Croatian hopes still hanging in the balance
ZAGREB (FIBA EuroBasket Women 2017 Qualifiers) - Croatia head into the last FIBA EuroBasket Women 2017 Qualifiers window looking to punch a ticket for their fourth successive Final Round appearance.
ZAGREB (FIBA EuroBasket Women 2017 Qualifiers) - Croatia will head into the last FIBA EuroBasket Women 2017 Qualifiers window determined to punch the ticket that would wrap up their fourth successive Final Round appearance.
Head coach Braslav Turic takes his team into the last two games of their qualifying campaign against Estonia at home and France on the road, with Croatia currently 2-2 and realistically looking to qualify as one of the best runners-up.
| Croatia 14-player preliminary squad for FIBA EuroBasket Women 2017 Qualifiers | |||
| Ana Marija Begic | Iva Borovic | Tea Buzov | Ivana Dojkic |
| Ruzica Dzankic | Jelena Ivezic | Ana Lelas | Lana Packovski |
| Nina Premasunac | Marija Rezan | Antonija Sandric | Ivana Tikvic |
| Iva Todoric | Shavonte Zellous | ||
However, signing off with a pair of wins is not out of the question, since Croatia have some in-form players who could possibly cause an upset against Les Bleues, with France the current Group B leaders and expected to finish in pole position.
Center Marija Rezan produced a career best EuroLeague Women performance last week for CCC Polokowice when she accumulated 27 points and 23 rebounds, while Luca Ivankovic and Antonija Sandric are both performing well as club team-mates for Samsun. Naturalised guard Shavonte Zellous is also likely to have a big say in the match-ups with Estonia and France.
Croatia will be eager to make a return to Final Round as they endured an injury crisis both before and during EuroBasket Women 2015 in Hungary - although they still managed to progress to the second phase of the tournament.
FIBA