Basketball · International
Belgium survive Italy comeback to reach Women's EuroBasket final
Antonia Delaere's corner three-pointer helped Belgium win 66–64 after Italy opened the fourth quarter with 17 unanswered points.
Event date:
Belgium reach another title game
Belgium defeated Italy 66–64 in the Women's EuroBasket semi-final on 27 June at the Peace and Friendship Stadium in Piraeus. The defending champions advanced after losing a 14-point lead during an Italian comeback. Antonia Delaere's corner three-pointer supplied the decisive late basket, and Costanza Verona missed Italy's final attempt from beyond the arc.
Emma Meesseman finished with 15 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and three blocks. Belgium's win extended their unbeaten sequence in the competition to 12 games and put them into a second consecutive final. Their opponent would again be Spain, repeating the pairing from the 2023 title match.
Italy's fourth-quarter surge
The official quarter totals show the scale of the reversal. Italy led 20–17 after the opening period, but Belgium moved ahead 40–33 at half-time and increased their advantage to 57–43 after three quarters. Italy then scored the first 17 points of the final period, taking the lead while Belgium went almost seven minutes without scoring.
Kyara Linskens ended that Belgian drought with an and-one play before the late deciding moments. Italy won the fourth quarter 21–9, but the earlier Belgian lead was just large enough to keep the outcome within reach. Delaere's successful three-pointer and Verona's missed response left Belgium two points ahead when the match ended.
The small margins in the scorecard
Belgium made 10 of 11 free throws, a conversion rate of 90.9 percent, while Italy's rate was 57.1 percent. Both teams shot 28.6 percent from three-point range. Belgium's overall field-goal accuracy was 41 percent against Italy's 38 percent, so the scorecard reveals modest differences across several areas rather than one dominant shooting advantage.
The game had 11 lead changes and was watched by 4,121 spectators. Belgium's biggest lead was 14 points and Italy's was five. Belgium spent 21 minutes and 18 seconds ahead, while Italy led for 12 minutes and 40 seconds. The figures are consistent with a match that changed direction repeatedly and remained available to either side through the closing possessions.
A contrasting quarter-final
Belgium's previous knockout match had been more comfortable: an 83–59 win against Germany in the quarter-finals. Meesseman scored 30 points, collected nine rebounds and supplied four assists and three steals. Belgium had led by only four at half-time before her nine quick points and two blocks helped create a double-digit advantage after the interval.
That victory had secured Belgium a fourth semi-final appearance in five editions. Against Italy, however, the holders had to solve the opposite problem, responding after an established lead disappeared. The narrow win preserved their title defence and created a final rematch with Spain. Italy's defeat sent them into the bronze-medal game, with their strong fourth quarter unable to overturn the final two-point difference. Germany's coach Lisa Thomaidis had acknowledged Belgium's experience and depth after the quarter-final, but Italy's fourth-quarter response created a markedly different challenge for the holders.
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