mina Paunović with 10 points and three rebounds.