U16 WOMEN DIVISION B

England closed in on a spot in the quarter-finals of the U16 European Championship for Women's B Division in Arad with a 55-51 victory over Portugal on Tuesday.

But they had to withstand a frenetic finish, and a 25-point barrage from Joana Soeiro, to join Portugal on a 3-1 record. But results elsewhere in Group E mean that only Estonia are out of the running to advance into the knock-out stages headed into what promises to be a thrilling final series of games on Wednesday.

Ukraine, led by 16 from Nataliya Skorbatyuk, used a strong fourth period to shake off Estonia 47-42. While Latvia won a thriller with Slovenia 63-62 with both teams joining the Ukrainians on a 2-2 mark.

In Group E, Lithuania, paced by 24 points from Justina Kraujunaite, remained unbeaten but were pushed by Denmark before snaring a 69-66 victory. It set up a decider on Wednesday for top spot with Germany who also retained their perfect record, Emma Stach scoring a game-high 19 in a 73-64 win over Romania.

Bulgaria saved themselves from certain elimination, routing Switzerland 74-45 behind 29 points and 11 rebounds from Borislava Hristova.

And they, Denmark and the hosts will now gun for two available places in the quarters on Wednesday.