WABA U17: Maribor Cruises to Victory, Studio Zagreb Pulls Off a Surprise

The race for the WABA U17 2025/26 crown heated up in Croatia over the weekend as Zagreb successfully hosted the Week 3 tournament. The action-packed round delivered both expected dominance and major upsets, shifting the youth regional standings. Fans will not have to wait long for more elite junior basketball, as the league immediately shifts its focus to next week, featuring highly anticipated simultaneous tournaments in Sofia, Bulgaria, and Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

2026-27 WABA U17 League – Week 3

Saturday, November 7

Group A

Zagreb (Ivan Arapovic)

Maribor-Futurosa #Forna 79-54 (17-12, 18-8, 25-18, 19-16)   FULL STATS

Maribor registered a convincing victory against Futurosa #Forna, powered by an outstanding individual performance from Anais Gobec and a decisive first-half surge.

The game started competitively, but Maribor quickly took control of the scoreboard. With the teams locked in the early minutes, Maribor went on an 8-0 run to turn a small deficit into a 12-7 lead. Although the Italian side briefly tied it at 12 apiece, Anais Gobec hit the first of her three triples to spark another major run. Maribor outscored their opponents to close the opening period with a comfortable 24-14 advantage.

Gobec was unstoppable all night and took over the game. She went on a personal scoring tear, hitting ten consecutive points to push the margin to 37-20. Maribor never looked back, capitalizing on their hot shooting from beyond the arc (13-32, 41%) compared to Futurosa’s struggling 17% from three. By midway through the third quarter, Gobec and her team extended the lead to a game-shattering 51-24, completely taking the wind out of Futurosa’s sails.

Anais Gobec paced Maribor with incredible efficiency, finishing the night with a near double-double of 27 points and 16 rebounds. Ema Kadric added 21 points, and Mila Miljus added 20.

A notable paradox for Futurosa #Forna was their scoring distribution. Futurosa’s bench outscored its starters, contributing 32 points while the five starters combined for just 22. Emma Rocco led the visitors with 10 points off the bench, matching starting guard Carlotta Amendola’s output.

Studio Zagreb-Triglav 73-59 (15-15, 25-17, 17-11, 16-16)   FULL STATS

Studio Zagreb secured a somewhat surprising win over Triglav, capitalizing on a dominant second-half start and a complete lack of offensive production from the Slovenian side’s bench.

Triglav struggled to find depth in their rotation, as their bench combined for just 2 points (all from Tara Kosec at the free-throw line) over the game.

The match began with a tight tug-of-war until the 7th minute, when Helena Hadzija sank a shot from beyond the arc to give Studio Zagreb their very first lead of the night. From there, the Croatian squad locked down defensively, allowing Triglav only two brief ties but never relinquishing the advantage. Studio Zagreb controlled the pace effectively, building a double-digit cushion at 38-28 just before the main halftime break.

Any hopes of a Triglav comeback were swiftly erased at the start of the second half. Studio Zagreb came out of the locker room firing, unleashing a devastating 9-0 run to push their lead to a commanding 49-32.

Helena Hadzija anchored Studio Zagreb’s victory with an exceptional all-around performance, netting 25 points and grabbing 6 rebounds. Studio Zagreb also dominated the interior, out-shooting Triglav from two-point range (46% to 32%) and winning the rebounding battle 43 to 38. Triglav relied almost exclusively on the scoring duo of Mila Ana Milic (27 points, 12 rebounds) and Maja Majkic (25 points), but their lack of secondary scoring support proved critical.