Belarus and Serbia ready to make final push

BUDAPEST (EuroBasket Women 2015) - Past misses makes the semi-finalists determined to make this shot.

"It would mean everything," Belarus guard Lindsey Harding declares. "And now it's the push ... to make history," Serbia's Jelena Milovanovic counters.

Friday night in Budapest, the duo and their running mates will duel for a place in the Final of EuroBasket Women 2015. Both nations have reached this stage before over the past decade. One will advance a step further. One misses out.

Yet if momentum is everything within a tournament, where it matters more how you finish than how you start, then neither team has raced into the last four like a rocket-powered Ferrari.

Belarus, bronze medallists in 2007, had lost three straight before recovering to hold off Lithuania 68-66 in their Quarter-Final.

The Serbs had dropped three out of four but then recovered their defensive mojo to sweep out Turkey 75-63 in a victory laden with emotion.

"We finally played 40 minutes as a team," Milovanovic declared. "Maybe not totally 40 but we showed that when we play together, we can beat anyone, even Turkey who were probably the best team of the Second Round. But we knew just how important this was for us and our country."

Two years ago, in France, they stood here, one game away from the finale but were pulverised in a first-half crushing by eventual champions Spain. They are a little wiser now, a little readier.

"We've grown up as a team," Milovanovic added. "We've been together a long time now. We know each other so well."

Familiarity is the friend of Belarus also. Consistency has been their hallmark over the past decade, only once finishing outside the top five in these championships. Sixth in points scored and eighth in defense, they are a two-way team. But also vulnerable at either end when concentration ebbs.

"But we always know we need to step up our game, not just offensively but defensively," Harding acknowledges. "We had some lapses against Lithuania that let them get back in the game and we need to stop that."

Defense is the key, the American-born guard affirms. In five wins at EuroBasket Women, Serbia have conceded an average of 64.6 points. In their three losses, that headline figure has soared to 80.3. Beautiful basketball would be the ideal. Only the result truly matters.

"I don't expect it to change," Harding declares. "I expect it to be scrappy all the way through. I expect it to be a fight because you never know when you'll get this chance again. It's going to be a dogfight. Sure, you want basketball to flow and be exciting. But the refs are going to have an interesting game."

Big games need huge performances. 

Yelena Leuchanka, despite a late fall to the floor that left her bruised, was - by her own admission - out of sorts against the Lithuanians. Others stepped up.

"They played well, extremely well," their rival states. "They were knocking down shots. That's what we need to do."

Serbia had the game of her life from Ana Dabovic, a runaway scoring train.

"She is the go-to player, we know that," Milovanovic admitted. "When someone's on fire, we go to that. But our team defense made her comfortable with her shots and that's how we support one another."

Belarus will be on their guard. Dabovic will look for help. The Serbs go deep and others have shone en route here.

I don't think you can stop many people in this tournament. You can only try to limit them. - Harding

"We'll try to challenge them offensively, maybe get some calls. But we definitely have to be aggressive from the first quarter. When we get stops, we can get out on the run. And when we miss, we have to not let our heads go down. Forget about it and move on."

To Sunday, she hopes. When the winner will get a golden ticket directly to Rio 2016. That would feel like everything had been claimed.

"Hopefully we're going to be smiling at the end," Milovanovic grins. "When we play our game nobody can stop us. We'll learn from our mistakes and we're going to go for it."

Go to EuroBasketWomen2015.com for full coverage of EuroBasket Women 2015.

FIBA