EuroBasket Women Group C preview

NEWCASTLE (Paul Nilsen’s Women’s Basketball Worldwide) – There is so much to love about Group C and not just because my own home nation Great Britain have been thrown into it.

It has thrown up some real curiosities - starting with the lowest rank seeds in the Group! The Brits achieved three wins at EuroBasket Women 2013 and incredibly all three of those teams have been handed to them as opponents again!

Having qualified without their best player in Johannah Leedham and also the experienced and influential Olympian Chantelle Handy, both should be back and that makes them a very capable unit, with Temitope Fagbenle, Azania Stewart and Rachael Vanderwal all showcasing their skills to good effect of late.

Great Britain will make sure it isn’t pretty as always and won’t be interested in anything other than slugging it out, not least because they just don’t have the firepower of a team like Group C top seeds Serbia.

Marina Maljkovic and her team will be the favourites after making the last four at Final Round last year and with FIBA World Championship experience now on their resume. With so many headline stars such as Jelena Milovanovic, Ana Dabovic and Milica Dabovic, what really impresses is that Serbia have all three dimensions to their roster.

In addition to their kingpins, they have such a wonderful all-round supporting cast with Nevena Jovanovic, Dajana Butulija, Tijana Ajdukovic and Tamara Radocaj for example. Then, they have so many brilliant young players emerging and this could be the tournament when both Dragana Stankovic and Aleksandra Crvendakic get to grace a senior tournament after outstanding youth careers.

It would be no surprise if Serbia made another podium push – because while Ana Jokovic, the Vice-President of the Federation and Maljkovic may make noises which try to dampen expectation, I am struggling to name three better equipped teams than Serbia, in terms of talent.

Having said that, Croatia are a side that could give a sting in the tail to their neighbours in a derby game which matters about as much as any other grudge game in sport.  It will be interesting to see what team they field, but Marija Rezan has been wonderful in EuroLeague Women this season with CB Avenida so will be a central figure – as will Iva Sliskovic, who has been rock solid with Schio.

With the ever reliable Ana Lelas and Jelena Ivezic providing leadership along with the size and presence of Luca Ivankovic under the hoop, it’s only the backcourt which could prove their weakness.  Antonija Misura is always one of the first players to be snapped by the camera lens and has stepped up at the senior level having previously spent most of the time on the bench in previous years, but the roster looks a little lightweight in terms of high performing guards.

Latvia center Aija Putnina has been having a really good season with Pinkk Pesci 424 in EuroCup Women and she will get to go up against her club team-mate Stewart of Great Britain. She also made the point that Latvia have been handed three teams from London 2012.

After failing to perform last year in France, Latvia could be much improved this time around with Anete Steinberga playing some great basketball too in Belgium and EuroCup Women with Castors Braine. Elina Babkina is always a threat as a combo guard and watch out for 1996 born Kate Kreslina who was a factor during qualification.

Finally, it’s Russia. A proud nation who suffered the embarrassment of being dumped out after the first phase when defending their title last year. It was a shambles and disaster for them and the real pain was missing out on the FIBA World Championship for Women for the first time in memory.

They went back to basics after what happened in France and have started the rebuilding process impressively, bringing in new young players and getting back to a more traditional style and concept under Russian coach Anatoliy Myshkin. The one benefit of such a dismal Final Round last time is the subsequent wake-up call it gave Russia. It handed them a real impetus to bring through some outstanding young players. 

While 2015 might be too soon even with the likes of Evegenia Belyakova, Natalia Vieru, Natalia Zhedik and Co to get back to the Olympics or make the last four, the talent at youth level suggests Russia will soon be a force again. They won U16 and U18 European Championship for Women this year and in the frontcourt alone, there are four or five seriously top level players emerging.

This could certainly be the one group to watch most closely if you are going to follow the tournament!

Paul Nilsen

FIBA

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