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June 2023
8 Pinelopi Pavlopoulou (GRE)
18/06/2023
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Last call: Who will step onto the plane to Ljubljana for the Quarter-Finals?

TEL AVIV (Israel) - Two teams will depart from Tel Aviv destined for the Final Phase of the FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2023 in Ljubljana if they emerge unscathed from the Qualification for Quarter-Finals. 

Four nations are in the running to make it to the last eight of the competition, having finished in second and third spots respectively in Groups A and B.

Two more Qualification for Quarter-Finals games will be played in Ljubljana between teams from Groups C and D on Tuesday.

Czech Republic vs Greece - 17:00 CET (18:00 local)

Both viewed very much as underdogs in their respective groups before they arrived in Tel Aviv, one of Czech Republic and Greece will be marching into the last eight and it could be a tough call to even try and figure out who it will be. Both have blown hot and cold so far, with Greece taking a fabulous win against Latvia and Czech Republic pulling off the upset against Italy on opening day. It could be a nail-biter and boil down to some fine details and decision making in crunch time. 

Head To Head: As if to further underline that this might be a tight one, both teams have played each other six times and they have three wins each to their name.

Key matchup: Maria Fasoula is the centerpiece for Greece and always capable of producing that one huge display in any given game that will be the foundation for a win. That means there will be a big onus on the experience of Czech center and captain Renata Brezinova to make sure that doesn't happen.

X-Factor: Somebody needs to come up with a big scoring effort for Czech Republic. Yes, the team work and sharing can be effective, but nobody who has played two or three games has averaged double digits. Now would be the ideal time for someone to shoot those lights out - or even just turn up the dial on offense and post an eye-catching contribution. 

Stats Don't Lie: Czech Republic have spilled the ball 52 times in the competition and that is too many. If they give up another 15-20 turnovers in this game, they could be on the plane to Prague instead of Ljubljana.

Montenegro vs Italy - 20:00 CET (21:00 local)

Montenegro are loving life at this tournament with two wins from three games and defying many pre-competition predictions of a potential struggle. They have beaten Greece and Latvia so will be highly respected by an Italian side with just one win against Israel to their name. These teams met at the last edition and Italy breezed their way to a 16-point win, but it looks destined to be a whole lot closer this time around, with Montenegro full of confidence behind the high performing Natasha Mack.

Head To Head: These teams have met four times previously with Italy winning three of those matchups.

Key matchup: Olbis Andre was super against Belgium in the last game for Italy despite a loss. She may be tasked with using her athleticism to lock down Montenegro standout Natasha Mack who was the Day 3 Top Performer with an epic display.

'X-Factor: The supporting cast needs to step up even more for Montenegro. They can't expect stellar performances and near miracles from Mack to be enough. There have been some cameos and they are non-negotiable in this one against an Italy team with dreams. 

Stats Don't Lie: Montenegro are one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the tournament and if they can just improve on 26.8 percent, it might be the difference between going home and heading to the Quarter-Finals.

FIBA