MINSK/ISTANBUL (FIBA World Championship for Women) - It's been an eventful time for the Belarus frontcourt recently after it was revealed that veteran Marina Kress has been ruled out of the FIBA World Championship for Women, prior to star center Anastasiya Verameyenka recording a significant career landmark.

Kress has been a near permanent fixture for the Belarus national team for 15 years, having debuted way back in 1999.

She had been bidding to play at her second FIBA World Championship for Women having been an integral part of the Belarus side that reached the Semi-Finals in the Czech Republic in 2010.

But Kress now won't be able to step out in Turkey after going off on maternity leave.

Her absence delivers a sizeable blow to the prospects of Belarus. While her numbers don't immediately jump off the page, her tireless work in the paint and influence around the locker room will be sorely missed.

However, with the 33-year-old staying at home, it could open the door a little wider for rising star Maryia Papova.

The teenager stepped out at her first major tournament last year when she helped her side take fifth place at EuroBasket Women 2013. She is very highly-rated and now widely tipped to see more court time under the basket.

Papova will still be third in the queue behind the unmistakable presence of Yelena Leuchanka and Anastasiya Verameyenka, who are both currently playing their club basketball in Turkey.

The latter is at Fenerbahce and has become only the fourth player in EuroLeague Women history to block 150 shots.

This puts Verameyenka into some seriously illustrious company, with legendary duo Maria Stepanova and Malgorzata Dydek taking the top two spots for swats.

Verameyenka is now chasing down a potential adversary at the FIBA World Championship for Women in the shape of Petra Kulichova - someone she knows very well, since the Czech Republic national team center is yet another player who steps out each week in the TKBL.

FIBA