MATOSINHOS, Portugal --- A newcomer to the Chattanooga women's basketball roster, rising junior Sarah Owona has a busy August ahead of her as the transfer is set to represent her home nation of Belgium over the next two weeks at the 2025 FIBA U20 EuroBasket Tournament.
Set to run August 2-10 across multiple venues in Matosinhos, Portugal, the 2025 FIBA U20 EuroBasket Tournament welcomes a total of 16 of Europe's premier national teams battling it out for the title of the continent's best.
"It's always a huge honor for any athlete to represent their country," head coach Deandra Schirmer said. "We're so proud of Sarah to get the opportunity to do that this summer. I think that specifically with Belgium women's basketball, they've established themselves as a powerhouse within international play and to be given a spot on a roster like theirs is a huge honor.
"We're excited to watch her play and cheer her on. UTC has had a lot of phenomenal players in the past and more specifically a lot of phenomenal international players, so whenever we can put UTC on an international stage as big as the European Championships are, I think it's a big opportunity to spread the brand of our program and how competitive we want to be moving forward."
Owona, who has been named to the Belgian National Team in previous years, joined the Mocs this past summer as a transfer from Florida Southwestern State where she was an all-conference player and helped lead the Bucs to a Citrus Conference regular season title alongside a NJCAA Sweet 16 appearance. Owona was one of 12 players ultimately named to Belgium's U20 squad for the tournament, including being one of only three Belgians currently on a collegiate basketball roster.
Belgium's EuroBasket path is set to get underway on Saturday, August 2 with Owona and company set to take on Lithuania in the opening game of the group phase. The following day, Saturday, August 3, Belgium will then take on Israel before rounding out the group stage on Monday, August 4 with a matchup against Spain.
Following the group phase of the competition, all 16 teams will then receive a Round of 16 opponent for Wednesday, August 6, from which point on the competition becomes a single elimination bracket up until the tournament's title game on Sunday, August 10. The tournament will also have a consolation bracket to determine the final ranking of all 16 teams in attendance.
Additional information surrounding the tournament, the tournament schedule, as well as streaming links to every game of the 2025 FIBA U20 EuroBasket Tournament can be found at the tournament's home page, located HERE.
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