The now traditional catchy theme song is out, a mascot named “Shiny” resembles Disney character Tinkerbell and the Czech Republic, for years a haven of women’s hoops is gearing itself to host its biggest basketball event in recent memory; Eurobasket Women 2017 begins on Friday.
And with the Czech national side desperate to reclaim some pride with a past record that is on the decline, this tournament will hopefully provide the backdrop to bring back some of the past successes to the present.
Serbia will be determined to defend their crown that they captured two years ago and they have a strong roster on show. But they will face stiff competition with Spain being the pre-tournament favourites to lift the women’s crown in Prague.
The Spaniards will have 2013 Eurobasket Women MVP Sancho Lyttle to boost their forward line and it will be an international swansong for Laia Palau, who will call it quits after the tournament.
Palau will not be the only player retiring after Eurobasket Women this summer. France’s Celine Dumerc is also stepping aside, as well. Dumerc came to prominence when she gave Les Bleues a huge lift at the London 2012 Olympics, guiding them to what was seen as a surprise silver medal. A feat that they also managed a year later in the very event where she will now end her international career
It promises to be a memorable tournament staged by a nation truly devoted to women’s basketball. This year, it reverts back to 16 teams from the 20 that competed in 2015 and it promises to be more competitive than ever.
GROUP A – Spain, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Hungary
All eyes will undoubtedly be on Spain and of course the hosts, Czech Republic in this group. But Ukraine are not to be overlooked and Hungary are not travelling to merely make up the numbers. The Ukrainians have depth in their forward line that can certainly do damage with Olesia Malashenko and Kateryna Dorogbuzova leading that line.
Ukraine though will be led by the evergreen Alina Iagupova, who is one of the prolific scorers in the women’s game. They will no doubt look to her for the bulk of their scoring, but that could prove to be a weakness as teams will look to have her scouted. And one player does not win a basketball game.
Two years removed from co-hosting Eurobasket Women and Hungary will no doubt be looking to improve on their 1-4 mark in 2015. They have tremendous talent at the guard spots, led by the naturalised Courtney Vandersloot, who has been a kingpin in a historic and spectacular season for EuroCup Women and Turkish champions Yakin Dogu Universitesi. The only issue for the Hungarians is their forward line, which could be exploited frequently.
Olympic and World Cup silver-medallists Spain are the clear favourites to win this group with strength in every department headed by veteran Alba Torrens and WNBA big Sancho Lyttle gracing the line-up. The guard rotation is amongst the most talented in the tournament with Laia Palau, Anna Cruz, Marta Xargay, Silvia Dominguez, Leticia Romero and Silvia Dominguez in the team.
The hosts will look to home support to help them through the group phase. They have a strong line-up but are hampered by the lack of a pure point guard. Despite the weakness, led by USK Prague star Katerina Elhotova, they are expected to qualify to the next round.
GROUP B – Belarus, Turkey, Slovak Republic, Italy
It will be hard to look past Turkey to win this group and why not? They will boast a team of players with ample big game experience, and even with the absence of Nevriye Yilmaz there is still plenty of firepower.
Turkey will hand a tournament debut to Fenerbahce star Pelin Bilgic, who deserves her shot at the national side but the 22-year-old is the only newbie in a reliable squad and she could face a struggle for minutes.
Group B boasts two sides that have a rich history in women’s basketball but over the last couple of years, have fallen off the radar. This year though, Belarus and Slovak Republic will look to make some noise in Hradec Kralove.
Belarus went to the Rio 2016 Olympics with promise and a team stacked with veterans. However, they ended the group stage with a 1-4 record and were eventually eliminated by Turkey, who they will face, one year on. On the other side, the Slovak Republic admittedly have been tipped to struggle but will look to veteran Zuzana Zirkova, who makes an international return – along with another vastly experienced center in Romana Vynuchalova to bring the squad to life.
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The final team in the Group B mix, Italy, had an impressive qualifying campaign but do face problems with their depth in the front court. Coach Andrea Capobianco has enjoyed a hugely successful run leading the national side since picking up the reins and he will be looking to the veteran pairing of Laura Macchi and Raffaella Masciadri against the dynamic and thrilling play of rising star Cecilia Zandalasini to make the difference.
GROUP C – Serbia, France, Greece, Slovenia
While the focus on Group C will be on international powerhouses Serbia and France, as the 2015 finalists compete in the first days of the tournament, the battle between Greece and Eurobasket Women debutants Slovenia will also prove interesting.
Slovenia, a nation with a proud basketball heritage, predominantly through their men’s programme have been boosted with an emerging women’s game. This was evident in the qualifying campaign when they advanced ahead of established nations Latvia and Lithuania.
The majority of the team that got through the qualifiers will be suiting up in the Czech Republic, led by guards Teja Oblak and Nika Baric with the addition of naturalised forward Shante Marie Evans. It’s a young side with average age of 25 but they will look to make a splash at their first major tournament.
Despite being without some of their most experienced players in Zoi Dimitrakou, Olga Chatzinikolaou and Pelagia Papamichail, Greece can still call upon Eurobasket Women 2009 MVP Evanthia Maltsi – as well as other veteran stars in Styliani Kaltsidou, Iouliti Lymoura and Aikaterina Sotiriou.
It will be a tough ask for Greece, but they have the best possible squad at their disposal and – given the chance – can do some damage, especially inside.
But it is difficult to look past France and reigning champions Serbia in the group. The French, gunning for their third straight final appearance will be led by Celine Dumerc ahead of her retirement from national team duties following the tournament. There will also be a particular emphasis on the experienced Endy Miyem and EuroLeague Women champion, Helena Ciak in the frontcourt.
However, there was no room on the roster, rather surprisingly for Amel Bouderra along with young center Aby Gaye.
Champions Serbia might have said goodbye to Milica Dabovic after the Rio Olympics, last summer, but her sister and Eurobasket Women MVP from their successful campaign two years ago, Ana Dabovic has declared herself fit and ready to go as nine of the players that captured bronze at last summer’s Olympics will be present in the Czech Republic.
No doubt, the Serbs will be ready to defend their title, but they are known to start slow, so don’t be alarmed if that happens here when the group phase takes shape.
GROUP D – Latvia, Belgium, Montenegro, Russia
Without question, this is the dreaded ‘Group of Death‘. Every tournament has one and Latvia, Belgium, Montenegro and Russia are all featured this summer.
All teams have the ability to go far in the tournament, even the Belgians, who return to the international women’s stage for the first time in over a decade. Emma Meesseman and Ann Wauters provide one of the most formidable starting combinations around under the basket in women’s international basketball. That gives head coach Philip Mestdagh a superb platform to build from and with daughter Kim Mestdagh one of the most improved wing players on the continent, they have the quality to do some damage.
Since 2011’s Eurobasket triumph in Poland, Russia have seen their results drop as their heroes from previous years gracefully head into retirement. But eager to keep the glory years going, the proud women’s basketball nation looks to youth in the Czech Republic.
And the Russians have depth in abundance, headed by their youngest member in the phenomenal Maria Vadeeva, who impressed when she debuted as a 16-year-old at the last edition. Now a EuroLeague Women winner at Dynamo Kursk, and ever improving, she will be leading her nation with the aim of reproducing the magic of 2011.
Montenegro are always a strong opposition in any tournament they are competing in but this summer, they have been hampered with the denial to use their WNBA star Jelena Dubljevic but the Montenegrin’s Spanish head coach Roberto Iniguez has a strong roster to pick – starting with veteran Jelena Skerovic and trusted backcourt partner, Snezana Aleksic.
Montenegro will also be happy with the great form of Milica Jovanovic, who has really come alive during pre-tournament friendlies, and if you add the possibility of a ‘twin towers’ combo via Iva Perovanovic and the naturalised Angelica Robinson, then the Balkan nation have a chance to go far.
Out of the four teams, Latvia might find the going tougher as they look to move on from the era of their legendary leader Anete Jekabsone-Zogota. But they have the players to push their opponents and give them a game.
Veteran Elina Babkina will be the leader and she will have trusted forward Gunta Basko-Melnbarde and capable shooting contributions of Ieva Krastina along with Aija Putnina, Anete Steinberga and Kristine Vitola ready to meet the challenge of matching-up against three of the strongest frontcourts in the tournament.
Latvia might struggle, but they won’t go down without a fight.
