MATOSINHOS, Portugal -- Old Dominion point guard Carolina Bernardeco has led the Portugal U20 women's basketball team to a 2-1 start at the 2016 FIBA European Championship, held in Bernardeco's home country.
Bernardeco and Portugal finished second in Group A, advancing to the knockout stage beginning tomorrow.
"This is my fifth year playing in FIBA and it's amazing," said Bernardeco. "I've learned a lot over the years and it's really important for me. I don't think I could live without it, because I grew up as a player in these championships. Playing for Coach Barefoot and the fast-paced game of college have also helped me in this tournament."
Bernardeco, who is entering her second year at ODU, has started all three group stage games for Portugal, who will face Serbia in the knockout stage tomorrow at 3:45 p.m. ET. Through the first three games, Bernardeco is averaging 10.3 points, 6.0 assists and 2.3 rebounds per game, and has dished out a total of 18 assists while committing just three turnovers.
In the group stage opener, Bernadeco scored 14 points and added a game-high seven assists in Portugal's 94-67 win over Bosnia & Herzegovina. Bernardeco then scored nine points and tallied four assists in a 64-60 upset over Spain, the No. 2 team in the FIBA World Rank.
Portugal fell to Poland, 77-74, in the final game of group play, as Bernardeco recorded eight points and seven assists.
"It's a hard competition because you play seven games in nine days, so you have to be mentally prepared for that, even if you start losing," continued Bernardeco. "I've been playing with some of my teammates since the beginning of this journey and it's crazy how we feel the passion. We started in Division B in U16, Division A in U18 and now Division A in U20. We love playing for our country."
For more information on the championship, visit FIBA.com. A live stream of tomorrow's Portugal-Serbia Round of 16 matchup will be available on FIBA's YouTube account.
Be sure to follow ODU Women’s Basketball at @ODUWBB on Twitter and ‘Like’ the ODU Lady Monarch Basketball Facebook page to stay up to date with the latest news and coverage.