Russia are the champions (74- 68) - Oct. 7, 2007
Maria
Stepanova opened the scoring from the charity stripes with barely 20 seconds
on the game clock.
Amaya
Valdemoro hit a trey to open her account after a 2-minute-barren spell.
Olga
Arteshina caused Spain all kinds of trouble early on in the first quarter as
her side dominated proceedings (15-5). 3-pointers from
Ana
Montanana and
Elisa
Aguilar kept Spain in touch. Russia were not letting anything go and when
Ekaterina Demagina wrestled with a host of Spanish players on the floor before
somehow feeding the ball out to Svetlana Abrosimova to score (23-13). In the
second period there were no easy shots for anybody as space was difficult to
find.
Ilona Korstine used all her experience to draw
Cindy
Lima into fouling her so that she could get to the foul line.
Cindy
Lima picked up her second foul after the official called her block as a
shooting foul. Nothing was going right for Spain at this point in time and
Arteshina was left open and hit a trey to extend her side's lead (31-15). A
Spanish time-out was called and shortly after
Amaya
Valdemoro and
Elisa
Aguilar returned to action.
Elisa
Aguilar used her pace to go on a break but her legs were too fast for her
hands and she lost the ball and Russia scored on the counter attack.
Amaya
Valdemoro then hit a 3-pointer for Spain. But this achievement did not
improve Spain's situation when Lima took a knock from Stepanova that winded her.
She left the game as a time-out was called (33-18). The match was rather rough
with elbows flying about but in between Russia played excellent fluent
basketball and went into the interval with a 20-point advantage (44-20).
A more positive Spanish team came out after the break with an opening 8:3
run, the Russian score came from a trey by Korstin (47-32).
Igor
Grudin called a time-out because his players were having difficulties with
the new Spanish defence.
Laia
Palau was becoming more and more influential as she gave the impression of
gliding at her opponents as she knocked down a 3-pointer as her team fought
back.(49-37).
Elisa
Aguilar was fouled by Arteshina at mid-court in an action that appeared
worse than it was. The game calmed down for a while but once again Spain brought
it back to life.
Amaya
Valdemoro's first trey failed, Lima picked up the rebound and the ball was
recycled and then
Amaya
Valdemoro fired the ball in from the same spot where she had failed before.
Afterwards Irina Osipova hit a jumper for Russia. 8 seconds still remained and
Monatanana made it down the court fast enough to complete a fast break and draw
the foul. She missed the free-throw but won the offensive board and managed to
get the ball to Palau who was then fouled. Palau made her free-throws and the
Spanish deficit was reduced to 6 points (53-47).
In the fourth quarter Palau got the Spanish going as she hit another basket
but it was Marta Zorro's difficult jump shot that got the fans excited (53-49).
When the going got tough Russia could rely on Korstin to bail them out, and she
did so with back to back scores (59-49). Explosive action by both sides set up a
nail-biting finish with Russia leading (65-58) in money time. Lima, who was
having a great battle with Stepanova, was called for a foul. Stepanova missed
both free-throws but Korstin was fouled in the melly and this time there were no
mistakes. Spain quickly got the ball in their own end and Lima was fouled and
was ice cold from the charity strip. Then after
Amaya
Valdemoro hit a jumper followed immediately with a shot from down under
after Lima recovered an offensive rebound to make it a 4-point game (69-65) with
51 seconds left on the clock. Amaya
Valdemoro once again drove into the lane and fired off a difficult
jump-shot. Yet just as it appeared that the ball would drop, it lipped out.
Osipova picked up the rebound and got the ball to Abrosimova who in turn
delivered a pass to Tatiana Shchegoleva. She finished it up with a lay-up
(71-65). The remaining seconds were played out on the free-throw line with the
Russians holding their nerves to win (74-68).
Belarus take Bronze - Oct. 7, 2007
No time for
pleasantries in this match with both sides putting points on the board in the
first minute. Latvia without
Gunta
Basko and with
Ieva
Tare and
Anete
Jekabsone-Zogota heavily strapped changed their offensive tactics from
previous games which resulted in them hitting three treys (13-8).
Anatoliy
Buyalskiy noticed this variation and immediately called for a time-out. It
appeared that his tactic was to use the pace of
Natalia
Marchanka . The result was two back to back baskets and assists for
Marchanka as Belarus went on an 8:0 run to go in front (16-13). This time a
time-out by
Ainars Zvirgzdins resulted in Latvia regaining control as they finished the
period with the last 4 points to lead by a single point (17-16).
An 8:0 run at the start of the second period for Belarus (still without a trey)
was put to hold by
Liene
Jansone as she muscled her way into the paint and managed to draw a foul
while completing the score. She was back again a few seconds later at the end of
a fast break to bring her side to within 2 points (24-22). A Belarus time-out
was called and on resumption Marchanka hit her team's first three-pointer of the
evening. Belarus hit a second trey and put together an 8:2 run to finish with a
reasonable lead (32-24) at the interval. Jensone scored all the points for her
side in this period.
Jansone was kept under check during the 3rd quarter and Latvia's only points
came from Jekabsone-Zogata as Belarus continued in increasing their advantage
(43-26) midway through the period. Latvia's injury problems became a real
handicap and they struggled until Ieva Tare came on and injected some fire into
their attack which enabled them to reduce their deficit (55-37).
Latvia continued to work on bringing the score down all during the last period
and the game reached its climax on the back of a 4-point play by Ieva Kublina
(61-57). Belarus weathered the storm when TatyanaTroina hit a trey the victory
for Belarus was more or less secured (66-59). The end was less dramatic as
Belarus held on to win Bronze. (72-63).
Czech Republic Crush Lithuania (93-54) - Oct. 7, 2007
Right from the start
Hana
Machova set her mark on the game with three treys, a fast-break lay-up and
an assist in the opening phase of the game with the Czech Republic racing
out to an early lead (17-6). Milda Sujanova put an end to the 11:0 run with
a jump-shot in the paint. Lithuania went through a nice phase but were not
able to claw back much and trailed (28-12) at the end of the first quarter
after Machova passed out to Eva Viteckova who hit a 3-pointer. There was no break for Lithuania in the second period as they
managed to score only 6 points while completely being dominated in all sectors
of the game. A 9:0 run at the end of the period allowed the Czech Republic to
pass the 30-point-advantage mark (49-18).
Jan Bobrovsky was not happy that
Lithuania was beginning to find a rhythm after his side conceded 8 straight
points and called a time-out (57-32). With order restored Lithuania finished the
period with a second 30-point lead (66-36).
The final period was just a formality and both coaches offered
us the possibility of viewing their bench players.
Katerina Elhotova used this opportunity as she scored 10 points in less than
3 minutes. With this victory (91-54) the Czech Republic have taken the last
European ticket for the Olympic pre-qualifying tournament.
Belgium finish on a high with a victory against France for 7th Place - Oct. 7, 2007
Midway through the first period the game was evenly balanced (11-11).
Ann
Wauters (194-C-80) scored 9 of the first 14 points for Belgium and was given
a round of applause by all the spectators when she was taken off for a breather.
After several lead changes, France won the first period (19-18) off a jump-shot
from
Celine Dumerc.
There was a lot of running to start the second period but not
much luck for either side in the scoring department, although Belgium had gone
ahead (22-21). Wauters made her return just under 5
minutes break and immediately dished out an assist.
Edwige
Lawson-Wade hit her second trey of the afternoon to tie the game (24-24) for
the ninth time.
Marjorie Carpreaux came off the bench and also hit a trey, followed up with
a fast-break assist to Wauters giving Belgium the largest lead of the contest
(31-24). Jacques Commeres called for a time-out in order to break the rhythm of
their opponents. As nothing appeared to get better for France, Commeres used a
second time-out. With only 1 point scored in almost three minutes of play it was
the turn of Laurent Buffard to use a time-out. France did break the dead lock in
the last minute with 4-of-4 from the charity stripes on visits from Emmeline
Ndongue and Lawson-Wade.
Belgium switched to a zone which kept France at bay for the
first half of the third quarter, while they scored 9 unanswered baskets (41-28).
Isabelle
Yacoubou scored the first field goal in over 10 minutes of play, she
followed up with a second score right under the basket. Krissy Bade, off the
bench, hit a shot from just within the arc to complete a 6:0 run. The pace of
the game picked up and Wauters continued to cause problems for France as she
added more points to her tally or by creating space for her team-mates such as
Sara Leemans to profit as Belgium hung on to their lead (45-36). 8 points from
Sandrine
Gruda including a period-ending-buzzer-beater drew the sides level (47-47)
going to the final period.
Dumerc scored for France but Belgium hit back almost
immediately with a trey from
Anke De
Mondt. Wauters showed another piece of class as she saved a ball from going
out with a behind-the-head pass to Ilse Van den Vonder. Belgium more adventurous
play enabled them to hold the lead (58-53). France's only working combination
Lawson-Wade - Gruda kept France in the game but as money-time approached a Kathy
Wambe-trey put Belgium in the driving seat (66-57). Gruda and Lawson-Wade
combination was the only offensive option that worked for France but it was
enough to combat Belgium who went on win (72-63).
Spain join Russia in the final after overcoming Belarus (70-54) - Oct. 6, 2007
Sviatlana Volnaya scored the first points of the
game from down-town but it was the early defensive duties accomplished by
Anastasiya Veremeenko on Amaya Valdemoro, including a block, tfor Belarus to go
into an early lead (7-0). Spain's first-point only arrived after a team
time-out: Ana Montanana was on hand to open their account after nearly five
minutes of play. Valdemoro then lost her marker to score on the very next attack
and from that moment Spain was back in the game. A 7:0 run that included a trey
from Montanana and a jump shot from Valdemoro took them into the lead (11-9).
But Natalia Marchanka put Belarus back in front briefly with a shot from the
land of many but it was Spain that dominated affairs. When both sides abandoned
the inside game, it became a 3-point shoot -out with Tatyana Troina hitting the
last on the buzzer as Belarus trailed (18-15).
Tatyana Troina started the second period with a similar shot to the one that
finished the previous quarter but this time just within the 3-point line. Cindy
Lima was keeping Belarus out of the paint with some tough physical defence,
leaving Belarus no option but to shoot from outside. This they accomplished time
and time again but Spain also have players that can shoot from the distance so
they more or less neutralised each other out and Spain maintained a reasonable
lead (28-22). Anatoli Buyalski appeared to see what was happening and called a
time-out. His side reverted back to the plays of the first round of games with a
couple of big baskets (2 + 3) to make it a 1-point game. Valdemoro can also hit
big shots and obliged with a trey but the joy was short lived as Spain left
Troina open in the corner who hit her second 3-pointer and her teams sixth of
the game. Spain went in the interval leading (33-30) due to Lucila Pascua
managing to score a rear inside basket.
Pascua was back to open the scoring for Spain but it was an excellent
3-pointer from Elisa Aguilar that got the crowd on their feet.
Ana
Montanana's perseverance in the box won her a trip to the line. She hit the
free-throws and Spain were up by 10 points (40-30). Veremeenko showed her class
as she managed to spin and put in a reverse lay-up right under the basket while
drawing the foul. Aguilera was left open again for Spain and restored the
10-point advantage with her third from beyond the arc. Spain increased their
advantage to 15 points thanks to two pieces of magic by Valdemoro (50-35).
Katsiaryna Snytsina was not having a great game but if you leave her open, she
will score, and scoring she did. This inspired Yelana Leuchanka who threw her
weight around and scored her team's next 5 points. Troina once again scored the
last points of the period to reduce their deficit to 7 points at the end of the
quarter.
Belarus scored after seven seconds in the final period and then that was it
for another five minutes as Spain went on a 12:0 run before Veremeenko ended the
drought (64-49). Once again experience was the difference as Spain negotiated
the final few minutes without allowing Belarus any chance of destabilising them
and hence qualify for the final (70-54).
Russia overpower Latvia to qualify for r EuroBasket 2007 final (67-36) - Oct. 6, 2007
Latvia started the match aggressively and after a
5:0 run led (10:4). Natalia Vodopyanova ended the sequence with one of her
trademark jump-shots. Still Latvia continued to shoot well from the floor. And
then after a baseline trey from Anete Jekabsone-Zogota (15-7) Russia became more
physical in their approach and clawed back all but one of their deficit by the
end of the first period (17-16). Gunta Basko had to leave the field for some
treatment after colliding with Svetlana Abrosimova and her absence was felt
during the Russian late run.
Basko, back at the start of the second period, strengthened the Latvian's
defence as they hustled the ball away from the tall Russian forwards time and
time again. Finally Maria Stepanova managed to find room to score a basket for
her side. The Russian lead did not last long because Jekabsone-Zogota hit back
on the back of a fast break and then Basko came up big in the inside to lay up
for them to go back in front (21-18).
Natalia Vodopyanova hit a jump-shot just inside the arc to give her side the
lead (22-21) and not to loose it again. From this point onwards Latvia found it
more and more difficult to crack the Russian zone and conceded 5 more points by
the interval as Russia finished the first half on a 9:0 run (27-21).
In the third period solid defence by both sides made scoring difficult but
Russia found a solution in
Olga
Arteshina who hit two treys and an inside jumper (37-26). Russia increased
their advantage and opened the first significant lead in the game. Without
Jekabsone-Zogota scoring Latvia's offence went lame. In contrast the Russian's
well balanced offensive options allowed them to finish the third quarter with a
10:3 run to take a massive 18-point-advantage (47-29) into the final period.
Latvia have a team concept which is admirable but today with both Basko and
Jekabsone-Zogota carrying knocks (picked up during the first half of this match)
the team did not have the fire power or craft to deal with the focused Russian
players in the last period. The final result is a little hard on Latvia but you
have to admire the discipline and concentration of the whole Russian team as
they finished with a flourish to win (67-36).
Boxscore
Czech Republic end the Olympic dream for Belgium (75-50) - Oct. 6, 2007
A first-quarter blitz by the Czech Republic was more
than enough for them to take control of the game. Belgium, despite a spirited 2nd
and 3rd period, lacked the experience necessary to disable their
opponents and will now meet France for 7th place. The Czech Republic
will meet Latvia in the match for the last ticket for the Olympic qualifier
competition next year.
Jan Bobrovsky's girls were not in a charitable mood in the first period as
they kept Belgium off the scoreboard for the first 2 ½ minutes as they opened
(6:2) and went to punish them further for another six minutes scoring 11
unanswered points. Belgium managed to find the basket to bring some
respectability to the score line (20-7) at the end of this quarter.
In the second period Belgium, more aggressive, started to play with
authority. Marjorie Carpreaux was given a short run at the beginning of the
quarter and although not able to make any points herself gave her coach some
ideas how his players should play the game. Neither side was able to dominate
the other for any period of time and the Czech Republic only managed to increase
their advantage by 2 points at the break (39-24).
The 3rd period was more of the same between both sides with the
highlight of a back-board trey by
Michaela
Uhrova (46-33). She also hit the end-of-period-buzzer-beater trey after
scrambling the ball off the floor for her side to go into the final period with
a comfortable advantage (58-37).
Laurent Buffard decided to allow his bench players to run the floor in the
final period. Their experienced opponents maintained their advantage (64-45). If
anybody had told Carpreaux that the game was over she forgot it as she chased
down
Michaela Uhrova and blocked her as she went for a lay-up.
Michaela
Uhrova went down and her coach decided that was enough for her for the day.
Bench players from both teams finished the game.
Boxscore
No Olympic Games for France as Lithuania come back from the dead to win (67-65) at the wire - Oct. 6, 2007
France lost a 14-point lead in the last 13
minutes of the match and to make matters worse they only managed only 2-of-8
from the foul line in the final period. Last but not least France allowed
Egle
Sulciute two scores from the land of many in the last 60 seconds to hand the
victory to Lithuania.
At the beginning of the encounter
Edwige Lawson-Wade picked up an offensive rebound and went coast to coast to
finish with a jump shot to open the scoring. The fight in the center by the big
players resulted in Sandra Dijon picking up two fouls after only 2:40 of play.
Emmeline Ndongue came on for her and was soon in action as she completed a
lay-up of a Lawson-Wade assist in a 6:0 sequence that appeared to put France in
command (12-5). Lithuania scored again from the free-throw line before finally
hitting a field goal (7:30 into the game) by Iveta Marcauskaite. France's
malediction from beyond the arc continued and allowed Lithuania the opportunity
to come back by the end of the opening quarter and trail only by a single point
(14-13).
An 11: 0 spread over two periods put Lithuania in the driving
seat (20-14): Agne Ciudariene put Lithuania in front after a nice turn-around
jump shot followed by a Lina Brazdeikyte lay-up and completed by a trey from
Iveta Marcauskaite. France, unable to pick off second- chance rebounds finally
stopped the leakage with a Sandra Le Drean jump shot. Then she was again on hand
to complete an 8:0 run with a steal to restore the lead (22-20). Emmeline
Ndongue, just like Sandra Dijon before her, picked up a second personal foul,
giving the chance for Isabelle Yacoubou to come into the game.Youthful
exuberance or not, she made an immediate impact inspirering Sandrine Gruda who
performed some of her best defensive actions as both sides went end to end. The
pace of the game accelerated which suited Lawson-Wade - as she inspired her
team-mates with some slick runs and passes - to conclude the period with a
3-point-buzzer shot (33-27) as part of a 7:0 run by France.
Yacoubou, decisive on the defensive boards, fed
the ball out to Lawson-Wade who in turn delivered a nice pass for Gruda to
finish up and conclude the 9:0 sequence. Lithuania, always dangerous in open
play, did not drop their heads but had problems containing Yacoubou while France
reached the magical 10-point lead (44-34). Some sloppy play from France resulted
in two turnovers and Lithuania was back in the game. Clemence Beikes hit a trey
from a pass from Lawson-Wade to maintain France's advantage. Later on Sandra Le
Drean finished off another French fast-break move orchestrated by Celine Dumerc
(51-40). France extended their advantage to a maximum 14 points. As so often
France went off the rails and Lithuania hit 9 consecutive points to cut their
deficit to 5 points. Just at the end of the third period France went into the
last period with a 7-point lead due to a mix-up in the Lithuanian defence that
allowed Sandra Dijon to pick the ball out of the hands of
Egle
Sulciute right under the basket and score.
The final quarter belonged to the team of
Algirdas Paulauskas as his team did not give up whereas France's poor shooting
from the charity stripe during the stanza was to prove costly as the match came
to its conclusion with
Egle
Sulciute playing a big part. She was allowed room in the French paint to
make it a 2-point game in favour of France (60-58). Gintare Petronyte took a
risk of tugging Gruda's shirt in the paint. Although Gruda made the shot, the
official had already blown for an unsportsmanlike foul and disallowed the
basket. Gruda only made one the free-throws.
The final act was a match-up between Lawson-Wade
who hit back to back 2-point jumpers while
Egle
Sulciute hit back to back treys. And with her second one she gave Lithuania
the lead (66-65) with 12.67 seconds remaining. France had the chance to win the
match but messed up their last attack and with that the game was gone. Sandra
Valuzytze hit one of her free-throws leaving France 1.96 seconds left to find a
solution.
What was more remarkable in Lithuania's last
minute hold-up was that both Rima Valentiene and Marcauskaite had already fouled
out.
Boxscore
Spain beat Belgium 72-53 - Oct. 5, 2007
Spain had a cracking start with 3-pointers for
Amaya
Valdemoro and
Elisa
Aguilar and 2-of-3 from the charity stripes for
Amaya
Valdemoro in a 9:0 run.
Kathy
Wambe was not having luck herself but
Nele
Deyaert was on hand to pick up second-chance points as Belgium came quickly
back and put together also a 9:0 run to go in front (15:14). The game, already
played at a fast pace, went up a notch with
Ann
Wauters yet having all the time to strike a try from the top of the arc and
then
Kathy Wambe hit a jumper from the base line just inside the arc as Belgium
overtook Spain (20-16). Then
Amaya
Valdemoro scored her ninth point, which turned out to be the last score of
the period (20-18).
The intensity of the match picked up during the second period and turnovers
were normally punished by baskets.
Ann
Wauters lost the ball in her own area and seconds later
Ana
Montanana leveled the score (20-20). Isabel Sanchez hit a typical 3-point
and it appeared that Spain was about to run riot. This was not the case as
Belgium dug deep and when
Laurence
Van Malderen hit a trey from a pass from
Kathy
Wambe in a 6:0 run that put them back in front (29-25).
Evaristo
Perez called for a time-out and when things did not work on the next play,
he brought back
Amaya
Valdemoro and
Laia
Palau (178-G/F-79). These two player injected some pace in the attack and
Spain was back in front after a 3-pointer by Aquilar and a jump shot by
Montanana. Wauters very active put her side back in the lead but this was short
lived because Palau made a pair of free throws for Spain to go into the break
leading (32-31).
Wauters and
Amaya
Valdemoro continued to lead by example at the start of the third period,
Wauters tied the game (32-32) for the last time in the match before
Amaya
Valdemoro hit a trey for Spain. Palaiu became more decisive extended her
teams advantage. A flourish of points from both sides kept the crowd on their
feet. Spain still continued to lead (43-38) and
Laurent
Buffard called a time-out as if he sensed something in the air. On
resumption
Kathy
Wambe hit a Jump shot to make it a 3-point game. This was to be as close as
the game got despite the excellent defence work of Wauters including a double
block on
Cindy Lima (192-C-81). Spain went on a 9:0 run concluded by a bomb from
beyond the arc (52-40). Belgium battled honourable to keep the score to 10 by
the end of the third (54-44).
Belgium gifts from turnovers and fast breaks never allowed them to really get
back into the match and with key players having a certain number of fouls, they
could not match their opponents and by the time Isabel Sanchez was allowed to
play with the ball and the Belgium defence before waltzing in to finish an
uncontested lay-up (61-46) the game as a contest was over.
Laurent
Buffard took out his key players allowing the bench players to experience a
quarterfinal of a major competition.
Spain went on to win the match (72-53) Amaya
Valdemoro finished with a game high 19 points with Montanana, not far behind
on 17 points. Wauters finished also with 19 points plus 10 rebounds and
Nele
Deyaert contributed 10 points.
You can find audio comments
here in French and English
Russia knock out Lithuania (75-58) - Oct. 5, 2007
You can not expect to concede 52 rebounds especially
21 on the offensive boards and expect to win the game, this number of rebounds
is not acceptable, we are supposed to defend better and box out was the remark
of Algirdas Paulauskas while Marcauskaite added that we wanted to stop the
offensive threat of Stepanova but when you look at the sheet five other players
hit double digits. Lithuania had an excellent start to the game in which they
hit successive shots in the opening spell, a percentage that dropped by the end
of the game.
Lina Brazdeikyte's three-ball just under a minute of the tip-off was the type
of score needed to get this match started. With that little advantage her side
played with more confidence than Russia in the opening minutes. Both teams
traded basket for basket until Iveta Marcauskaite hit a trey just on the stroke
of five minutes (18-12). Lina Brazdeikyte hit her second 3 of the game to extend
their advantage to 9 points. Tatiana Shchegoleva made her entry into the match
and although not successful in scoring muscled her away round the box and was
the catalyst in her side's revival and by the end of the period Lithuania's
advantage was only 4 points (31-28).
Now warmed up Tatiana Shchegoleva scored her first points of the match, but a
fired-up Lina Brazdeikyte replied in kind for her side. The pace of game was
rather slow which initially suited the Russians as Tatiana Shchegoleva brought
them back to within 1 point (29-28) of the lead. The game played by both sides
was technically fine but for the neutral spectators it went through a boring
phase, as both teams cancelled each other out. After a passive period the match
started to come to life with once again Lina Brazdeikyte as the catalyst doing
all the work before handing the ball over to Agne Ciudariene who finished the
job. Ilone Ilona Korstine (183-G-80), quiet till now, became more active and
ejected more pace into the game and eventually Russia managed to tie the game
through Shchegleva (35-35). Lithuania went in the break with a 2-point lead
after Sandra Valuzyte hit a pair of free-throws.
Russia looked different at the start the 3rd quarter and used the pace of
Ilona Korstine to brilliant effect as they hit Lithuania (8:2) to take the lead
for the first time. Aigirdas Paulaukas (Lithuanian head coach) immediately
called for a time-out. After the technical discussion, Rima Valentiene
(170-G-78) became the got-to-lady and she responded immediately with her first
trey of the match. This action sparked the Russians and the match was launched:
Olga Arteshina hit a couple of shots from down-town as she took on Rima
Valentiene in this department. Lithuania led (50-49) after the shoot-out but
then suffered a 10:0 hammering to lose their hold on the game as Russia went
into the final period leading (59-52).
Russia continued their dominance and put 10 points between themselves and
Lithuania (62-52). Sandra Valuzyte broke the final quarter for her side with a
3-point play (2+1) but things did not get any better for them because it was now
the turn of Maria Stepanova to step up as Russia maintained a tight hold on the
game and extended their advantage by another 5 points (73-56).
With the match in their pocket Russia played out the remaining time and
booked their place in the semi-final with a (75-58) win.
Olga Arteshina finished the game with 17 points in a nicely balanced Russia
offensive attack with 5 other players in double digits. Lithuania had only two
players in double digits.
Igor Grudin is not a man of many words and was just glad to have won this
game because quart finals are special matches, if you lose you play for 5-8th
and if you win you are in the top for fighting for the medals. It maybe because
of this factor that the team did not play well at the beginning of the match but
the second half was another story as we started to score and dominate the boards
so all that is left is to congratulate the team on the victory. Ilona Korstin
mentioned that the results of the first night quarterfinal shocked them and put
them a little under pressure so of cause they are happy that they won the game.
Latvia are the first team to qualify for the semi-final after beating France (66-62) - Oct. 4, 2007
When you get the chance to speak to the players from Latvia, they
tend to speak about team dynamics and the role of each player in the team, when
you try to probe them about individuals or about themselves you draw a blank
wall. In this match on two occasions key members of squad had to leave the court
for treatment the other players continued with the attitude of business as
usual. When France cracked the Latvian zone at the start of the game, they
simply changed the system and continued as if nothing happened . It was not that
France played badly today , they just played against a slightly better oiled
machine.
In 2005 Latvia missed out on chance to go to the World Championship after
losing out to France for fifth place, today France now have to fight once again
for fifth place in order to qualify for the 2008 Olympic qualifier tournament.
Latvia are already qualified for that but now they have other objectives.
Latvia adopted a zone defence from the start but it was France through
Edwige
Lawson-Wade after a patient build up around the perimeter scored the first
points she drove in to the paint and hit a jump shot. Latvia replied on their
first attack through
Anete
Jekabsone-Zogota , who shortly after pulled up after touching her hamstring
and left the field for a short while.
Audrey
Sauret Gillespie on her 200th appearance scored with her first
shot of the game followed by
Sandra
Dijon mid-distance jumper and with that France appeared to be in control
leading (6-2).
Ainars
Zvirgzdins called an early time-out and changed the defensive system.
Gunta
Basko came into play and ran cycles round the French defence and then pulled
a jumper over her club team mate
Sandra
Dijon. This moved inspired her team-mates and with the return of Jacobson-Zagota,
Latvia went on a 7:0 run to lead at the end of the first period (13-10).
Clemence Beikes made her entry into the match and made her presence felt as
she fed
Isabelle Yacoubou for a simple jump shot. France still have problems beyond
the arc but had no problems with mid-range shots and eventually tied the game
(16-16) with a
Edwige
Lawson-Wade jump shop. Latvia have a simple but very efficient switch play
around the arc and they employed it to good effect to give
Ieva
Tare all the time in the world to stroke a perfect three (19-16) for Latvia
to go back into the lead, for what turned out to be for good. Then after this
good sequence of play, the game became rather scrappy and it remained scoreless
for almost 4 minutes with the only incident a fourth personal foul for
Zane
Eglite. Seeing the expression on the Latvian head coach times is enough to
scare anybody and not for the first time in thie competition Latvia stepped up
with some clutch 3-point shooting this time by
Liene
Jansone, who nailed two either side of a
Gunta
Gunta Basko jump shot as they went on a 9:2 flourish to go into the locker
room with a comfortable lead (28-18).
Latvia scored the first two points of the 3rd period before what
has become a rarity in this tournament, a 3-point score from France.
Clemence
Beikes scored this shot (on the 18th attempt by France in the
last two games until this point in the game). This shot appeared to give
Sandrine
Gruda some inspiration as she started to throw her weight about for France.
Latvia maintained their advantage as France having to chase the game exposed
themselves to counters, allowing Latvia to maintain a handsome lead (36-27)
after 15 minutes of play. Having not much luck on the inside, France went for
perimeter shooting and
Sandra
Le Drean hit a second trey for France. The intensity picked up and bodies
began to fly all around the floor but the most serious incident occurred when
Gunta
Basko and
Sandrine
Gruda collided in mid air going for a rebound under the French basket. Gruda
was called for the foul and was immediately taken out of the game for a rest
while
Gunta Basko left the game to receive some treatment. Ieva
Tare kept the Latvia momentum going with some solid work in the paint for
her side while
Isabelle
Yacoubou continued to throw her body about under the offensive board for
France and win free throws (41-36). Just when it appeared that France would get
close , they dropped their defensive guard allowing
Anete
Jekabsone-Zogota to get free and the sentence was immediate another trey.
France finished the quarter on a high with a pair of free throws from
Emilie
Gomis and jump shot from
Sandra
Le Drean , which left Latvia with a 4-point lead going into the final
period. Gunta
Basko capped off a 9:0 run by Latvia with a three-ball (53-40) that appeared
to have killed France off, but
Audrey
Sauret Gillespie had other ideas and hit a couple of treys as France started
a late charge and reduced the deficit (62-55) with just a little of two minutes
remaining. Neither team was able to score until the game was well into the last
minute.
Edwige Lawson-Wade made a pair of from the charity stripes as the game
headed to its I have to foul you to stop the game clock stage. In turn she then
fouled
Gunta Basko who also kept a cool nerve at the stripes. On the next play
Dumerc hit France's sixth trey of the night (64-60).
Gunta
Basko then missed her next set of free throws giving a chance for France to
come right back,
Celine
Dumerc again was decisive as she managed to draw a foul while attempting
another 3-point shot. She managed to hit 2-of-3 shots from the foul line to set
up an exciting final few seconds. Anete Jekabsone-Zogota made no mistake with
her free throws (66-62). France had less than 10 seconds left to find a solution
and both Dumerc and Lawson-Wade tried to hit from the land of many and draw a
foul at the same time to no avail. Gunta
Basko (17 pts) was one of 4 players in double digits for Latvia Janson (14),
Jekabsone-Zogota (12) and Tamane (12).
Audrey Sauret Gillespie scored 10 points and dished out 6 assists and
Sandrine Gruda with 14 points led the French scoring.
Boxscore
Belarus knock out the Czech Republic (52-46) - Oct. 4, 2007
The one word that come from the players of Belarus is that they
are a team, they do not want to talk about their individual performance. Yelena
Leuchanka and Natalia Marchanka in separate interviews after the game made
similar statements , it is not about statistics, the scoreboard shows that we
won. They also mentioned that the enormity of this result has not sunk in yet
bet maybe in a couple of hours time it will. Ivana Vercerova from the The Czech
Republic, summed up the result after the game "we did it ourselves" For the
first time since the start of this competition Belarus showed emotion after the
game which was nice to see.
No fireworks in the opening period with the defending champions dominating
affairs (10-2) for the first five minutes. Growing in confidence Belarus stated
to cause the defending champions problems and found their mark after the Czech
team missed some easy shots. Natallia Marchanka got the Belarus shooting machine
started with a shot from down town which immediately resulted in a time-out for
the Czech Republic. This short interruption of the game did not make much
difference for The Czech Republic as they still looked out of sorts and only
recovered at the end of the period after seeing their lead cut to 1-point before
Hana
Machova restored order for her side with a trey to give them a four point
lead at the (15-11) at the end of the first period.
Katsiaryna Snytsina started the second period with a score from beyond the
arc and Belarus' comeback was complete when Marchanka hit a second 3 just in
front of the arc to take the leadfor the second time this evening. Machova
responded in kind with another trey but for her sides the lead was short-lived
as Belarus began to show another side to their game with points coming from all
angles of the court to edge in front (25-23) at the midway point in the period,
reaching a maximum lead of 7-points before conceding some of their advantage to
lead by 4-points at the break.
A very tactical third period only came to life in the last four minutes as
the Czechs trailing (39-33) started to use their slight height advantage in the
paint to good work as they scored the last 8 points of the half to regain the
lead (41-39) going in the final period.
We had to wait 4:27 seconds for the first score in the final quarter and once
again it was Natallia Marchanka finding something special as she weaved through
a host of bodies to a lay-up to tie the game (41-41). Snytsina put Belarus back
in front 90 seconds later with a nicely executed jump shot just inside the arc.
Jan Bobrovsky called a time-out, but nothing changed offensively as the Czechs
were not able to get anybody inside. Snytsina was not able to drive the lanes
and took an off-balanced jump shot that hit the mark. The pace of the game
suddenly increased but once again Belarus survived a Czech Republic raid and
then somehow Natallia Marchanka managed to hit another trey (48-41).
Jana
Vesela stopped the Belarus' sequence with a lay-up. Eve Viteckova ( hit a 3
with 51 seconds remaining to set up a tension packed finale.
Katsiaryna Snytsina held her nerves at the free throw line to sent Belarus
into the semi-final.
Katsiaryna Snytsina finished with 10 points while team-mates Natallia
Marchanka and Yelena Leuchanka added 11 apiece. Jana Vesela led her team in
scoring with 11 points:
Boxscore
France sends Serbia Home - Oct. 3, 2007
Millica Dabovic was causing France difficulties early on as her
in-your-face style troubled France when her team took an early lead (14-7)
midway through the first quarter. France forced to run after the score, leaving
the back door open for their opponents to exploit. Even when the backdoor was
closed Serbia found a way to get the ball to Ivana Grubor who profited from some
unselfish work of Sonja Petrovic to hit the first 3-pointer of the match
(21-12). Yet France did not panic and slowly the deficit came down.
Sandra Le Drean scored twice and with Emilie Gomis'
fast-break-counter-attack-lay ups made it a 3-point game. Millica Dabovic still
had the last say of the period as she made a pair from the charity stripe for
Serbia to lead (23-18) at the end of the first period.
At the start of the second quarter Grubor was left open again and put away
another trey to the annoyance of Jacques Commères. Maybe his reaction was needed
to spear France into offensive action as they went on to hit 11 unanswered
points to take the lead (29-25) for the firs time in the game. Jovica Antonic,
the Serbian head coach and master technician, needed a time-out to calm his
players. It worked as his team tied the game on the next two plays.
Sandrine
Gruda restored the lead for France, before she was blocked by Monika
Veselovski. Afterwards Ana Perovic tied the game once more after she was allowed
to walk in behind the defence for a simple lay-up (31-31). The officials spoilt
the flow of the game a bit with some strange calls in a hard finish to the end
of the quarter with most of the points for both sides coming from the charity
stripes. France finished with a 6:0 run before going to the locker room leading
(39-34).
The first 6 points of the third period came from Serbia but lost their rhythm
by a Lawson-Wade steal and lay-up to finish. The teams traded baskets (47-42)
with France maintaining the advantage although the game had become niggley due
to some poor officiating.Audrey Sauret-Gillespie and Miljana Musovic clashed
heads in a chase for the ball which split Audrey forehead open. Following this
incident the game became even rougher. France was having trouble shooting the
ball from outside the paint, so they went to work on penetrating the zone and
finished the quarter on an 11:5 run to extend their lead (56-47).
Both sides had to work hard in the final period to score anything. France had
a
Sandrine Gruda on form today as she was in no mood to let anything get away
from her, hence the advantage was maintained (66-55).France once again left the
floor open and Petrovic hit a 3-pointer which once again annoyed Jacques
commeres. Emily Gomis responded with a rear French mid-distance shot (68-58)
with the game 20 seconds into money time.
France once again left the floor open and Petrovic hit a 3-pointer which once
again annoyed Jacques commeres. Emily Gomis responded with a rear French
mid-distance shot (68-58) with the game 20 seconds into money time. France went
on to win (68-60) and will now play Latvia in the first game in the new
PalaTricalle Arena in Chieti.
Sandrine Gruda scored 16 points and Emilie Gomis added 14 points for France
while Ivana Grubor (3-of-3 from 3 point range) paced Serbia with 17 points . Ana
Perovic adding 12 points and Marina Puskar chipping in 11 points also finished
in double figures.
Brutal acceleration in the final period by Russia was enough to see off Spain - Oct. 3, 2007
The only score in the first 2 minutes came from the charity
stripes. Lucila Pascua scored the first field gaol of the match as she managed
to work herself inside the paint.
Maria
Stepanova showed her soft touch with a delicate 3-pointer to put Russia back
in front, while Olga Arteshina added a second 3-pointer moments after. Anna
Montanana responded with a trey for Spain as to say we can also hit 3 pointers,
too.
Russia leading with (7-5) changed offensive tactics that allowed Ilone
Korstin to find room under the basket to score her first points of the match.
The pace which was never slow picked up and it was end to end stuff with moments
of brilliance from both sides and both were made to work hard for every point.
Maria
Stepanova scored 9 of her team's 16 first period points and already took 7
rebounds as they led by 3 points at the end of the first period (16-13).
Marta Zurro brought it back to a one-point game right from the start of the
second period. Points were next to impossible to come by and Russia still led
(18-17) midway though the period. Laia Palau put Spain briefly in front as an
offensive mix-up by Russian was exploited by her as she went from one end of the
court to the other and finished with a lay-up. Russia's only response came from
the free-throw line to regain the lead. Nuria Martinez restored Spain's lead
from beyond the arc. It was not easy for either side to penetrate each other's
area and even when they succeeded it was impossible for the players to control
their speed in executing lay-ups, the ball simply bounced back off the
backboard. Russia went into the interval leading (24-22) thanks to Stepanova
hitting one of her trademark's jumpers during the last minute.
Amaya Valdemoro was very active for Spain at the start of the 3rd
period as they traded basket for basket in an exciting phase in which both sides
made shots that they missed in the first half of the match. Russia managed to
extend their advantage (37-30) before Spain, through Montanana and Palau, hit
back to back scores for Spain (37-35). The scores remained close through the
remaining of the period as the contest Stepanova - Valdemore intensified with 9
and 10 points respectively during the quarter. Russia's advantage was now 3
points (45-42) going into the final period.
A brutal acceleration in the Russian offensive play put them in the driving
seat as their advantage grew (56-45) with just five minutes left on the clock.
Spain for the first time in the competition could not find a way back into the
match and will now face Belgium in the quarter final.
Russia will play Lithuanian in their quarterfinal match after winning (64-49)
Stepanova top scored with 19 points and she also toped the rebound statistics
with 12. Irina Osipova and Svetlana Abrosimova also made double digits with 13
and 10 respectively. Amaya Valdemoro scored 14 points for Spain.
Italy the hosts are out of Eurobasket - Oct. 3, 2007 Belarus abandoned their outside game from the off and went for the inside strength of
Marina Kress and
Anastasiya Verameyenka while
Italy opened with a pair of treys by
Francesca Modica in a hectic
opening session. Belarus alternated
their defensive systems between zone
and player to player that disturbed
the Italian attack while giving
themselves more opportunities on the
fast break. Belarus led (19-15)
after the first period without
hitting anything from down town.
The second period opened with Modica
hitting her 3rd 3 of the
evening quickly followed by another
Italian attack orchestrated by
Giorgia Sottana as she drove to the
basket and then passed out to the
open Dubravaka Dacic who completed
the move to put Italy back in front
(21-20). This lead was short lived
as Veremeenko concluded yet another
Belarus fast break to go back in
front. Both teams started to play
exciting defence, one such action
came from Laura Macchi chasing back
Natallia Anufyienka to knock the
ball away just as she was to lay up.
Unfortunately this defensive action
was not rewarded because off the
inbound Katsiayna Snytsina was on
hand to score the first 3-pointer
for Belarus which gave them the
first significant lead midway
through the second quarter (28-23).
Belarus picked up so many second or
third rebound chances to slowly
extend their advantage to go into
the interval leading (38-30).
No let up for Italy as Belarus
hit two quick baskets to start the
third quarter. Italy then went to
the perimeter option of
Raffaella Masciadri but her two
attempts fell short and then she was
stripped by
Olga Podobed. Afterwards
Yelena Leuchanka scored from the
resulting pass under the boards
(44-32). Gianni Lambruschi called
for a time-out. Italy did not have
much answer for their opponents and
attempted 11 shots in total from the
land of many but did not make one,
ironically Belarus continued to work
from inside and went into the final
period leading by 12 points.
Nataliya Trafimave opened
proceedings in the final period with
a 3-pointer and when Nataliya
Marchanka controlling the pace of
the game hit her trey (56-40) the
writing was on the wall for Italy.
Modica ended the 3-point drought for
the hosts and gave the fans some
hope that a comeback was possible
(60-43).
Belarus showed another facet to
their game today as they not only
worked well the offensive boards but
showed that they can play at pace.
Italy just did not have any luck
today as shot after shot either hit
the rim or lipped out as the host
crashed out (66-51).
Turkey and German say goodbye to EuroBasket 2007 - Oct. 3, 2007
Band she was
instrumental in nearly all the good actions of her side in their close defeat.
When she was on the court , Lithuania was always uncomfortable. Nevriye Yilmaz
was the main beneficial of her performance as she put in a stunning display as
she finished with a game high 20 points in what turned out to be a losing cause.
Germany competition has seen them at the wrong side of many close games in this
edition of Eurobasket. Linda Frohlick always positive and a leader on the court
has nothing but good things to say about her team-mates, while herself and
Martina Weber are the big names in the team but in their last match lets talk
about Alexandra Muller who finally found her scoring touch and gave a masterly
display in a difficult cause.
Spain-Russia. Preparation for the Final? - Oct. 3, 2007
Spain and
Russia will meet tonight in the battle for the first place....so far in the
group. The game is scheduled for 18.30. Belarus and Italy will struggle for the
last ticket to the Quarterfinals from Group F. Thier game is the opener of the
last day of the Qualifying Round. France faces Serbia in another important game
for both teams as Serbia still has chances to advance.
Spain remains the only undefeated team and in order to prove the superiority the
team has to beat another favorite, Russia. The latter is still on the way to
show the 'expected' game from what they want to. A win over Spain however will
make them a favorite number 1 for the Gold.
Belarus-Italy is another event the spectators are waiting for. For Belarus it is
already a minimum that the team advanced to the Qualifying Round. For sure the
team will not stop on that and try to upset the hosts. For Italy it is a must to
advance to the Quarterfinals and probably they will do their best for it.
Serbia in order to advance will have to beat France and as hard as they can, as
then three teams will have 2-3 record and only two of them will qualify. So far
France is the favotire, however Serbia knows the word 'sensation', that they
presented in the game against Russia.
The last day of Group E - Oct. 2, 2007
Lithuania-Turkey 67:61 (16-15, 18-15, 13-19, 20-12) Lithuania grabbed the last ticket from Group E to qualify for the
quarter-finals of the EuroBasket Women. In a win-or-die game the Baltic team
overcame Turkey 67:61.
Agne
Ciudariene (188-F-79) led the winners with 12 points and 9 rebounds.
Rima
Valentiene (170-G-78) produced 12, while
Lina
Brazdeikyte (185-F/G-74) added 11.
Nevriye
Yilmaz (196-C-80) came back after a back injury and top-scored in the losing
effort. She poured in 20 points and made 13 rebounds for Turkey.
Lithuania will continue the battle for the higher spot than 9th. In the last
game of the group the team beat Turkey and took their place there. The Baltic
team had hard time in the opening quarter but finished it with 16:15. Later on
Egle Sulciute scoring eight and
Lina
Brazdeikyte and Milda Sauliute weighing in with seven apiece, helped the
Baltic side take a 34:30 lead at the interval.
It was a good beginning of the first half when Lithuania opened up a 45:36 lead
midway through the third quarter. Turkey however made a 13-2 run to stay in
front after three quarters, 49:47.
The last quarter was a tough one and only in the end Lithuania grabbed the win.
After 61:61
Rima
Valentiene nailed a three and then Marcauskaite repeated from the arc to set
up the final 67:61 score. Lithuania:
Agne
Ciudariene 12+9 rebs,
Rima
Valentiene 12,
Lina
Brazdeikyte 11 Turkey:
Nevriye
Yilmaz 20+13 rebs,
Yasemin
Horasan (190-F/C-83) 11,
Nilay
Yigit (170-G-79) 11
Belgium-Czech Republic 70:72 (21-19, 17-16, 20-23, 12-14) Czech Republic survives in the Group E and finishes first in it. After
a loss from Germany the team escaped from Belgium winning 72:70. The latter had
a great game as well and due to the game they show in this tournament can easily
struggle for the medals.
Eva
Viteckova (190-F-82) (190-F-82) led the winners with 22 points.
Petra
Kulichova (198-C-84) netted 14, while Vesela added 11 and 7 rebounds.
Ann
Wauters (194-C-80) collected 22 points and 12 rebounds.
It was another battle of the tournament that deserved a high honor. This
tournament is very tough for the Czechs and we can prove it in the next three
games for the team.
Belgium won the opening quarter 21:19, having 21:15 with 2 minutes remaining.
Van Malderen made it 28:21 in the beginning of the second, but Czech Republic
reduced again. Both teams went to the lockers with 38:35 for the Belgian squad.
Ann
Wauters gave her team another spurt to make 56:51 in the center of the
third. Deyaert saved the team at 58:58 as both teams entered the last period. Ann
Wauters again brought Belgium the biggest lead at that time, 66:58 with less
than 6 minutes remaining. Czech Republic made a 14-2 run to grab the 72:70 win. Belgium:
Ann
Wauters 22+12 rebs, De Mondt 13,
Kathy
Wambe (174-G-81) 13 Czech Republic:Eva
Viteckova 22,
Petra
Kulichova 14, Vesela 11+7 rebs
Latvia-Germany 60:47 (23-13, 8-19, 17-5, 12-10)
Latvia finished Group E with 4-1 record which is the second place in the
group. In the last game of the group the team beat Germany 60:47.
Gunta
Basko (181-F-80, college:
Siena) led
the winners with 16 points.
Anete
Jekabsone-Zogota (176-F-83) ended up with 15, while Tare nailed 10.
Martina
Weber (196-F-82, college:
Iona)
top-scored for Germany with 11 points.
Latvia went to sleep at the start of the second period and Germany took full
advantage and put together an (10-0) run and tied the game 23:23 with less than
2 on the game clock with a 3-point bomb from Alexandra Muller. Latvia went back
in front almost immediately on a fast break counter from Liene Jansome. The game
slowed down after this and was not pretty but Germany continued to work away and
took the lead 29:28 through Martine
Martina
Weber and then extended their advantage from Linda Frohlich. In the rest of
the game Latvia felt comfortable in the court and led the game to 60:47 win. Latvia:
Gunta
Basko 16,
Anete
Jekabsone-Zogota 15, Tare 10 Germany:
Martina
Weber 11, Frohlich 10
Chances before the last day of Group E - Oct. 2, 2007
A very
interesting situation is in group E as three teams have 3-1 record and three
others 1-3. As you know there are 4 teams that will advance to the Quarterfinasl
and for sure it is Czech Republic, Latvia and Belgium. Lithuania and Turkey will
struggle for the last ticket from the group and only Germany lost all the
chances to advance.
Czech Republic-Belgium is the key game of the day. There are however some 'if'
for each team. Czech Republic will finish on the first spot if they just win the
game. Belgium, in order to place first should beat Czech Republic and hope that
Germany beat Latvia. Latvia will need a win over Germany and the victory of
Belgium over the Czechs to finish first.
The key players of the teams are ready for the last day of the Qualifying Round.
It is for sure
Ann
Wauters (194-C-80) in Belgium,
Anete
Jekabsone-Zogota (176-F-83) in Latvia and
Eva
Viteckova (190-F-82) in Czech Republic. The teams will have some advantages
and disadvantages before Group F. Good news is that they would have more time
for preparation as they play a day earlier. Bad news is that the teams from
Group F will know who they will play with and try to do their best in order to
meet the team that is weaker.
Even though that Czech Republic and Russia were the favorites before the
tournament, Spain feels in a better shape so far. The latter is the only
undefeated team in the tournament.
Italy is still alive, while Russia is back on track - Oct. 1, 2007
Serbia-Italy 43:64 (12-17, 8-14, 13-16, 10-17)
The question is how can you beat Russia and then lose to Italy, by more than 20
points. Serbia proved that it is possible and depends on the preparation and the
mood. Italy had a stronger desire to win as it was the only chance for the hosts
to stay alive before the Quarterfinals.
Francesca Modica (175-G-81) led the winners with 13 points.
Giorgia
Sottana (177-G-88) nailed 11, while
Laura
Macchi (187-F-79) and Ress added 10 points each.
Tamara
Radocaj (168-G-87) and
Miljana
Musovic (180-G-87) scored only 7 points in the losing effort. Three teams
have 1-3 record in the group and there is only one ticket for them to the
Quarterfinals.
Ress and
Laura Macchi scored six points apiece as Italy led 17:12 going into the
second quarter. Federica Ciampoli then buried Italy's first three to spark the
Azzurre on a 14-8 run as they led by 11 at the break. Serbia trailed by 20:31 at
the half time.
Nothing specific had happened in the second half as the hosts dominated in the
court. With a tough defense they left Serbia in the 40-s. If Italy beat Belarus
on Wednesday, the team will finish fourth in the group. Serbia needs Spain to
beat tonight France and then upset France again.
Serbia take on France in their last Group F qualifier on Wednesday while Italy
meet Belarus. Serbia:Tamara
Radocaj 7,
Miljana
Musovic 7 Italy:
Francesca Modica 13,
Giorgia
Sottana 11,
Laura
Macchi 10+9 rebs, Ress 10
Russia-Belarus 87:73 (24-15, 17-16, 27-9, 19-33) Russia beat Belarus 87:73 at EuroBasket Women in qualifying round Group
F. The win gave the opportunity to improve at 3-1 and have a chance to finish
first in the group F. Russia will have to beat Spain in the last day of the
Qualifying Round. In the game over Belarus
Ilona
Korstine (183-G-80) paced the winners with 21 points.
Maria
Stepanova (202-C-79) collected 15 points and 11 rebounds, while
Olga
Sokolovskaya (173-G-91) and
Irina
Osipova (196-C-81) added 10.
Yelena
Leuchanka (196-C-83, college:
W.Virginia)
top-scored for Belarus with 18 points.
Russia being upset by the loss from Serbia and the fact that Italy smashed
Serbia before their game started to play offensive basketball. The team reached
the result already in the first quarter, 24:15.
Ilona
Korstine scored some important baskets and led her team to 41:31 at the
half.
The third quarter was the benefit for the favorites as they had 27:9 in it.
Abrosimova made sure her team has enough before the last quarter, nailing a two,
68:40.
Belarus produced a very good last quarter winning 33:19. Even that was not
enough to cut the deficit. Russia moves on, while Belarus will have to beat
Italy in the last game of the group in order make it to the Quarterfinals. Russia:
Ilona
Korstine (183-G-80) 21,
Maria
Stepanova 15+11 rebs,
Olga
Sokolovskaya 10,
Irina
Osipova 10 Belarus:
Yelena
Leuchanka 18,
Katsiaryna Snytsina (188-F-85) 14
France-Spain 53:63 (9-13, 20-16, 17-11, 7-23)
Spain remains the only undefeated team in the tournament. In the tough game
against France the favorites overcame 63:53 due to the last quarter.
Amaya
Valdemoro (184-F-76) was on top with 17 points. Sanchez nailed 15, while
Lucila
Pascua (196-C-83) added 13.
Sandrine
Gruda (192-F/C-87) finished with 13 points in the losing effort.
The players of Evaristo Perez made another good team's job and won to France.
Amaya
Amaya Valdemoro was a lady on a mission tonight as she hyped herself and her
team up when it mattered most, she gave a classic example of if you do not first
succeed the try again. France:
Sandrine
Gruda 13, Ndongue 8 Spain:
Amaya
Valdemoro 17, Sanchez 15,
Lucila
Pascua 13
Spain remains the only undefeated team in Eurobasket 2007 - Oct. 1, 2007
Three more
days are left before the end of the Qualifying Round. This means that only one
game is left for each team in Group E and two games for the teams in Group F.
The next three some teams will struggle for the better places under the sun,
while others try to get the last tickets into the Quarterfinals.
Spain remains the only undefeated team in the tournament, however many
specialists do not predict the total win for the Spanish squad. In Group F it is
the only team that for sure advanced to the Quarterfinals due to the brilliant
games of
Amaya Valdemoro (184-F-76). Tonight Spain will face France that is a tough
team and if the latter wins they will take a first spot in the group. Russia
will probably have also 3-1 after the game against Belarus and that will mean
that three teams might have 3-1 record on top. Belarus will still have chances
even if the team lose to Russia tonight.
Italy in order to stay alive will have to beat Serbia. The latter is still on
fire after a triumph over Russia. Serbia created a sensation in Eurobasket 2007
beating Russia 67:65 and improved to 1-2 in Group F. Russia lost for the first
time in the tournament and now has 2-1.
Milica
Dabovic (175-G-82) led the winners with 28 points scoring most important
points in the end of the game.
All the teams that are left in the tournament can make it to the
Quarterfinals.
Spain remains the only undefeated team in Eurobasket 2007 - Oct. 1, 2007
Germany-Turkey 63:76 (15-22, 13-22, 13-16, 22-16)
Turkey beat Germany in Group E of the 2007 EuroBasket Women qualifying round.
Having 0-3 record Turkey is still on track to the Quarterfinals. Yasemin
Yasemin
Horasan (190-F/C-83) (190-F/C-83) led the winners with 18 points while
Birsel
Birsel Vardarli (173-G-84) added 14 points, seven rebounds, seven assists
and two steals to lead a balanced Turkish attack.
Anne
Breitreiner (183-G/F-84) top-scored for the German squad with 19 points. On
Tuesday, Germany face Latvia and Turkey take on Lithuania as both Germany and
Turkey still have chances for the quarter-finals. Germany:
Anne
Breitreiner 19,
Martina
Weber (196-F-82, college:
Iona) 16 Turkey:
Yasemin
Horasan 18,
Birsel
Vardarli 14, Tuncluer 13
Czech Republic-Lithuania 75:67 (19-24, 16-21, 21-11, 19-11)) Czech Republic luckily deserved a win against Lithuania 75:67. Trailing
by 10 points at the half, the favorites could win the game. Remembering also the
loss from the Germans it was a hard time to recover. Hopefully last two quarters
would bring the team more confidence in the next games. Lithuania dropped at 1-3
and has the same result as Turkey and Germany.
Marketa
Mokrosova (178-F-81) and
Eva
Viteckova (190-F-82) led the winners with 13 points each.
Hana
Machova (182-F-79) supported them with 8 points and 8 rebounds.
Lina
Brazdeikyte (185-F/G-74) top-scored for the Baltic State with 13 points.
Oh, well with such games from Czech Republic and Russia we would hardy see them
in the final again. Lithuania that was thrashed by the Belgians and Latvians
could give a real battle to the favorites. After 3-0 the Baltic team lost the
confidence and trailed by 7:11. Bach-on-track in the game Lithuania produced a
9-0 run to finish the first at 24:19. Briedyte gave her team 41:32 that was at
that time a real sensation. Moreover Marcauskaite's jump-shot sent the teams
with 10 points deficit for Lithuania.
For Czech Republic it was not the end of the game. The team produced a 21:11 in
the third quarter to tie at 56:56 in the end of it. Lithuania never saw then the
game leading the score. Czech Republic pushed the tempo to finish the game at
75:67. Czech Republic:Marketa
Mokrosova 13,
Eva
Viteckova 13,
Hana
Machova 8+8 rebs Lithuania:Lina
Brazdeikyte 13,
Agne
Ciudariene (188-F-79) 12,
Egle
Sulciute (190-C/F-85) 12
Latvia - Belgium 69:66 (11-18, 15-10, 28-16, 15-22) Latvia secured their spot in the final round and become the first team
in EuroBasket 2007 to beat Belgium. After a 69:66 win, the Baltic team can even
struggle for the first place in the group.
Anete
Jekabsone-Zogota (176-F-83) led the winners with 27 points.
Liga
Jansone (-84) produced 15, while
Gunta
Basko (181-F-80, college:
Siena)
added 14.
Ann
Wauters (194-C-80) had a great game for Belgium with 30 points and 9
rebounds. Three teams now in Group E have 3-1 record including Belgium and
Latvia.
Belgium used a 6-0 run to dominate in the opening quarter.
Ann
Wauters carried Belgium to an 18:11 lead in the end of it.Belgium continued
to score at will and stayed on top 28:26 at the half time.
Latvia that was led by
Anete
Jekabsone-Zogota took off on a 14-2 run in the next five minutes of which
Anete
Jekabsone-Zogota had seven. Nevertheless Belgium managed an 11-2 run in the
following three minutes almost to tie the game at 63:65.Anete
Jekabsone-Zogota's four free throws in the ned of the game brought Latvia a
third win.
Latvia will take on Germany tomorrow, while Belgium will fight for a better
position against the Czech Republic. If belgium beat Czech republic and Latvia
overcome Germnay, then Latvia will finish first in the group. If Czech Republic
wins over Belgium, then the defending champions will be first for sure. Latvia:Anete
Jekabsone-Zogota 27,
Liga
Jansone 15,
Gunta
Basko 14 Belgium:
Ann
Wauters 30+9 rebs,
Nele
Deyaert (186-F-79) 8,
Kathy
Wambe (174-G-81) 8
Group F: the first games of the Qualifying Round - Sep. 29, 2007
Italy - Spain 64:79 (18-25, 14-22, 15-16, 17-16)
Spain remains undefeated in Eurobasket 2007. In the first game of the Qualifying
Round the team upset the hosts 79:64.
Elisa
Aguilar (178-G-76, college:
George
Washington) led the winners with 17 points.
Ana
Montanana (186-F-80, college:
George
Washington) produced 16, while Sanchez added 11.
Raffaella Masciadri (185-F-80) ended up with 16 points in the losing effort.
A three-ball by the latter closed the gap to 32-26 midway through the second
quarter, and after an Isabel Sanchez jumper from the left made it 34:26, Zara
pulled up at the top of the key and cut the deficit to 34:28 in the first half.
Italy got no closer than 12 points in the second half. Italy:
Raffaella Masciadri 16, Zara 13,
Kathrin
Ress (193-F-85, college:
Boston Coll.)
13 Spain:
Elisa
Aguilar 17,
Ana
Montanana 16, Sanchez 11
Serbia - Russia 67:65 Serbia creates another sensation in Eurobasket 2007 as yesterday
Germany beat Czech Republic 54:47. Serbia overcame Russia 67:65 and improved to
1-2 in Group F. Russia lost for the first time in the tournament and now has
2-1.
Milica Dabovic (175-G-82) led the winners with 28 points scoring most
important points in the end of the game.
Maria
Stepanova (202-C-79) nailed 18 and made 11 rebounds for Russia, while
Ilona
Korstine (183-G-80) collected 16 points and 11 rebounds.
First half was the preparation for the second as both teams stayed together most
of the time. Russia was the favorite of the game, however could not deserve it.
In the last quarter it was the game between
Maria
Stepanova and
Milica
Dabovic. Even their team mates tried to find the leaders of the teams for
the final shots. After two jump shots,
Milica
Dabovic nailed a three with 4.25 remaining. At that time Serbia took a 57:53
lead, while Russia took a timeout. The timeout did not give enough time to rest
for the Russian squad as right after it Shchegoleva received unsportsmanlike
foul that gave Serbia 1 more point from Puskar's free throw.
It was
Maria Stepanova's time again to reduce the score. She made another jump-shot
with 2.44 remaining.
Milica
Dabovic replied with the same jump-shot to take 60:55 lead. As Russia
understood that
Maria
Stepanova's effort would not be enough they saw
Ilona
Korstine to help the team. She scored 4 points in a row, however Serbia had
2 more points from
Milica
Dabovic who scored 2 free throws.
Olga
Arteshina (190-F-82) nailed two three pointers in a row to tie the score at
65:65 with 7 seconds remaining.
Milica
Dabovic nailed two points with 2 seconds in the fourth quarter and as it
became clear in the last.
Maria
Stepanova's shot did not reach the basket. Serbia:
Milica
Dabovic 28,
Ivana
Grubor (185-F/C-84) 8 Russia:
Maria
Stepanova 18+11 rebs,
Ilona
Korstine 16+11 rebs,
Olga
Arteshina 8
Belarus-France 60:72 (18-15, 15-26, 16-12, 11-19) Belarus National team lost the first game of the Qualifying Round of
Eurobasket. After two nice victories Belarus had to admit the loss from France
60:72. Only due to the last quarter the favorites could celebrated the win.Anastasiya
Verameyenka (191-C-87) led Belarus with 15 points and 9 rebounds.
Natalia
Marchanka (168-G-79) and
Tatyana
Troina (187-C-81, college:
S.Carolina)
supported her with 9 points each.
Sandrine
Gruda (192-F/C-87) top-scored for the winners with 17 points. France moved
to 2-1 in Group F while Belarus dropped to 1-2.
A splash of emotions after the previous wins still energize Belarus in the first
quarter that the team won 18:15. Katsiaryna Snytsina gave Belarus a 20:17 lead
early in the second quarter, before France took over. The favorites went on a
16-3 run, before Belarus started to hit from the outside led by five points from
Nataliya Trafimava , but France still managed to finish the first half up 41:33.
Four points in a row nailed Belarus in the beginning of the third quarter. The
team stayed with 4 points behind and kept the same difference in the end of the
quarter. Merchanka's lay-up finished the third quarter at 49:53. France however
won the fourth 19:11 to have better chances for the Quarterfinals. Belarus:
Anastasiya Verameyenka 15+9 rebs,
Natalia
Marchanka 9,
Tatyana
Troina 9 France:
Sandrine
Gruda 17,Emmeline
Ndongue (194-F-83) 12,
Sandra
Dijon (195-C-79) 10
Qualifying Round: one of the favorites is defeated - Sep. 28, 2007
Germany-Czech Republic 54:47 (17-14, 8-12, 13-12, 16-9) Germany defeats Czech Republic which was the brightest sensation of the
tournament so far. In the first day of the Qualifying Round the German team
overcame 54:47. The victory was achieved due to the win in the last quarter when
the underdogs beat the favorites 16:9.
Linda
Froehlich (188-F/C-79, college:
UNLV)
(188-F/C-79, college:
UNLV) paced
the winners with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Anne
Breitreiner (183-G/F-84) netted 10, as
Dorothea
Richter (176-G-83) and Weber posted 8 points each.
Eva
Viteckova (190-F-82) top-scored for Czech Republic with 15 points. The
favorites are still with a positive 2-1 record, while Germany is 1-2.
When Germany scored 3 first points of the game, it was not time to worry as the
Czechs answered with 7-0 run. Germany still won the first quarter having 17:14
in the end of it.
The Czechs took a control in the second quarter, however their lead was limited.
Jana
Vesela (194-F-83) sent the teams to the lockers making a jump-shot, 26:25.
With a tough third quarter it was Mokrosova who tied the score for the favorites
at 38:38. The final quarter brought more interest as spectators could see
another German team. After 43:45 the team made an 8-0 run and upset Czech
Republic for the first time since 2003, when Russia overcame them in the Final. Germany:
Linda
Froehlich18+10 rebs,
Anne
Breitreiner 10,
Dorothea
Richter 8, Weber 8 Czech Republic:Eva
Viteckova 15,
Jana
Vesela 10
Turkey-Belgium 63:85 (10-29, 16-20, 20-23, 17-13) Belgium started the Qualifying Round beating Turkey in the Group E in
Vasto.Turkey missed greatly their second-leading scorer and leading
rebounder Nevriye Yilmaz, who didn't play at all with a back injury. A 17-0
run in the opening tip led the favorites to the 85:63 win.
Laurence Van Malderen (194-C-81, agency:
LBM
Management) led the winners with 16 points.
Anke
De Mondt netted 15, while Wauters added 13.
Yasemin Horasan (190-F/C-83) produced 17 points in the losing effort.
Belgium that was the favorite before the game opened the score on the board.
After Turkey tied at 2:2, Belgium Produced 17-0 run that led to 19:2. That
was another 17-0 run as in the previous game Belgium made the same with
Romania. Evelien Callens's three-pointer pushed the cushion to 23 points but
Turkey closed to within 29:10 after one period. Belgium continued to dominate in the court and increased to 49:26 at the
half. A
Anke
De Mondt three-pointer increased the lead to 28 points early in the
third. Belgium won the third as well with 23:20. Only in the last quarter
when the result was clear, Turkey could make 17:13 score. Belgium is the
first team to reach 3-0 in group E. Turkey:
Yasemin Horasan 17,
Esmeral Tuncluer (171-G-80) 7,
Sebnem Nezahat Kimyacioglu (182-F-83, college:
Stanford)
7 Belgium:
Laurence Van Malderen 16,
Anke
De Mondt 15, Wauters 13
Lithuania-Latvia 46:76 (9-15, 14-20, 11-22, 12-19) Latvia won the game that should win in the first Qualifying Round of
Eurobasket. The team beat another Baltic State, Lithuania 76:46. The latter
looks bad in comparison with the previous championships, however still stays
on track.
Anete Jekabsone-Zogota (176-F-83) led the winners with 20 points.
Ieva
Kublina (193-C-82, college:
Virginia
Tech) nailed 16, while Jansone and Tare produced 10 points each.
Iveta Marcauskaite (196-F/C-82, agency:
LBM
Management, college:
Illinois)
top-scored for Lithuania with 18 points. Lithuania first scored in the game and had some points lead with less than 5
minutes remaining. Latvia however made an 8-0 run to finish the first at
15:9. The team did not stop and Tamane doubled the digits with 33:23.
Ieva
Kublina gave Latvia 12- points deficit at the half time. Another horrible quarter for the Lithuanians sent them to -20. Jansone with
a jump-shot made the score 53:33. That was in the center of Latvia's 13-1
run. Dreimane's three in the end brought Latvia 76:46 win.
Latvia beat Lithuania 46-76 - Sep. 28, 2007
Lithuania -
Latvia 46:76 (9-15, 14-20, 11-22, 12-19). Latvia plays the Qualifying Round
beating Lithuania in the Group E in Vasto. Latvia dont give a chance for their
opponent to shown their game. They started with a tough offence and defence in
the first period. After that Latvian`s played strong and grabbed all important
rebounds(47-27). After the half time, Lativans trying to be better team on
court.
They extending the lead up to 23 points at the end of three quarters (57-34).
For the winners Anne Jekabsone-Zogota (176-F-83) scored 20 pts and makes 5
assists,
Zane Tamane grabbed 9 rebounds and makes 5 assists. For the opponents Iveta
Marcausaite added 18 pts and grabbed 6 rebounds. After Day 4th Latvia is on 3rd
place in Group E. Next game is on 30th September. Latvia will fase leader in
Qualifying Group F Belgium.
Turkey and Belgium will open the first day of the Qualifying Round - Sep. 28, 2007
After a rest
day 12 teams will resume the Eurobasket 2007. This time they will start in the
Qualifying Round where each took a record from the Preliminary Round. Four teams
still stay undefeated and by the end of the Round we will have not more than
two.
Czech Republic won group A with 3-0, and takes 2-0 record to the Qualifying
Round in Group E. In the game for the first spot Czech Republic beat Latvia
70:44. Eva Viteckova paced the winners with 12 points. Jana Vesela and
Petra
Kulichova (198-C-84) netted 11 points each. Czech will face Germany on
Friday while Latvia will take on Lithuania.
Another undefeated team in Group E is Belgium. The latter beat Romania in the
last game of the group B.
Ann
Wauters (194-C-80) paced the winners with 20 points and 10 rebounds. De
Mondt chipped in 13, while Kathy Wambe added 10. Belgium starts the round with
Turkey.
Russia did not look great in the first two games of the tournament, however
smashed Greece in the last game of the Preliminary Round. The favorite of Group
C won 86:47 and placed first.
Irina
Osipova (196-C-81) led the winners with 21 points and 12 rebounds. Ekaterina
Demagina ended up with 12, while
Olga
Arteshina (190-F-82) created 11 points, 9 rebounds and 7 blocks. Russia will
continue in Group F with 2-0 record as well as Spain.
Amaya
Valdemoro (184-F-76) led Spain with 15 points and 11 rebounds over Croatia
to finish Group D with 3-0 record.
Ana
Montanana (186-F-80, college:
George
Washington) netted 12, while Marta Zurro added 8. Spain will start the
Qualification Round against Italy. The game is scheduled for 15.30.
Day 3: The end of the Preliminary Round - Sep. 26, 2007
GROUP A
Latvia-Czech Republic 44:70 (11-15, 13-22, 9-17,
11-16) Czech Republic goes to the Qualifying Round with a perfect record. In
Day 3 of the Preliminary Round the team smashed Latvia 70:44.
Eva
Viteckova (190-F-82) paced the winners with 12 points.
Jana
Vesela (194-F-83) and
Petra
Kulichova (198-C-84) netted 11 points each.
Anete
Jekabsone-Zogota (176-F-83) top-scored for Latvia with 17 points. Both teams
qualified to Group E where they will meet Belgium, Germany and Lithuania to
fight for a quarter-finals spot. Czech will face Germany on Friday while Latvia
will take on Lithuania.
Czech Republic started the game with a 6-0 run, however had some difficulties in
the opening tip. After Latvia tied the game with a 7-0 run, the champs combined
four in a row to finish the first quarter up 15:11. Jana
Vesela increased to 20:11 in the beginning of the second quarter and then
Eva
Viteckova's three gave her team 10 points lead. Hartigova made sure the
Czechs had 37:24 at the half.
In the beginning of the second half Latvia lost control in defense and started
to fail. With five minutes to play Latvia was 62:33 behind, after a 25-4 run by
their opponents.
Anete
Jekabsone-Zogota scored last points of the game making the score 44:70 for
the opponents. Latvia:
Anete
Jekabsone-Zogota 17,
Liga
Jansone (-84) 13 Czech Republic:Eva
Viteckova 12,
Jana
Vesela 11,
Petra
Kulichova 11+7 rebs
Israel-Turkey 58:70 (18-17, 23-26, 4-18, 13-9) Israel lost the third game in Group A and finished on the last place.
In the opening game of Group A Turkey beat Israel 70:58 in a live-or-die game.
Turkey finished the group with 1-2 and took Israel spot in the Qualifying Round.
Yasemin
Horasan (190-F/C-83) led the winners with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Isil
Alben (170-G-86) and
Saziye
Karsli (185-F-82) produced 10 points each.
Shay
Doron (175-G-85, college:
Maryland)
top-scored for Israel with 12 points.
It was the game of two winless teams in the group, as Latvia and Czech Republic
dominated there. Israel started well and scored first five points of the game.
Turkey replied with 8-0 run when
Yasemin
Horasan gave her team the first lead.
Mirav
Dori (178-F-86)'s three pointer gave Israel the lead before the first 10
minutes of the game, 18:17.
In a very offensive second quarter Turkey managed to stay in front for the most
of the time and grabbed 43:41 at the half. A 13-0 run buried all hopes of Israel
to advance to the Qualifying Round.
Yasemin
Horasan made the score 56:41 and sent her team to the next round. Israel
tried hard, but could not tie the game. Three teams except Israel will advance
to the Qualifying Round that will start on September 28th. Israel:
Shay
Doron 12,
Katia
Abramzon (186-F/C-87) 11,
Mirav
Dori 11 Turkey:
Yasemin
Horasan 13+11 rebs,
Isil
Alben 10,
Saziye
Karsli 10
GROUP B
Germany-Lithuania 57:71 (18-20, 16-16, 13-15, 10-20) Lithuania clinched second place in Group B of the 2007 EuroBasket
Women. In day 3 the team beat Germany 71:57 to finish with 2-1 record. Germany
advanced to the next round as well, however fell at 1-2.
Sandra
Valuzyte (176-G-82) brought the winners 18 points.
Iveta
Marcauskaite (196-F/C-82, agency:
LBM
Management, college:
Illinois)
scored 16, while
Rima
Valentiene (170-G-78) added 14.
Linda
Frohlich had a great game for the German squad collecting 24 points and 11
rebounds. In the qualifying round in Vasto on Friday, Lithuania will face Baltic
neighbours Latvia and Germany take on defending champions Czech Republic. Linda
Frohlich opened the game with a jump shot, but then her team saw 15
consecutive points in their basket. Germany answered with the next 12 points and
Iveta
Marcauskaite's three-pointer gave Lithuania a 20:18 lead after one period.
It was Frohlich again who gave her team 32:30 lead in the second quarter.
Rima
Valentiene's three sent the teams to the lockers with 36:34 for the Baltic
state.
Anne Breitreiner scored seven points for Germany in the quarter only to have
Lina Brazdeikyte, Egle Sulciute and
Rima
Valentiene all hit three-pointers to carry Lithuania to a 51:47 lead going
into the fourth. With 57:53 for Lithuania, the team created a 9-0 run to clinch
the second place and a win in the game. The Baltic team wins 71:57 and joins the
Qualifying Round with 1-1 record. Germany:
Linda
Frohlich 24+11 rebs,
Martina
Weber (196-F-82, college:
Iona) 16+9
rebs Lithuania:
Sandra
Valuzyte 18,
Iveta
Marcauskaite 16,
Rima
Valentiene 14
Belgium-Romania 74:71 (20-23, 16-19, 23-16, 15-13) Belgium stays undefeated and beat Romania in the last game of the
group. A good first half of the Romanian squad left them in the game till the
end of it.
Ann
Wauters (194-C-80) (194-C-80) paced the winners with 20 points and 10
rebounds. De Mondt chipped in 13, while
Kathy
Wambe (174-G-81) added 10.
Ancuta
Stoenescu (171-G-80) top-scored for Romania with 14 points. The latter did
not qualify to the next round having 0-3 record.
The game did not solve many problems and tasks. For the Belgium squad it was the
repetition before the Qualifying Round, while Romania wanted to win at least
once in the group. The latter lost all the chances even before the game. Anyway,
Romania opened the game with 3-0 and controlled the first quarter. Brosovszky
helped the team to finish the first at 23:20. A great game in the second quarter
brought another achievement when
Ancuta
Stoenescu hit a three. At that time Romania had 42:32 lead and looked well.
Kathy
Wambe could reduce to 36:42 as both squads disappeared in the lockers.
Brosovszky's three in the third quarter returned Romania 10-points deficit. A
17-0 run that started in the end of the third and lasted till the fourth quarter
lifted Belgium in front.
Ann
Wauters was the last to score in the game when she made 74:71. Belgium:
Ann
Wauters 20+10 rebs, De Mondt 13,
Kathy
Wambe 10 Romania:
Ancuta
Stoenescu 14,
Maria
Pascalau (194-C-82) 13,
Paula
Cristina Ciocan (183-G-82, college:
S.Carolina)
13
GROUP C
Greece-Russia 47:86 (13-29, 9-15, 12-21,
13-21)
Russia proved that the team's goal for the Championship is Gold smashing Greece
in the last game of the Preliminary Round. The favorite of Group C won 86:47 and
placed first. Greece will have to eliminate as the team lost three games in a
row.
Irina Osipova (196-C-81) led the winners with 21 points and 12 rebounds.
Ekaterina Demagina (175-G-82) ended up with 12, while
Olga
Arteshina (190-F-82) created 11 points, 9 rebounds and 7 blocks.
Evanthia
Maltsi (180-F-78) paced Greece with 22 points.
Many specialists compared first two games of the Czechs and the Russian team and
Czech Republic looked much better in the first two games. It was the time to
prove.
Russia nailed 29 points in the first quarter and it seemed the team could easily
score 100. The first quarter ended up with 29:13 and gave no more battle in the
game. Russia won the half 44:22 when
Olga
Arteshina made a lay-up.
In the second half Grudin gave opportunity almost to everybody to participate
and to score. The team had already +31 when the teams finished the third
quarter.
Irina Osipova with a lay-up made the final score 86:47 for the Russian team. Greece:
Evanthia
Maltsi 22,
Anastasia Kostaki (172-G-78) 11 Russia:
Irina
Osipova 21+12 rebs,
Ekaterina Demagina 12,
Olga
Arteshina 11+9 rebs+7 blk
Italy-France 48:64 (6-11, 10-17, 19-11, 13-25)
France showed good shape and clinched the second place in Group C; Italy
finished third. The hosts scored only 15 points in the first half and trailed by
11 at intermission, but in the third quarter Dubravka Dacic and Laura
Laura
Macchi (187-F-79) made the Azzurre closer and closer (31-32) before Commeres
team re-accelerate for good.
Sandrine
Gruda (192-F/C-87) led France with 14 points.Italy's Laura
Laura
Macchi, who had 15 points to lead all scorers on five of 14 shooting from
the field, said that they lost a great opportunity, coming back in the second
half. Italy:Laura
Macchi 15 Ress 8 France:Sandrine
Gruda 14, Gomis 11, Le Drean 10, Emmeline Ndongue 9
GROUP D
Belarus-Serbia 79:53 (21-16, 22-20, 17-11, 19-6) The National team of Belarus smashed Serbia in Day 3 of Eurobasket
2007. The latter, being the favorite of the game had nothing to do with an
ambitious Belarus.
Yelena
Leuchanka (196-C-83, college:
W.Virginia)
paced the winners with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Nataliya
Trafimava (186-F-79) scored 12, while Veremeenko and
Natalia
Marchanka (168-G-79) added 11 each.
Miljana
Musovic (180-G-87) was the only one to reach double digits nailing 15
points.
It was a game for the second place in the group as Spain atop the group D. It
also meant that the winner would have 1-1 record entering the Qualifying Round.
After Belarus first official win in Eurobasket last night, the team did not stop
on that and showed even a better game with Serbia. The latter could only led the
game in the opening tip when
Sonja
Petrovic (185-F-89) gave her team 5:4. Later on Belarus controlled the game
and dominated in the court.
Belarus won the first quarter 21:16 and then the second 22:20. Veremeenko's last
two points in the first half gave Belarus 43:36. It was still a good chance for
Serbia to catch up, however Belarus had another opinion. Instead of playing in
defense and keeping the score for good, the team started to increase the lead.
The teams finished the third quarter with 17:11 and then Belarus demonstrated
19:6 in the last. A more, than confident win of Belarus lifted them to the
second place in the group. Belarus:
Yelena
Leuchanka 14+11 rebs,
Nataliya
Trafimava 12, Veremeenko 11,
Natalia
Marchanka 11 Serbia:
Miljana
Musovic 15,
Sonja
Petrovic 9
Croatia-Spain 52:63 (9-14, 18-15, 19-17, 6-17) Croatia lost the third game in a row and did not qualify to the
Qualifying Round. Due to the last quarter the team lost to Spain 52:63.
Amaya
Valdemoro (184-F-76) led the winners with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Ana
Montanana (186-F-80, college:
George
Washington) netted 12, while
Marta
Zurro (187-C-80) added 8. Mandir and
Sonja
Kireta (198-C-76) ended up with 11 points each for Croatia.
Croatia scored first 4 points of the game and did not give up to the favorites.
The game did not have any importance to the standings as before Spain booked the
first spot in the group, while Croatia did not have any chances to finish third.
Spain pushed the tempo and Morales brought her team 14:9 after the first. Sonja
Kireta tied the score at 16 points for both teams and it was Podrug who gave
Croatia 23:22 lead. Spain was lucky to finish the half having 2 points
advantage.
Neither team was able to pull away as they exchanged the lead over and over and
went into the final period level at 46:46. Croatia threatened to spring an upset
after taking a 50:46 lead early in the fourth quarter. The team could win, but
missed a 2-17 run by the favorites. Spain won 63:52 and stayed undefeated in the
tournament. Croatia: Mandir 11,
Sonja
Kireta 11 Spain:
Amaya
Valdemoro 15+11 rebs,
Ana
Montanana 12,
Marta
Zurro 8
Day 2: Results and Full coverage - Sep. 25, 2007
GROUP A
Latvia-Israel 77:73 (17-12, 13-27, 23-18, 24-16) Latvian National team celebrates the second win in Group A. Just an
hour ago the team overcame Israel 77:73. After a crucial second quarter (13:27),
Latvia came back to the game and reached the second win. The team advanced to
the Qualifying Round, however will still play against Czech Republic for the
first place.
Anete
Jekabsone-Zogota (176-F-83) was unstoppable for the winners nailing 28
points.
Zane Tamane (194-C-83, college:
W.Illinois)
and Ieva
Kublina (193-C-82, college:
Virginia Tech)
netted 8 points each.
Liad
Suez-Karni (191-F/C-81, college:
Villanova)
top-scored for Israel with 21 points.
It was a positive start for the Baltic State when the team had 10:2 in the
opening tip. There was nothing to worry about as the teams finished the first
with 17:12 for Latvia. Liad
Suez-Karni started to ruin Latvian defense in the second quarter. She gave
Israel 20:19 lead and the start of the huge run. It was
Liad
Suez-Karni again to finish the first half with 39:30 for Israel.
Latvia needed less than three minutes in the second half as
Anete
Jekabsone-Zogota tied the score at 41 points each. Selwyn kept the advantage
for the opponents with 57:53 before the last quarter.
Basko tied the score again at 62:62 and then
Anete
Jekabsone-Zogota nailed two three pointers in a row to bring Latvia 70:68.
The team kept the lead till the end increasing the score to 77:73. Latvia:
Anete
Jekabsone-Zogota 28,
Zane
Tamane 8,
Ieva
Kublina 8 Israel:
Liad
Suez-Karni 21,
Katia
Abramzon (186-F/C-87) 15
Czech Republic-Turkey 86:62 (20-13, 19-10, 29-19, 18-20)
Czech Republic looks better than any other team in Eurobasket 2007. The next
victim of the favorite was Turkey that lost 62:86.
Jana
Vesela (194-F-83) and
Eva
Viteckova (190-F-82) led the Czechs with 17 points each.
Marketa
Mokrosova (178-F-81) supported them with 11 points.
Birsel
Vardarli (173-G-84) top-scored for Turkey with 20 points as one of the
leaders Nevriye Yilmaz did not play in the game.
The Czechs took a 17-4 lead after seven minutes, and even when Turkey replied
with a 9-1 run, to finish the first quarter down 20:13, there was not much of a
challenge for the Czech. The team shows a great basketball so far and is better
than any other team in the tournament.
For Turkey it was not an important game as they will take on Israel in a
win-or-die game, where the winner will continue and the loser will go home.
Turkey and Israel lost their first two games and in order to advance to the
Qualifying Round they should have to win at least once.
Anyway, Czech Republic had 39:23 at the half and looked optimistic. In the
second half they reached even more than 30 points deficit, when Hartigova made
the score 77:46. A final, 86:62 result keeps the team on top of the group,
however in order to finish first Czech Republic will have to beat Latvia
tonight.
In another game of the group Latvia beat Israel 77:73. The Czechs should pay
close attention to Jekabsone-Zogota who poured in 28 points over Israel. Czech Republic:Jana
Vesela 17,
Eva
Viteckova 17,
Marketa
Mokrosova 11 Turkey:Birsel
Vardarli 20,
Isil
Alben (170-G-86) 8,
Yasemin
Horasan (190-F/C-83) 8
GROUP B
Germany-Belgium 53:61 (10-18, 12-15, 18-15, 13-13) Belgium deserves the second win in Eurobasket 2007 in Italy. In the
second game of Group B Belgium beat Germany 61:53.
Ann
Wauters (194-C-80) led the winners with 16 points.
Kathy
Wambe (174-G-81) netted 15, while
Irina
Medvedeva (190-F/C-76, agency:
LBM
Management) added 8.
Martina
Weber (196-F-82, college:
Iona)
top-scored for the German team with 14 points.
The Belgians forced the issue straight off, feeding the ball to
Ann
Wauters who had five points and an assist as Belgium built a 12-5 lead in
the first five minutes. The team finished the first quarter having 18:10 on the
board. Belgium made the advantage bigger as the team won the second as well,
15:12.
Meanwhile Germany opened the second half with the first five points to make it
33:27. Belgium led by 11 points after Anke De Mondt's three foul shots with five
minutes left.
Anne
Breitreiner (183-G/F-84)'s three-pointer cut the deficit to 55:51. With the
score 57:53
Kathy
Wambe combined for four foul shots down the stretch for the win.
Ann
Wauters's team celebrates the second win and for sure will advance to the
Qualifying Round.
In the second game of the group Lithuania plays against Romania. Belgium
finishes the Preliminary Round tomorrow against Romania. Germany:Martina
Weber 14,
Anne
Breitreiner 11 Belgium:Ann
Wauters 16,
Kathy
Wambe 15,
Irina
Medvedeva 8
Lithuania-Romania 67:50 (24-16, 11-11, 15-11, 17-12) Lithuania tied at 1-1 in Group B action in Lanciano. Last night the
team overcame Romania 67:50. Due ti the first quarter success the Baltic State
could control the rest of the game.
Lina
Brazdeikyte (185-F/G-74) led the winners with 15 points.
Agne
Ciudariene (188-F-79) posted 14, while
Egle
Sulciute (190-C/F-85) had 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Maria
Pascalau (193-C-82) again top-scored for Romania, that time with 12 points
and 13 rebounds. Their 0-2 record leaves Romania guaranteed a fourth-placed
finish in the group since a victory against Belgium on Wednesday would not be
enough to overtake Germany or Lithuania.
It was a good start from both teams after they reached 16 points each.
Lina
Brazdeikyte's three-pointer sparked a 12-0 run spanning the first and second
quarters as Lithuania led 28:16. Petronyte made later 35:25 as the teams
finished the half with 35:27.
Lithuania came out of the locker-room on a 9-0 run with
Lina
Brazdeikyte and Valuzyte combining for seven of those points and a 44:27
lead. Parau with a jump shot reduced to 50:38 before the last quarter. There was
no time later in the game when the spectator could think of Riomanian win.
Lithuania deserved a 67:50 victory and for sure will play in the Qualifying
Round. Lithuania:
Lina
Brazdeikyte 15,
Agne
Ciudariene 14,
Egle
Sulciute 11+10 rebs Romania:
Maria
Pascalau 12+13 rebs,
Simina
Mandache (184-F-81) 8, Ciocan 8,
Ancuta
Stoenescu (171-G-80) 8
GROUP C
Greece-Italy 55:65 (13-21, 14-15, 10-13, 18-16) Greece lost the second straight game in Eurobasket 2007. In the first
game of Day 2 the hosts of the championship upset Greek squad 65:55.
Kathrin
Ress (193-F-85, college:
Boston Coll.)
paced the way with 16 points and 13 rebounds.
Raffaella Masciadri (185-F-80) nailed 15, while
Francesca Zara (178-G-76) ended up with 8 points and 8 rebounds.
Stella
Kaltsidou (187-C-83) and
Anastasia Kostaki (172-G-78) both produced 13 points in defeat. As there are
three teams advance from the group Greece will hope only for the miracle now.
Raffaella Masciadri opened the game with a three for the hosts. That jump
shot gave Italy the lead till the end of the game.
Kathrin
Ress's three closed the opening quarter at 21:13.
Right in the beginning of the next quarter Italy made the double-digit advantage
and looked forward not to stop. It was
Kathrin
Ress again who sent the teams to the interims with two free throws, 36:27.
In the second half Greece made a 5-0 run to reduce to 35:38. A 2-11 fail gave
Italians better chances to enter the last quarter. Then late however in the
fourth quarter, Greece reeled off seven consecutive points to pull to within
58:54. The Greeks could not stay closer and lost the second game 55:65. Italy
face France in their final Group C game while Greece take on Russia. Greece:
Stella
Kaltsidou 13,
Anastasia Kostaki 13 Italy:
Kathrin
Ress 16+13 rebs,
Raffaella Masciadri 15,
Francesca Zara 8 +8 rebs
Russia-France 63:59 (21-13, 18-15, 13-13, 11-18) Russia had another thriller, this time against France. With everything
to be in control over the first three quarters, Russia created a trouble by
itself, allowing French squad to reduce to 1 point with 4 minutes till the end
of the game. Luckily,
Oxana
Rakhmatulina (180-G-76, agency:
LBM
Management)'s five points brought her team the second win. She netted 12
points, while
Tatiana
Shchegoleva (195-F-82) ended up with 16 points and 8 rebounds.
Maria
Stepanova (202-C-79) top-scored for the winners with 19 points and 7
rebounds.
Emilie
Gomis (180-F-83) paced French squad with 16 points.
Being the favorite not only of the game, but of the tournament as well, Russia
started in a high tempo. After France led 5:4, Russia created 13:0 run to finish
the first at 21:13.
Maria
Stepanova made a jump shot to give her team 36:24 the biggest in the first
half.
Tatiana Shchegoleva made sure the teams could go for the break with 39:28.
With a bit more than 5 minutes in the third quarter Russia had 47:30. When you
play with such team as it mention above and you stay with 17 points behind, you
probably hope how to reduce to 12-15 points. France had another answer for this
and came back to the game.
Emilie
Gomis nailed a jumper to bring France to 56:55.
Oxana
Rakhmatulina's 5 points and Vodopyanova's lay-up saved the effort of the
team. Russia celebrates the second win and automatically will finish first in
the group. Russia:
Maria
Stepanova 19+7 rebs,
Tatiana
Shchegoleva 16+8 rebs,
Oxana
Rakhmatulina 12 France:
Emilie
Gomis 16, Le Drean 9
GROUP D
Croatia-Belarus 66:92 (11-18, 14-26, 18-24, 23-24) Belarus can already celebrate the success of the national team in
Italy. In the second game of Eurobasket Belarus smashes Croatia 92:66. It is the
first victory of the team in Eurobasket as they debuted in it. For sure the team
will not stop on it and will have more victories with such a game.
Tatyana
Troina (187-C-81, college:
S.Carolina)
led the winners with 19 points.
Yelena
Leuchanka (196-C-83, college:
W.Virginia)
finished the game with 14, while
Sviatlana Volnaya (187-G/F-79, college:
Virginia)
ended up with 13.
Petra
Stampalija (190-C-80) nailed 20 points in the losing effort.
Croatia scored first two points of the game and that was the only lead for the
team. After that loss the team will probably be the last in the group as there
are many "if" in order to advance to the Qualifying Round. The team needs to
hope for Serbia against Spain and tomorrow to beat Spain themselves.
Belarus won the opening quarter 18:11 and only increased the lead in the game.
Snytsina sent the teams to the interims when the score was 44:25.
In the second half Belarus realized that the win will be written in the news as
the first one, so they wanted to score more.
Yelena
Leuchanka nailed two in the end of the third to give her team +25.
Tatyana
Troina even made +29, but then Croatia set up the final score, 66:92. Croatia:
Petra
Stampalija 20,
Anda
Jelavic (174-G-80) 13 Belarus:
Tatyana
Troina 19,
Yelena
Leuchanka 14,
Sviatlana Volnaya 13
Spain-Serbia 79:76 (21-17, 22-19, 17-18, 19-22)
Serbia showed a great game against bronze medalists at the last three
EuroBaskets. Serbia tried hard, but have to admit 76:79 loss to Spain in Group
D. The Spanish led by as many as 13 points but found themselves leading 78:76
with just nine seconds remaining.
Elisa
Aguilar (178-G-76, college:
George
Washington) led the winners with 22 points.
Ana
Montanana (186-F-80, college:
George
Washington) netted 13, while
Amaya
Valdemoro (184-F-76) had 12 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists.
Maja
Miljkovic (176-G-88) top-scored for Serbia with 15 points.
It was another good game by Serbians in Eurobasket 2007. The team trailed 24:22
early in the second quarter when Spain went on a 15-4 run. Spain won the half
43:36 but that was not time to give up for the Serbs.
In the third quarter the Serbians stunned with an 11-0 run to lead 51:48. With a
18:17 in the quarter the team however stayed at 54:60 before the last. After
64:74 Serbia came back to the game after 10-2 run and reduced to 74:76. When the
score was 79:76 for Spain Veselovski missed two of her free throws.
Spain take on Croatia in the final Group D game while Serbia meet Belarus. Spain:
Elisa
Aguilar 22,
Ana
Montanana 13,
Amaya
Valdemoro 12+8 rebs+7 ast Serbia:
Maja
Miljkovic 15,
Ivana
Grubor (185-F/C-84) 10,
Marina
Puskar (193-F/C-82) 10
Preliminary Round: Day 1 results and full coverage - Sep. 24, 2007
Group A
Turkey-Latvia 62:73 (17-18, 13-20, 18-21, 13-14) Group A first game saw the battle between Turkey and Latvia. The
latter winning the second quarter 20:13 led the game to the happy end.
Gunta Basko (181-F-80, college:
Siena)
(181-F-80, college:
Siena)
showed a brilliant game with 17 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists.
Anete Jekabsone-Zogota (176-F-83) and
Ieva
Kublina (193-C-82, college:
Virginia
Tech) supported her with 16 points each.
Yasemin Horasan (190-F/C-83) and
Nevriye Yilmaz (196-C-80) top-scored with 21 points each for Turkey.
Moreover they made 18 rebounds together. 500 spectators came to enjoy the first game in Group A. The first quarter
was very tough and no one could predict the winner. Only in the second
quarter after 2 three pointers in a row Latvia took a pleasant lead.
Ieva
Kublina and
Anete Jekabsone-Zogota brought Latvia 32:24 with less than 4 minutes in
the first half. The teams went to the lockers with 38:31 for the Baltic
state. Eglite's three increased the lead to 13 points and brought the feeling of
the first victory. Turkey resisted well, but trailed by 10 points before the
last quarter. With 13:14 in the fourth Turkey had nothing to do, but to
admit the first loss.
In another game of the group Israel is facing now Czech Republic. Turkey:Yasemin Horasan 21+10 rebs,
Nevriye Yilmaz 21+8 rebs,
Latvia:Gunta Basko 17+7 rebs+7 ast,
Anete Jekabsone-Zogota 16,
Ieva
Kublina 16
Israel-Czech Republic 43:75 (11-17, 13-18, 7-19, 12-21) The defending champions start Eurobasket 2007 with the win over Israel last
night. With a tough beginning for the Czechs, the latter changed the game
into the easy win later with 75:43.
Eva
Viteckova (190-F-82) paced the winners with 16 points.
Edita Sujanova (189-C-85) netted 12, while
Petra Kulichova (198-C-84) chipped in 10 points and made 7 rebounds.
Liron Cohen (173-G-82) produced 16 points in the losing effort.
The champs from the Czech Republic opened their EuroBasket 2007 campaign
beating the team that won the Additional tournament. The game started well
for Israel as they stayed cool for the most of the first quarter. Only in
the end of it the favorites made 17:11.
Liron Cohen's free throw with 6 minutes remaining in the second tied the
score at 19:19. Meanwhile
Eva
Viteckova nailed a three a give Czech Republic 35:24 lead at the half.
There was no more intrigue in the game as Czech Republic increased to 19:7
in the third. They managed to play good defense and won 75:43.
In another game of the Group A Latvia beat Turkey 73:62. Israel will face
Latvia tonight, while the Czechs will look for their second win when they
meet Turkey. Israel:
Liron Cohen 16,
Shay
Doron (175-G-85, college:
Maryland)
10 Czech Republic:
Eva
Viteckova 16,
Edita Sujanova 12,
Petra Kulichova 10+7 rebs
GROUP B
Romania-Germany 78:85 (19-25, 21-17, 19-26, 19-17) Romania lost the opener of 2007 EuroBasket Women Group B campaign.
In the first game of the tournament Germany upset Romania 85:78. As two
years ago in Eurobasket 2005 the Bundersteam became stronger again.
Alexandra Mueller (175-G-83) led the way with 22 points.
Henning Frohlich (183-G-82) scored 20, while
Anne
Breitreiner (183-G/F-84) added 19.
Maria Pascalau (194-C-82) showed a good game for the Romanians nailing
26 in defeat. Maria Pascalau scored first 4 points for the team as Romania had 2:0 and
then 4:2 lead. The Germans immediately answered with some runs to finish the
first with 25:19. Romania took advantage of some German struggles and Palau's jumper made it
31:30 halfway through the second period. After that the team missed a 0-9
from the opponents and had 30:38. Thanks to 4 free throws from Hutanu
Romania stayed with 40:42 behind after the half. In the second half Palau's basket brought Romania to within 68:65 but Sarah
Austmann hit a three-pointer to give Germany back some momentum. The latter
won 85:78 and opened the tournament with a victory. Tomorrow Germany face Belgium while Romania must bounce back against
Lithuania. Romania:
Maria Pascalau 26,
Ildiko Vass (178-G-78) 13,
Annemarie Parau (174-G-84) 13 Germany:
Alexandra Mueller 22,
Henning Frohlich 20,
Anne
Breitreiner 19
Belgium-Lithuania 68:53 (21-9, 11-10, 25-16, 11-18) Belgium did not have any problems with Lithuania in Group B
campaign at the 2007 EuroBasket Women. Thinking of two equal teams before
the game Belgium proved it as a mistake. A 21:9 lead in the opening quarter
never saw Belgium behind. De Mondt led the winners with 18 points.
Ann
Wauters (194-C-80) scored 15 and made 7 rebounds, while
Evelien Callens (188-F-84, agency:
LBM
Management) netted 12.
Iveta Marcauskaite (196-F/C-82, agency:
LBM
Management, college:
Illinois)
produced 14 points in the losing effort. Belgium jumped out to an 18-4 lead and never looked back. That was a bit of
unexpecting as Lithuania used to be a tough team. What the Baltic state
could do was to stay equal in the second quarter when they lost 10:11.
Belgium increased the lead to 32:19 when the teams went to the lockers.
Lithuania twice trimmed the deficit to 10 points early in the third. As hard
as they stayed closer as easy Belgium made 25:16 in the third. Laurent
Buffard's team struggled to score early in the fourth and Lithuania used a
10-2 spurt to get to within 59:45 with four minutes remaining. A 68:53
result saw the spectators of Lanciano when the referee blew the whistle in
the end. Belgium face Germany in a battle of first-day winners, while Lithuania take
on Romania. Belgium: De Mondt 18,
Ann
Wauters 15+7 rebs,
Evelien Callens 12 Lithuania:
Iveta Marcauskaite 14,
Agne Ciudariene (188-F-79) 13
GROUP C
Italy-Russia 55:60 (18-22, 13-12, 8-8, 16-18) Russian National team won the opener of the EuroBasket Women in Chieti.
In the first game Russia outscored the hosts, Italians 60:55. Not many
people expected a tough game from Italy, however the team fought till
the end. Russia had no leader in that game as
Maria Stepanova (202-C-79) nailed 10 points and made 9 rebounds.
Tatiana Shchegoleva (195-F-82) and Osipova netted 9 points each.
Laura Macchi (187-F-79) produced 17 points and 9 rebounds in the
losing effort. Arteshina opened the game with a three and after
Maria Stepanova's two free throw Russia thought of an easy win.
Karpunina brought her team the biggest lead at that time, 18:9. Even
though Russia dominated, Italy reduced to 22:18 after the first 10
minutes. In the second quarter the favorites led by 3-5 points and went to the
interims with 34:31. The same saw the spectators in the third quarter as
when Italy tried to catch up Russia held 3 points. Italy tied the contest at 44:44 early in the fourth quarter on a
three-pointer from
Raffaella Masciadri (185-F-80). An 11-0 run helped Russia not to
feel sad after the first game of the tournament. The next game Russia
will play tomorow against France. Italy:
Laura Macchi 17+9 rebs,
Francesca Zara (178-G-76) 13,
Kathrin Ress (193-F-85, college:
Boston
Coll.) 10 rebs Russia:
Maria Stepanova 10+9 rebs,
Tatiana Shchegoleva 9, Osipova 9
France-Greece 58:50 (17-13, 10-6, 13-13, 18-18)
The National team of France got the first win in Eurobasket 2007. In the second
game of the group the team beat Greece 58:50. Due to the first half the winner
could hold the score for good.
Sandrine
Gruda (192-F/C-87) paced France with 14 points.
Emilie
Gomis (180-F-83) nailed 10, while Le Drean added 9.
Dimitra
Kalentzou (174-G-78) collected 16 points in the losing effort.
Who knows, maybe it was an important game in order to advance to the next round
or maybe another one. Le Drean opened the scoring list for her team as
Evanthia
Maltsi (180-F-78) answered with a three.
Dimitra
Kalentzou's free throw brought the last lead for Greece as later on France
dominated in the court. Yacoubou sent the teams after the first 10 minutes with
17:13.
In the second quarter there was nothing about the teams, however they stayed
scoreless for more than 5 minutes. After Stachtiari made a lay-up with 7.34
remaining, Gomis scored a free throw with 2.06 left in the quarter. Both squads
went to the lockers with 27:19 for the French team.
In the second half the favorites kept the advantage and led the game to the
happy end. France:
Sandrine
Gruda 14,
Emilie
Gomis 10, Le Drean 9 Greece:
Dimitra
Kalentzou 16,
Evanthia
Maltsi 11
GROUP D
Belarus-Spain 62:76 (12-17, 15-23, 24-20, 11-16)
Belarus lost the debut game of Eurobasket 2007 in Italy. In the first game
against the bronze medalists at the last three EuroBaskets Belarus lost 62:76.
Amaya
Valdemoro (184-F-76) was the best for the Spanish squad with 17 points.
Marta
Zurro (187-C-80) netted 12, while
Ana
Montanana (186-F-80, college:
George
Washington) and
Elisa
Aguilar (178-G-76, college:
George
Washington) added 10 points each.
Katsiaryna Snytsina top-scored for Belarus with 18 points.
Belarus started strong and even though Spain led 17:12 going into the second
quarter. Katsiaryna Snytsina's free throws late in the first half cut the
deficit to 26:25.
Marta
Zurro's jump shot in the end of the second quarter gave Spain 40:27.
Spain then went on a 25-4 run that bridged the second and third quarters to take
command with 51:29. Led by
Tatyana
Troina (187-C-81, college:
S.Carolina),
Belarus trimmed the deficit 55:45 with less than three minutes to go in the
third quarter. Immediately Spain made the score 60:45 and answered for the
question about the winner. In the last quarter with 11:16 for Belarus, Spain
triumphed at 76:62.
In another game of the group Croatia plays versus Serbia. Tomorrow Belarus
will play Croatia and will have a chance to celebrate the first win in
Eurobasket. Belarus:
Katsiaryna Snytsina 18,
Tatyana
Troina 11 Spain:
Amaya
Valdemoro 17,
Marta
Zurro 12,
Ana
Montanana 10,
Elisa
Aguilar 10
Serbia-Croatia 88:70 (16-21, 22-19, 24-16, 26-14) Serbia celebrated the first win in Group D at the EuroBasket Women in
Ortona. Last night the team overcame Croatia 88:70 due to the second half.
Miljana
Musovic (180-G-87) paced the winners with 19 points.
Ivana
Grubor (185-F/C-84) nailed 17, while Miljkovic added 12.
Petra
Stampalija (190-C-80) collected 20 points and made 8 rebounds for Croatia.
Serbia revenged for the loss that they had in the pre-tournament.
The game that was the second in the group had two different halves. Croatia felt
more at home leading in the first quarter. Last four points in the opening
quarter brought Croatia 21:16 lead. The team managed to stay in front at 40:38
when all the players went to the lockers.
Trailing by 55:47 midway through the third quarter, Serbia went on a 21-1 run to
take a 68:56 lead and they marched to victory.
Miljana
Musovic nailed a three in the last seconds of the game to have a first
important win in the group.
In another game of the group Spain beat Belarus 76:62. Serbia take on Spain
tonight while Croatia face Belarus. Serbia:
Miljana
Musovic 19,
Ivana
Grubor 17, Miljkovic 12 Croatia:
Petra
Stampalija 20+8 rebs,
Sonja
Kireta (198-C-76) 14,
Emilja
Podrug (190-C-79) 13
Italy welcomes to Eurobasket 2007 - Sep. 24, 2007
September
24th is the start of Eurobasket 2007, that will be held this year in Italy.
Sixteen teams that are divided into 4 groups are ready to struggle not only for
the gold, silver and bronze, however for the first five places that will give a
chance to participate in the Olympics. In the previous two championships Czech
Republic and Russia saw each other in the Final, while Spain grabbed bronze for
the last three years. What will happen this year? The answer is scheduled for
October 7th, the day of the Final game.
Czech Republic start the competition against Israel. The goal for the Eurobasket
2007 is to win. Even though for many teams it will be already a success to
participate in the tournament, Czech Republic's role will be to win again. The
Czech Republic will rely on their dynamic duo of Hana Machova and
Eva
Viteckova (190-F-82). The defending champions are a team consisting of
almost the exact same players that won the title two years ago.
While defending this year title, it is a proud to recollect last time success.
In the final game the team grabbed the win from Russia 72:70.
Eva
Nemcova (191-F-72) completed a dream Eurobasket Women for the Czech Republic
by burying a three-pointer with just eight seconds remaining to lead her side to
a thrilling gold medal game triumph over Russia. It was a brilliant tournament
for the team that showed 8-0 record.
Russian National team will start Eurobasket 2007 against Italians. The team made
up group C together with the hosts of the championship Italy, Greece and France.
After two previous and successful campaigns
Igor
Grudin now possesses a more experienced but still very young team with a
better understanding of his defensive concept. With their speedy wings and fluid
front line, Russia will definitely try to play at the speed they always have but
avoid playing out-of-control as has sometimes happened in the past.
Additional Qualifying and Relegation Tournaments: Day 3. Unbelievable action! - Sep. 22, 2007
Additional
Qualifying and Relegation Tournaments went to the end and now we know that
Israel got a right to join Group A of Eurobasket. It was an unbelievable action
by Slovak Republic and Poland that sent Israel to Eurobasket 2007. Sweden and
Slovenia waive to Division A as they produce a game of a lower level.
Israel will play in Eurobasket 2007. The team that did not play last night,
stayed in the court, being the spectators of Slovakia-Poland game.
All of the teams deserve a place in the upcoming tournament, however there was
only one place left for three of them. Israel, the winner of the additional
qualifying tournament is given the 16th and final berth in EuroBasket Women
where they will play in Group A along side Turkey, Latvia and defending
champions Czech Republic.
Slovakia won the game over Poland of the Additional Qualifying Tournament on
Friday night. A 76:74 victory, however sent Israel to Eurobasket 2007 as the
latter has a better difference.
Zuzana
Zirkova (175-F-80) paced the winners with 16 points.
Luisa
Michulkova (177-F-84) nailed 14, as Martina Luptakova ended up with 13. It
was again
Agnieszka Bibrzycka (184-F/G-82, college:
Abilene
Christian) who top-scored for Polish squad. She poured in 22 points, however
her last attempt did not reach the basket.
Slovakia was not a favorite of the game as they lost the opener to Israel. The
team however won the opening quarter and had 18:17 lead. Poland grabbed the lead
back and with 21:16 finished the half with 38:34.
In the third quarter Slovakia went on a 19-6 run over the next five minutes for
a 55:46 lead. The Slovakians stretched the advantage to 64:48 at the start of
the final quarter after a basket from Lucia Kupcikova.
Poland played better in the end of the game and reduced to 74:71 after
Leciejewska made a lay-up. With 76:74
Agnieszka Bibrzycka missed a three and both teams saw Israel celebrating the
win on the stands. An even result from three teams having a loss and a win,
brought the following difference:
Israel +6
Poland +5
Slovak Republic -11
Israel will now join group A in EuroBasket along with the defending champs of
the Czech Republic, Turkey and Latvia. The top three teams move on to the next
stage. Israel opens on Monday against the toughest hurdle - the Czech Republic.
Sweden beat Slovenia in the last game of the Relegation Tournament 49:47. Both
teams however will be sent to Division B as Hungary won the group.
Frida
Eldebrink (174-G-88) led the winners with 12 points.
Anna
Barthold (185-F/C-80, college:
St.Peter's)
collected 11 points and 19 rebounds, as Eldebrink netted 9.
Maja
Drozg (179-F/C-81) top-scored for the winners with 11 points and 14
rebounds.
The game did not bring much interest, but the end of it brought an intrigue.
Slovenia led almost the whole opening quarter, but the board showed 14:14 after
the first 10 minutes of the game.
In the second quarter Sweden took control of the game and Olheim's jump shot had
24:16 advantage. Both squads went to the interims with 31:26 for the
Scandinavian team. Anna
Barthold opened the third with a jump-shot as Sweden stepped in front for
33:26. Eldebrink's three brought Sweden 7 points deficit before the last
quarter.
The last quarter was one of the worst for the spectators ever. Slovenia scored
only after 3.35 minutes of the quarter, while Sweden made the free throw with 38
seconds remaining. With such a game the teams deserve the right to be sent to
the lower division.
Additional Qualifying and Relegation Tournaments: Day 2 - Sep. 21, 2007
Poland is
one step from Eurobasket 2007, Hungary stays in Division A-this is what brought
the second day of the Additional Qualifying and Relegation Tournaments. The
last, Day 3 is tonight and the Polish victory will leave them in Italy for
another tournament.
Poland won the opener of the additional qualifying tournament for the EuroBasket
Women. In the first game for the team and the second for Israel, Poland
celebrated 78:71 win.
Agnieszka Bibrzycka (184-F/G-82, college:
Abilene
Christian) was unstoppable nailing 32 points.
Malgorzata Dydek (213-C-74) poured in 15, while
Paulina
Pawlak (170-G-84) added 14.
Liad
Suez-Karni (191-F/C-81, college:
Villanova)
top-scored for Israel with 16 points. If Poland win the game against Slovak
Republic, they will advance to the EuroBasket but if Slovakia spring the upset,
the Poles, Slovakians and Israelis would each have 1-1 records. In that case, a
goal differential tie-breaker would be used to determine which team moves on to
the finals and plays in Group A against the Czech Republic, Turkey and Latvia.
Poland took a control in the beginning of the game and reached 27:15 after the
first 10 minutes. Even though Poland stopped in the second they still had 39:29
at the half.
Agnieszka Bibrzycka's three-pointer at the end of the third quarter gave her
team 45:31 lead.
Meanwhile Israel created a 17-0 run to move in front at 55:49. Poland came back
at 59:58 and produced a 9-0 run to finish the game with 78:71. A tough, but an
important win gives now more chances for Poland to advance.
Hungary stays in Division A after the second win in the relegation tournament.
Hungary defeated Sweden 64:49 and won the small group of three teams. The team
compete for a bid to EuroBasket Women 2009 while Sweden will be relegated to
Division B.
Timea
Beres (192-C-76) led the winners with 16 points.
Dalma
Ivanyi (178-G-76, college:
Florida Intern.)
produced 11, while
Petra
Ujhelyi (192-C-80, college:
S.Carolina)
chipped in 7 points and made 8 rebounds.
Frida
Eldebrink (174-G-88) was the best in the Scandinavian roster with 11 points.
After an easy victory over Slovenia, the game agaist Sweden brought more
interest. Hungary won the opening quarter 15:13 as Sweden showed great
resistance. In the second quarter the favorites increased to 17:10 and had 9
points deficit at the half.
In the second half not to wait till the end of the game Hungary made another
17:9 in the third. Even though Sweden won the last 17:15, they lost the game
49:64.
Hungary scored 20 out of 52 shots, while Sweden 15/43 result. The latter nailed
only 1 three pointer out of 8, but Hungary made 5 out of 18.
The game between Sweden and Slovenia is scheduled for tonight.
Additional Qualifying and Relegation Tournaments: Day 1 - Sep. 20, 2007
Two games
were played of the Additional Qualifying Tournament and Relegation Tournament
last night. For now Israel has better chances tio advance to Eurobasket 2007,
while Hungary to stay in Division A.
Slovak Republic, Israel and Poland struggle for the last spot in Eurobasket
2007. All of them deserve a place in the upcoming tournament, however there is
only one place left for three of them. The winner of the additional qualifying
tournament will be given the 16th and final berth in EuroBasket Women where they
will play in Group A along side Turkey, Latvia and defending champions Czech
Republic.
Israel makes another step to Eurobasket 2007. In the first game of the
Additional Qualifying Tournament the team overcame Slovak Republuc. With a
wonderful second quarter, 29:14 Israel led to 84:71 win.
Liron
Cohen (173-G-82) led the winners with 24 points.
Mirav
Dori (178-F-86) posted 20, while Suez Karni chipped in 10.
Zuzana
Zirkova (175-F-80) top-scored for Slovak Republuc with 24 points.
Slovak Republic that finished the group without losses started with a loss over
Israel that had 2-2 record before the tournament. Even though Israel won the
opening tip, Slovakia led after the first 10 minutes, 17:15. That was the last
lead for the team in the first half, as Israel created a 29:14 in the second to
take the control of the game. Slovakia reduced in the third with 28:16, however
Israel replied with 24:12 in the last. The latter grabs the first win in
Additional Qualifying Tournament and needs a win over Poland to advance to
Eurobasket 2007.
Hungary smashed Slovenia in the first game of the Relegation Tournament. Having
won all the quarters Hungary celebrated 74:30 win.
Zsofia
Fegyverneky (178-G-84) paced the winners with 11 points.
Dalma
Ivanyi (178-G-76, college:
Florida Intern.)
collected 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Katalin Honti scored 10.
Katja
Temnik (188-C/F-78) top-scored with 13 points and 10 rebounds in the losing
effort.
The winner of the relegation tournament will earn the right to stay in Division
A and compete for a bid to EuroBasket Women 2009 while the losers will be
relegated to Division B. Hungary made a great step toward staying in the top
division.
Hungary took a control from the first minutes of the game, trying to prove that
the team does not deserve to go division lower. With 15:10 in the first, Hungary
benefited from 21:10 in the second.
If today Hungary beats Sweden, they will stay in Division A the next year. If
so, the game between Sweden and Slovenia in the last day will be a so called
"friendly"
Slovak Republic, Israel and Poland will struggle for the last spot in Eurobasket 2007 - Sep. 16, 2007
Slovak
Republic, Israel and Poland will struggle for the last spot in Eurobasket 2007.
All of them deserve a place in the upcoming tournament, however there is only
one place left for three of them. The winner of the additional qualifying
tournament will be given the 16th and final berth in EuroBasket Women where they
will play in Group A along side Turkey, Latvia and defending champions Czech
Republic.
Slovak Republic remained unbeaten in Group C and qualified to the additional
tournament for Eurobasket 2007 with 4-0 record. In the last game of the group
Slovak Republic had a road win over Sweden 55:76.
Lucia
Kupcikova (184-F-84) (184-F-84) led the winners with 16 points.
Luisa
Michulkova (177-F-84) and Anna Jurcenkova produced 13 points each.
Poland celebrated the win in Group A and stayed perfect in it as well. Poland
won the group A grabbing the 4th straight win. In a tough game over Slovenia the
Polish squad got a road 51:54 win. The result was achieved due to the third
quarter that they won 21:12.
Agnieszka Bibrzycka (184-F/G-82, college:
Abilene
Christian) led the winners with 18 points.
Andrzej
Tlumak (203-C-80) ended up with 8 points, while Dorota Gburczyk had 7.
Israel won Group B, however finished as two other teams in the group with 2-2
record. Israel has better results and is the only team to qualify from the
group. In the last game of the group Bulgaria beat Israel 76:72.
Liron
Cohen (173-G-82) top-scored for Israel with 21 points.
Slovak Republic and Israel open the qualifying round on September 19th.
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