The 17th Mediterranean Women’s Handball Championship – the Jean Ferignac Trophy – brought another fantastic effort for the reigning champions in the Under-16 competition, as Spain powered through to seal back-to-back titles, in emphatic fashion, dropping only one of the nine matches they played.

The competition featured nine European sides – Spain, Montenegro, Croatia, Italy, Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Türkiye – that played in a round-robin format, with the top two places in the group battling for the title, while the third and fourth-placed teams headed to the bronze medal match.

Spain secured seven wins in the first eight matches in the group, with their only loss coming against Slovakia, 10:14, but had the best attack and the second best defence in the group matches, clinching a place in the final for the second edition in a row.

Montenegro dropped two matches, 19:22 against Spain and 20:24 against Croatia, but it was still enough for the second place, as they had more points (31.5) than Croatia (31), who won seven matches, but dropped more halves, according to the rules of the competition.

Subsequently, Spain went on and won all the three periods of the final against Montenegro (11:6; 12:7 and 7:6), to clinch a clear 30:19 win and seal the second consecutive gold medal at the Mediterranean Women’s Handball Championship (U-16), clearly outplaying Montenegro, who had both the top scorer of the competition, left back Anđelina Orbović and the MVP, Ivana Savić.

“We were able to bring out our best version . We played the best game of the tournament in the final, the most complete. We have added that character of Las Guerreras that is so sought after; and we played a very complete game, with hardly any ups or downs and without leaving them any room for a comeback. I am very proud of them: they deserved this success,” said Spain’s coach, Miguel Etxeberria.

Croatia secured the bronze medal, with a 22:18 win over Slovakia.

All-Star team

Goalkeeper: Elena-Alexandra Pitiu (Romania)
Right wing: Erika Elena Vladu (Spain)
Right back: Jelena Poljak (Croatia)
Centre back: Liliana Gogova (Slovakia)
Left back: Anđelina Orbović (Montenegro)
Left wing: June Aguinagalde Viguria (Spain)
Line player: Nika Batinić (Croatia)

MVP: Ivana Savić (Montenegro)
Top scorer: Anđelina Orbović (Montenegro)