Home court advantage: Can Oblak and Slovenia rise to the occasion?
LJUBLJANA (Slovenia) - Few players heading to FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2023 will have more responsibility resting squarely on their shoulders than Slovenia national team leader and playmaker Teja Oblak.
Some things never change at major tournaments. Host nations know they must inevitably tread a fine line between harnessing partisan and passionate home support, while battling the weight of expectation and a potentially heightened fear of failure.
"WHEN PLAYING AT HOME IT CAN GO EITHER WAY AND FROM OUR SIDE THERE IS A LITTLE BIT OF PRESURE." - Teja Oblak
A star in EuroLeague Women and one of the standout performers for her country, Oblak believes that Slovenia's prospects will largely be shaped by how they manage the mental challenge and whether they can get off to a flying start.
She said: "When playing at home it can go either way and maybe, from our side, there is a little bit of pressure because we want to be better than we were before.
"When you are the ones doing the organizing at home, you know the fans will be expecting something . We have to use the time we have before it starts to deal with this and especially with the younger players, because they do not have that much experience.
Oblak will compete at her fourth Women's EuroBasket, having played on Slovenia's debut back in 2017
"For sure the important thing will be how we start. The first game is so important and if we do well, then we know the crowd will support us even more. But I also know how it is with Slovenia, because if you are winning, you are right up there, but if you are losing, then people could move away."
Standing in the way of Slovenia progressing beyond the first phase are Germany, Great Britain and France in Group D. Pitched into an interesting and possibly unpredictable group, Oblak had some fun alongside her ZVVZ USK Praha teammates Temi Fagbenle and Valeriane Vukosavljevic when the draw took place.
"OUR GROUP IS NOT EASY AT ALL AND IT FEELS VERY MIXED."
"We talked about it as soon as it was made because we watched it together," she smiled.
"Valou [Valeriane] said she was so happy that she would be playing against me and Slovenia, while we will play against Temi in the first game. Great Britain has some good players and we all know about France, including Valeriane.
Oblak will go up against ZVVZ USK Praha teammate Valeriane Vukosavljevic who will step out with France against Slovenia
"Our group is not easy at all and it feels very mixed. Germany are also back at the FIBA Women's EuroBasket for the first time in many years and they have some players who have been playing well in Europe. I know them and I think they can have a very good team."
Like most players and leaders, Oblak is super concentrated on what her own team does though. It could certainly prove to be a challenge since Slovenia are going to be without the experience of Shante Evans and Nika Baric who will both be absent, as will the injured Teja Gorsic and Marusa Senicar.
"THE PLAYERS WHO USED TO BE THE YOUNGER ONES HAVE GROWN AND GROWN SO THEY HAVE MORE TO GIVE NOW."
That leaves them looking arguably shorter in terms of depth than at past events, but they are putting their trust in EuroLeague Women Coach of the Year Georgios Dikaioulakos to help them navigate what will be a big test.
"With the previous coach, I think we went step by step upwards, but I also feel that we reached the maximum we could as a group," stated Oblak.
Slovenia have a new playcaller for this edition in EuroLeague Women Coach of the Year, Georgios Dikaioulakos
"We have changed the coach and now it is completely different and especially in terms of mentality and what he is putting on us. Because of the qualifying windows and those games, we already know what he wants.
"I actually can't quite say yet what we are going to look like at the tournament. In the past I had a feeling but I still don't quite have it just yet. But I think through this preparation we will see how everyone is coming onto the same page and how we will keep growing as a group.
She added: "I also think that those players who used to be the younger ones have grown and grown, so they have more to give now. For example Zala Friskovec stepped up this past club season and there are also some other players like this too.
"I think this is going to be important for our national team," concluded Oblak.
FIBA
