Belgium's young Cats held off a second-half surge from Italy to secure a hard-fought 62-55 win at the U18 EuroBasket. The game pivoted decisively in the third quarter, where our side outscored their opponents 24-13 to build a commanding 15-point lead at 51-36. Italy clawed back late. A crisp 8-0 run in the opening quarter (from 3-5 to 11-5) set an aggressive tone early, and the Italians refused to go away down the stretch, outpointing Belgium 15-11 in the fourth. But our Cats' third-quarter dominance proved the difference in a back-and-forth contest marked by 12 lead changes and 9 ties. Jada Lynch led Belgium with 16 points on 6-of-17 shooting to go with 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Audrey Tchako Tchako was immaculate off the bench, shooting a perfect 5-of-5 from the field for 13 points. Laura Vilcinskas added 9 points and 7 rebounds in a balanced offensive effort. Italy's Francesca Baldassarre led her team with 12 points and 5 rebounds despite struggling from the floor at 5-of-20, while Divine Obaseki contributed 10 points and 8 boards.