Women's Basketball | 8/1/2018 1:51:00 PM
Moon Township, Pa. – Esther Castedo, an incoming freshman on the Robert Morris University women's basketball team, has been selected to Spain's final roster for the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Under-18 Women's European Championship.
A native of Lugo, Spain, Castedo joins a 12-player team in Udine, Italy that is looking to medal for the fifth time in the last six years. She is the third Colonial to represent their country at a FIBA tournament this summer, joining rising sophomore Irekpitan Ozzy-Momodu and fellow incoming first-year Julia Chadwick. Ozzy-Momodu flourished with Great Britain at the FIBA U20 Women's European Championship earlier this month, while Chadwick begins play this evening with Canada at the FIBA U18 Women's Americas Championship.
"It's a great honor to see another student-athlete in our program make their national team," said RMU head coach Charlie Buscaglia. "Esther has worked very hard to earn this honor and she deserves this amazing experience. We will look forward to rooting her team on as they compete this month for a FIBA Euros championship."
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Castedo will arrive at Robert Morris with an assortment of accolades. She most recently helped lead Porta XI Ensino de Lugo, a junior category team in Liga Femenina 2, to promotion. Castedo also assisted Estudiantes de Lugo claim a trio of top-four finishes at the State of Galicia tournament, including a runner-up performance in 2015-16. Last season, she assisted in a championship State Cup run with the club's first division team. In the 2015-16 Spanish National Championship Tournament by States, Castedo ranked fourth in scoring over the invitational's first phase and was ninth in efficiency ratio as the team placed 16th at the event. Following the 2014-15 campaign, she was named the best Player in the city of Lugo.
Spain will play three games in Group C from August 4-6 against Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czech Republic, and Serbia. Group standings will determine matchups in the Round of 16 on August 8, with the quarterfinals to follow on August 9. After a rest day, the semifinals will commence on August 10, and the third-place game and final will be played on August 11.
Spain Group Stage Games (all times in EST):
Saturday, August 4 – Spain vs. Czech Republic – 10:30 AM
Sunday, August 5 – Serbia vs. Spain – 12:45 PM
Monday, August 6 – Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. Spain – 12:45 PM
Spain is currently ranked second worldwide in the FIBA World Ranking presented by Nike.
Castedo will don the number 6 for Spain. She has previously represented her country at the U15 and U16 levels.
Robert Morris concluded the 2017-18 campaign with its eighth postseason appearance since 2007 as it competed in the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT). The Colonials captured a share of their sixth Northeast Conference (NEC) regular-season championship and eclipsed the 20-win mark for the 11th time in program history, finishing with a school-record 25 victories.
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