Romania Ready To Go Three In A Row
If there's one team that held their nerve during the first EuroBasket Women 2017 Qualifiers window it was Romania, who are now searching or a third straight success when they entertain Turkey on Saturday.
MUNICH (FIBA EuroBasket Women 2017 Qualifiers) - If there's one team that held their nerve during the first EuroBasket Women 2017 Qualifiers window it was Romania, who are now searching or a third straight success when they entertain Turkey on Saturday.
Things could have been so different for Miroslav Popov and his team had his players not showed nerves of steel down the stretch of their games at home to Bosnia and Herzegovina and on the road to Israel.
Romania won the first contest by two points and then emerged victorious in another real nail-biter in Tel Aviv when they succeeded by a solitary point.
It leaves the EuroBasket Women 2015 co-hosts with a great springboard to ultimately punch a ticket for the next edition of Final Round - although Group favourites Turkey will offer a true gauge of their progress.
But behind their leading trio of headline star Gabriela Marginean who will bring the noise offensively, the leadership from experienced point guard Annemarie Parau and the ever-improving dynamic play of Claudia Pop - Romania aren't necessarily huge underdogs.
With Turkey still transitioning new players into their team and confidence of the home side high off the back of those two opening wins, there is also one more critical reason why Romania are hopeful of taking a leap towards Final Round next year - namely, fan power.
A spectacular 5,000 supporters came out to cheer for the local favourites in Cluj against Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the city now ready to back the national team once more.
Looking past Saturday is not an option.
But if Turkey do manage to spoil the party, then the game in Bosnia and Herzegovina on 24 February will take on even further significance for Romania, who will be expecting their opponents to be whipped up for revenge in the wake of hard-to-take loss back in November.
Romania's 16-player roster:
Alina Chivu, Hanna Demeter, Ana Ferariu, Romina Filip, Ioana Ghizila, Gabriela Irimia, Gabriela Marginean, Annemarie Parau, Florina Pascalau, Elisabeth Pavel, Claudia Pop, Andrea Rodca Olah, Anca Sipos, Adina Stoiedin, Ancuta Stoenescu, Sonia Ursu.
FIBA