PARIS (France) - Serbia have yet to lose at this stage and head into their Women’s Olympic Basketball Tournament Paris 2024 Quarter-Finals tie against Australia looking to make it a staggering three Semi-Finals in succession.
After reaching the last four and ultimately the podium on their debut at Rio 2016, they also progressed at Tokyo 2020.
Standing in their way now is an Australian team who have finally built up some steam with two wins in their last two games and they will come into this one full of confidence. Not least because the highly-fancied France were their last victims.
They are also one of two teams, with the USA, to have reached the Quarter-Finals in all editions of the Olympics since the introduction of that stage in 1996; they won the first five, but have lost the most recent two.
Both Serbia and Australia have posted wildly different performances, each falling to subpar defeats and both lighting it up. Which face will we see from the respective teams? Oh - and these two have both delivered a thriller previously - on more than one occasion!
Key matchup
Sami Whitcomb vs Yvonne Anderson
Both players have been performing well and showing why they are such well-respected veteran guards in the women's game. Whitcomb has been doing it in all areas across scoring, assists and rebounding. Her finding form in the last two games has collided with the Opals' upturn in their level and their performances.
If Serbia are to repeat their 2016 success from Rio, which was before Anderson arrived, then the guard must play well. During the rare times that the guard dips below her usual standards, Serbia struggle. She makes them tick and the team needs her defensively as well, putting as much of a squeeze as possible on Whitcomb.
X-factors
Will Serbia stay cool at the hoop and can they contest Australia in the paint?
If Serbia can convert more efficiently inside, then it will be transformational for them. It is the one part of their game that has been quite a bit below the required level. They have missed far too many shots around the bucket, only sinking 40 percent compared to a vastly superior 53.1 percent from their opponents.
If they can maintain their composure better, then it will be good news. While at the other end of the floor, do they have the required presence and rotation to deny Australia's plentiful options in the paint?
Stats don't lie
Of all the Quarter-Finals games, these two teams are probably the most closely matched in terms of stats. They measure up in the same ballpark for pretty much everything except a couple of things.
This includes turnovers - something that caused Australia to lose in shock fashion on day one against Nigeria when they spilled the ball an eye-watering 26 times. That has contributed to 21.0 per game compared to just 13.7 for Serbia.
Past matchups
It's two wins apiece for the teams, with the latest clash six months ago at the FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2024 in Brazil when Australia squeezed out a 75-73 victory.
They also met at the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup with Australia winning that one 69-54, but it is Serbia who won the most meaningful of all back at Rio 2016. They inflicted heartbreak on the Opals with a 73-71 Quarter-Finals triumph.
FIBA