POL – Semi-Finals day at EuroBasket Women

LODZ (EuroBasket Women 2011) - A couple of old rivals square off on Friday when Russia meet the Czech Republic while France will attempt to keep their title defense on track when going up against red-hot Turkey.

It’s the EuroBasket Women Semi-Finals day in Lodz, Poland, and both match-ups make mouths water.

Russia and the Czechs have played each other in the title game before.

In 2003, when the EuroBasket women was staged in Patras, Greece, Russia overcame the Lucie Blahuskova-led Czechs in a 59-56 thriller to capture the gold medal.

But the Czechs, led by Eva Nemcova’s 18 points, prevailed 72-70 in a rematch two years later in Ankara, Turkey, to win the European title.

Players who competed for both of those sides that are still involved, including Russia’s veteran center Maria Stepanova and the Czech Republic’s Eva Viteckova.

The 2.03m Stepanova remains as potent as ever at 32 years of age.

Averaging 11.7 points and 8.6 rebounds per contest in Poland, Stepanova set the tone for her team’s interior play in their Quarter-Final triumph over Latvia with a game-high 11-boards including seven on the offensive end.

The team has a lot of other weapons, too, including veteran forward Olga Arteshina.

"Our aim going into this tournament was to reach the Final and we are one step away,” said Arteshina, who played in both 2003 and 2005.

Viteckova, 29, is the Czechs’ leader on the floor.

Held to just nine points in her side’s 69-55 setback to Russia earlier in this EuroBasket Women, she bounced back with 26 in a vital win over Lithuania and then poured in 17 in a Quarter-Final rout of Croatia.

France are the defending champions and they played like it against a very good Lithuania side on Thursday night, winning 66-58.

The primary aim of Les Bleues was to get to the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament so with that mission accomplished, they will now try to see off a Turkish team that has never played better.

This year marks the first time Turkey have advanced to the last eight of a EuroBasket Women since 2005 and they knocked off previously unbeaten Montenegro on Thursday night, 56-44.

The key to the Turkish success has been their relentless defensive pressure, and the emergence of Saziye Ivegin as an offensive force.

Ivegin spearheaded the side’s effort with 17 points in their upset of Belarus that put the Turks in the Quarter-Finals and then came up with a team-high 14 points in their triumph over Montenegro.

France point guard Celine Dumerc returned to top form against Lithuania and the one-two punch of Sandrine Gruda and Isabelle Yacoubou-Dehoui was too much for the Baltic side on the perimeter.

Montenegro will meet Lithuania in a Classification Round game with the winner to face Croatia in a battle for fifth place on Saturday.

The side that comes in fifth will earn a trip to the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

FIBA