The 1956 European Women's Basketball Championship was the 5th regional championship held by FIBA Europe for women. The competition was held in Prague, Czechoslovakia and took place June 2–10, 1956. The Soviet Union won their fourth consecutive gold medal, with Czechoslovakia and Bulgaria repeating their performance of the previous tournament, winning silver and bronze respectively.
| 5th FIBA European Women's Basketball Championship | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Czechoslovakia |
| Dates | June 2–10 |
| Teams | 16 |
| Venue(s) | 1 (in 1 host city) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Soviet Union (4th title) |
| Official website | |
| Official website (archive) | |
Preliminary round edit
The teams were divided into four groups. The first two from each group would go to the Semi-Final Round. The remaining teams went to the Classification Round to determine the 9th–16th spots.
Group A edit
| Rank | Team | W | L | Pts | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Bulgaria
|
3 | 0 | 6 | +68 |
| 2 |  Poland
|
2 | 1 | 5 | +43 |
| 3 |  Yugoslavia
|
1 | 2 | 4 | +13 |
| 4 |  Finland
|
0 | 3 | 3 | −124 |
June 2, 1956
8:30 |
| Yugoslavia 66, Finland 25
| ||
| Scoring by half: 28–16, 38–9 | ||
| Pts: Zokovic (20) | Pts: Hakola (14) | |
June 2, 1956
20:30 |
| Poland 61, Bulgaria 62 ()
| ||
| Scoring by half: 35–43, 19–11 Overtime: 7–8 | ||
| Pts: Gruszczynska-Olesiewicz (22) | Pts: Vojnova (24) | |
June 3, 1956
11:30 |
| Bulgaria 90, Finland 36
| ||
| Scoring by half: 44–14, 46–22 | ||
| Pts: Pencheva (29) | Pts: Hakola (17) | |
June 3, 1956
20:30 |
| Yugoslavia 63, Poland 78
| ||
| Scoring by half: 32–40, 31–38 | ||
| Pts: Zokovic (29) | Pts: Kapalczynska-Roga (28) | |
June 4, 1956
10:00 |
| Finland 47, Poland 76
| ||
| Scoring by half: 20–29, 27–47 | ||
| Pts: Hakola (23) | Pts: Migula-Jakubowska (19) | |
June 4, 1956
19:00 |
| Bulgaria 71, Yugoslavia 58
| ||
| Scoring by half: 36–18, 35–40 | ||
| Pts: Vasileva-Chalaskanova (21) | Pts: Zokovic (16) | |
Group B edit
| Rank | Team | W | L | Pts | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Czechoslovakia
|
3 | 0 | 6 | +231 |
| 2 |  Italy
|
2 | 1 | 5 | +84 |
| 3 |  Denmark
|
1 | 2 | 4 | −168 |
| 4 |  Scotland
|
0 | 3 | 3 | −147 |
June 2, 1956
10:00 |
| Italy 91, Scotland 32
| ||
| Scoring by half: 48–16, 43–16 | ||
| Pts: Ronchetti (17) | Pts: Herman (12) | |
June 2, 1956
19:00 |
| Czechoslovakia 132, Denmark 9
| ||
| Scoring by half: 49–6, 83–3 | ||
| Pts: Hubalkova (27) | Pts: Levison (4) | |
June 3, 1956
10:00 |
| Denmark 40, Scotland 33
| ||
| Scoring by half: 11–15, 29–18 | ||
| Pts: Rode (22) | Pts: Herman (14) | |
June 3, 1956
19:00 |
| Czechoslovakia 69, Italy 42
| ||
| Scoring by half: 37–24, 32–18 | ||
| Pts: Hubalkova (17) | Pts: Donda (12) | |
June 4, 1956
15:00 |
| Scotland 32, Czechoslovakia 113
| ||
| Scoring by half: 9–69, 23–44 | ||
| Pts: Davis (6) | Pts: Tomaskova-Staudova (29) | |
June 4, 1956
22:00 |
| Italy 80, Denmark 28
| ||
| Scoring by half: 36–14, 44–14 | ||
| Pts: Tarabocchia (27) | Pts: Moller (11) | |
Group C edit
| Rank | Team | W | L | Pts | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Soviet Union
|
3 | 0 | 6 | +280 |
| 2 |  Austria
|
2 | 1 | 5 | −30 |
| 3 |  Netherlands
|
1 | 2 | 4 | −29 |
| 4 |  Switzerland
|
0 | 3 | 3 | −221 |
June 2, 1956
11:30 |
| Soviet Union 153, Switzerland 25
| ||
| Scoring by half: 74–11, 79–14 | ||
| Pts: Alekseeva (27) | Pts: Vicent (9) | |
June 2, 1956
22:00 |
| Austria 54, Netherlands 33
| ||
| Scoring by half: 29–15, 25–18 | ||
| Pts: Hantschel (17) | Pts: Koper-van Es (12) | |
June 3, 1956
16:30 |
| Switzerland 18, Netherlands 71
| ||
| Scoring by half: 11–45, 7–26 | ||
| Pts: Schroder (5) | Pts: Koper-van Es (14) | |
June 3, 1956
22:00 |
| Soviet Union 121, Austria 30
| ||
| Scoring by half: 58–16, 63–14 | ||
| Pts: Alekseeva (21) | Pts: Foltinek (10) | |
June 4, 1956
13:30 |
| Austria 69, Switzerland 29
| ||
| Scoring by half: 32–14, 37–15 | ||
| Pts: Foltinek (20) | Pts: Schenk (7) | |
June 4, 1956
16:30 |
| Netherlands 30, Soviet Union 91
| ||
| Scoring by half: 14–43, 16–48 | ||
| Pts: Buys-Bloemsma (14) | Pts: Mamentieva (21) | |
Group D edit
| Rank | Team | W | L | Pts | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Hungary
|
3 | 0 | 6 | +52 |
| 2 |  France
|
2 | 1 | 5 | +24 |
| 3 |  Romania
|
1 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| 4 |  Germany
|
0 | 3 | 3 | −76 |
June 2, 1956
14:00 |
| Romania 49, Germany 30
| ||
| Scoring by half: 17–12, 32–18 | ||
| Pts: Sebestien (10) | Pts: Lindowski (7) | |
June 2, 1956
15:30 |
| Hungary 51, France 42
| ||
| Scoring by half: 21–17, 30–25 | ||
| Pts: Szabo-Partine (12) | Pts: Colchen (14) | |
June 3, 1956
8:30 |
| Germany 39, Hungary 71
| ||
| Scoring by half: 17–34, 22–37 | ||
| Pts: Giesser (8) | Pts: Szabo-Partine (15) | |
June 3, 1956
15:00 |
| France 55, Romania 47
| ||
| Scoring by half: 29–21, 26–26 | ||
| Pts: Kloechner-Tavert (25) | Pts: Sebestien (15) | |
Classification round edit
The top two from each group advanced to the 9th–12th classification bracket. The 13th–16th spots were decided between the remaining teams in a separate bracket.
Group 1 edit
| Rank | Team | W | L | Pts | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yugoslavia
|
3 | 0 | 6 | +127 |
| 2 | Netherlands
|
2 | 1 | 5 | +60 |
| 3 | Germany
|
1 | 2 | 4 | −48 |
| 4 | Scotland
|
0 | 3 | 3 | −139 |
June 5, 1956
9:30 |
| Germany 53, Scotland 34
| ||
| Scoring by half: 28–14, 25–20 | ||
| Pts: Becht (11) | Pts: McQueen (9) | |
June 5, 1956
11:30 |
| Yugoslavia 56, Netherlands 51
| ||
| Scoring by half: 26–28, 30–23 | ||
| Pts: Zokovic (14) | Pts: van der Velde-Remeyer (13) | |
June 6, 1956
8:30 |
| Yugoslavia 89, Germany 40
| ||
| Scoring by half: 42–26, 47–14 | ||
| Pts: Kalusevic (18) | Pts: Giesser (13) | |
June 6, 1956
22:00 |
| Netherlands 71, Scotland 24
| ||
| Scoring by half: 26–10, 45–14 | ||
| Pts: Tit (19) | Pts: Connelly (7) | |
June 8, 1956
8:30 |
| Scotland 37, Yugoslavia 110
| ||
| Scoring by half: 14–48, 23–62 | ||
| Pts: Duncan (6) | Pts: Zokovic (23) | |
June 8, 1956
22:00 |
| Germany 53, Netherlands 71
| ||
| Scoring by half: 18–43, 35–28 | ||
| Pts: Giesser (21) | Pts: Wetter (18) | |
Group 2 edit
| Rank | Team | W | L | Pts | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Romania
|
3 | 0 | 6 | +168 |
| 2 | Finland
|
2 | 1 | 5 | −30 |
| 3 | Switzerland
|
1 | 2 | 4 | −71 |
| 4 | Denmark
|
0 | 3 | 3 | −67 |
June 5, 1956
10:00 |
| Finland 26, Romania 87
| ||
| Scoring by half: 15–45, 11–42 | ||
| Pts: Hakola (15) | Pts: Antonescu-Niculescu (19) | |
June 5, 1956
22:00 |
| Switzerland 58, Denmark 56 ()
| ||
| Scoring by half: 25–23, 24–26 Overtime: 9–7 | ||
| Pts: Gorin (13) | Pts: Rode (33) | |
June 6, 1956
10:00 |
| Finland 70, Switzerland 54
| ||
| Scoring by half: 29–22, 41–32 | ||
| Pts: Hakola (41) | Pts: Goetschmann (17) | |
June 6, 1956
11:30 |
| Romania 76, Denmark 26
| ||
| Scoring by half: 42–18, 34–8 | ||
| Pts: Antonescu-Niculescu (16) | Pts: Rode (13) | |
June 8, 1956
10:00 |
| Switzerland 34, Romania 91
| ||
| Scoring by half: 16–44, 18–47 | ||
| Pts: Gorin (8) | Pts: Antonescu-Niculescu (23) | |
June 8, 1956
11:30 |
| Denmark 27, Finland 42
| ||
| Scoring by half: 14–18, 13–24 | ||
| Pts: Rode (9) | Pts: Hakola (29) | |
9th–12th place edit
| Classification round | Ninth place | |||||
| June 9, 1956 – 11:30 | ||||||
| Romania | 61 | |||||
| June 10, 1956 – 10:00 | ||||||
| Netherlands | 49 | |||||
| Romania | 32 | |||||
| June 9, 1956 – 22:00 | ||||||
| Yugoslavia | 44 | |||||
| Yugoslavia | 61 | |||||
| Finland | 39 | |||||
| Eleventh place | ||||||
| June 10, 1956 – 10:30 | ||||||
| Netherlands | 49 | |||||
| Finland | 55 | |||||
13th–16th place edit
| Classification round | Thirteenth place | |||||
| June 9, 1956 – 8:30 | ||||||
| Switzerland | 63 | |||||
| June 10, 1956 – 8:30 | ||||||
| Scotland | 50 | |||||
| Denmark | 47 | |||||
| June 9, 1956 – 10:00 | ||||||
| Switzerland | 33 | |||||
| Denmark | 34 | |||||
| Germany | 30 | |||||
| Fifteenth place | ||||||
| June 10, 1956 – 9:00 | ||||||
| Scotland | 30 | |||||
| Germany | 49 | |||||
Semi-final round edit
The top two from each group advanced to the medal bracket. The 5th–8th spots were decided between the remaining teams in a separate bracket.
Group 1 edit
| Rank | Team | W | L | Pts | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Soviet Union
|
3 | 0 | 6 | +84 |
| 2 | Hungary
|
2 | 1 | 5 | +3 |
| 3 | Poland
|
1 | 2 | 4 | −10 |
| 4 | Italy
|
0 | 3 | 3 | −77 |
June 5, 1956
15:00 |
| Hungary 62, Italy 41
| ||
| Scoring by half: 26–17, 36–24 | ||
| Pts: Vekony-Matayne (14) | Pts: Bradamante (14) | |
June 5, 1956
20:30 |
| Soviet Union 87, Poland 74
| ||
| Scoring by half: 41–28, 46–46 | ||
| Pts: Alekseeva (24) | Pts: Gruszczynska-Olesiewicz (26) | |
June 6, 1956
16:30 |
| Soviet Union 77, Hungary 54
| ||
| Scoring by half: 37–15, 40–39 | ||
| Pts: Maksimova (16) | Pts: Nagy (20) | |
June 6, 1956
19:00 |
| Poland 50, Italy 42
| ||
| Scoring by half: 20–25, 30–17 | ||
| Pts: Gruszczynska-Olesiewicz (15) | Pts: Ronchetti (15) | |
June 8, 1956
16:30 |
| Hungary 46, Poland 41
| ||
| Scoring by half: 25–18, 21–23 | ||
| Pts: Fekete-Fischerne (13) | Pts: Gruszczynska-Olesiewicz (16) | |
June 8, 1956
20:30 |
| Italy 44, Soviet Union 92
| ||
| Scoring by half: 21–47, 23–45 | ||
| Pts: Mapelli (13) | Pts: Otsa-Vishneva (22) | |
Group 2 edit
| Rank | Team | W | L | Pts | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Czechoslovakia
|
3 | 0 | 6 | +160 |
| 2 | Bulgaria
|
2 | 1 | 5 | +48 |
| 3 | France
|
1 | 2 | 4 | −49 |
| 4 | Austria
|
0 | 3 | 3 | −159 |
June 5, 1956
16:30 |
| France 44, Bulgaria 86
| ||
| Scoring by half: 28–36, 16–50 | ||
| Pts: Kloechner-Tavert (14) | Pts: Vojnova (23) | |
June 5, 1956
19:00 |
| Czechoslovakia 145, Austria 36
| ||
| Scoring by half: 55–17, 90–19 | ||
| Pts: Stepanova (25) | Pts: Foltinek (12) | |
June 6, 1956
15:00 |
| Austria 50, Bulgaria 72
| ||
| Scoring by half: 25–35, 25–37 | ||
| Pts: Foltinek (19) | Pts: Damianova-Kuzova (14) | |
June 6, 1956
20:30 |
| Czechoslovakia 81, France 46
| ||
| Scoring by half: 32–25, 49–21 | ||
| Pts: Stepanova (30) | Pts: Colchen (9) | |
June 8, 1956
15:00 |
| France 62, Austria 34
| ||
| Scoring by half: 30–10, 32–24 | ||
| Pts: Kloechner-Tavert (26) | Pts: Haselbacher (13) | |
June 8, 1956
19:00 |
| Bulgaria 75, Czechoslovakia 91
| ||
| Scoring by half: 36–29, 39–62 | ||
| Pts: Gospodinova (15) | Pts: Mazlova-Adamirova (26) | |
5th–8th place edit
| Classification round | Fifth place | |||||
| June 9, 1956 – 14:00 | ||||||
| Austria | 44 | |||||
| June 10, 1956 – 14:00 | ||||||
| Poland | 92 | |||||
| Italy | 43 | |||||
| June 9, 1956 – 20:30 | ||||||
| Poland | 58 | |||||
| France | 50 | |||||
| Italy | 65 | |||||
| Seventh place | ||||||
| June 10, 1956 – 11:30 | ||||||
| Austria | 42 | |||||
| France | 69 | |||||
Medal bracket edit
| Classification round | Gold medal | |||||
| June 9, 1956 – 15:30 | ||||||
| Bulgaria | 55 | |||||
| June 10, 1956 – 19:00 | ||||||
| Soviet Union | 74 | |||||
| Soviet Union | 49 | |||||
| June 9, 1956 – 19:00 | ||||||
| Hungary | 41 | |||||
| Czechoslovakia | 49 | |||||
| Hungary | 50 | |||||
| Bronze medal | ||||||
| June 10, 1956 – 15:30 | ||||||
| Bulgaria | 60 | |||||
| Czechoslovakia | 91 | |||||
Final standings edit
| Qualified for the 1957 FIBA World Championship for Women |
| Rank | Team | Record |
|---|---|---|
|
Soviet Union
|
8–0 |
|
Hungary
|
6–2 |
|
Czechoslovakia
|
7–1 |
| 4 | Bulgaria
|
5–3 |
| 5 | Poland
|
5–3 |
| 6 | Italy
|
3–5 |
| 7 | France
|
4–4 |
| 8 | Austria
|
2–6 |
| 9 | Yugoslavia
|
6–2 |
| 10 | Romania
|
5–3 |
| 11 | Finland
|
3–5 |
| 12 | Netherlands
|
3–5 |
| 13 | Denmark
|
3–5 |
| 14 | Switzerland
|
2–6 |
| 15 | Germany
|
2–6 |
| 16 | Scotland
|
0–8 |