Incoming freshman Lena Bilic from the University of California, Los Angeles, will join Croatia’s junior national team for the FIBA U18 Women’s EuroBasket, Division B tournament. The event is scheduled to take place in Vilnius, Lithuania, from July 4-13.
Bilic previously secured a bronze medal with Croatia at the 2022 FIBA U16 Women’s European Championship. Over her career with the Croatian junior national team, she has averaged 15.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game across 28 appearances. In the 2024 FIBA U18 Women’s EuroBasket, she averaged 16.1 points and 5.6 assists per game.
Croatia is placed in Group D alongside Bulgaria, Denmark, Great Britain, and Norway. A total of 21 nations are participating in the competition for the Division B title and a chance to be promoted to next year’s FIBA U18 Women’s EuroBasket. The teams are divided into three groups of five and one group of six.
The games will be broadcast live on the FIBA Basketball YouTube channel. The tournament begins with a Group Phase over four days followed by a rest day on July 10. Teams will advance to the quarterfinals based on their performance in their respective groups. The competition concludes with a final match on July 13, while Classification Games will determine rankings for all participating teams.
The top three teams will earn promotion to next summer’s FIBA U18 Women’s EuroBasket tournament.
Below is Croatia’s game schedule:
– Friday, July 4: Croatia vs. Great Britain at 5:30 a.m. PT
– Saturday, July 5: Norway vs. Croatia at 3 a.m. PT
– Sunday, July 6: Croatia vs. Bulgaria at 5:30 a.m. PT
– Tuesday, July 8: Denmark vs. Croatia at 12:30 a.m. PT
