2011 Eurobasket for Women took place in Poland, from June 18th until July 3rd.
ROUND I/GROUP D
Saturday, June 18th
Croatia vs France 86:40
QUICK RECAP: France opened the game with 21:3 run and held Croatia to 14 of 56 (26%) shooting from the field. France also outrebounded Croatia by 54:32. Croatia displayed tendency to be to very much dependent on it’s three-point shoot. Croatia Head Coach Stipe Bralic’s postgame statement: “France are very strong in position four and five, while they also have two very good point guards. We had no chance against them. We played very slow. We have to play faster on offense and better defense if we are to do something in this tournament.” (source: EuroBasketWomen2011.com)
Sunday, June 19th
Croatia vs Greece 65:63
QUICK RECAP: Croatia won it’s first game of the competition with the go ahead jumper scored by team captain Sandra Mandir 2.6 seconds before the end of the regulation. Mandir contributed a game-high 19 points to go along with 5 assists and 5 boards. Greece star SG Evanthia Maltsi was held to only 8 points on 3-15 shooting. Here is Sandra Mandir postgame statement (source: EuroBasketWomen2011.com): “As one of the most experienced players in the team, I am used to taking the last shot. Sometimes it goes in and other times it does not. Fortunately, today it did. I was not surprised because we built a lot of confidence throughout the game and I knew I could make the shot. This is a great win for us, especially after yesterday´s defeat to France. We played a lot better and we deserved this win.” (source: EuroBasketWomen2011.com)
Monday, June 20th
Croatia vs Latvia 61:67
QUICK RECAP: Croatia led by as much as 53:38 in 25th minute of the game. However, Latvia installed excellent zone-press and zone defense and limited Croatia to only 8 points in the remaining time. SF Jelena Ivezic led Croatia with 14 points and 6 rebounds. Here is Croatia’s Head Coach Stipe Bralic statement: “We played a good game for the first 30 minutes. Losing Ana Lelas, our best player, to injury, put us in big trouble. In the second half we played very bad defense. Latvia were very strong in the paint in the final quarter and we could not stop them.” (source: EuroBasketWomen2011.com)
ROUND II
Wednesday, June 22nd 2011
Croatia vs Montenegro 60:81
QUICK RECAP: Led by Iva Peranovic’s 25 points and 15 boards Montenegro managed to outrebound struggling Croatian side by 54:34. However Croatia managed to cut the deficit to 53-45 with less than three minutes to go in the third quarter before Montenegro went on a decisive 20-3 run (73-48). G Sandra Mandir led Croatia (1-3) wih 14 points and 7 assists.
Friday, June 24th 2011
Croatia vs Poland 64:56
QUICK RECAP: Croatia managed to outrebound the host of the Tournament by 47:36. Croatia scored 12 unanswered points to go 60-48 ahead with less than four minutes remaining. SG Sandra Mandir again led Croatia with 13 points, 9 boards and 4 assists.
Sunday, June 26th 2011
Spain vs Croatia 71:75
QUICK RECAP: In front of 1000 spectators Croatia was able to change it’s destiny and make an unbelievable upset by edging 2009 EC bronze medalist Spain 71:75 and thus qualify to quarter-final round. Having trailed 61-54, Croatia scored 14 unanswered points to take a 68-61 lead with one minute remaining in the game. Croatian captain SG Sandra Mandir had a game-high 24 points while shooting 9-13 from the floor. Here’s her postgame statement: “Spain were favourites to win this game but we showed today that if we play hard, we are capable of beating anyone. We did our best and we got the win we needed to go through to the Quarter Finals. I hope we can give another good performance in our next game.” (source: EuroBasketWomen2011.com)
QUARTER-FINAL ROUND – Wednesday, June 29th
Czech Republic vs Croatia 79:63
QUICK RECAP: In the last six minutes of the third quarter and in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter Czech Republic scored 24 unanswered points to take 69-40 lead and determine the final outcome. SG Sandra Mandir again paced Croatia with 27 points, 5 boards and 4 assist. Croatia committed as much as 14 turnovers compared to Czech Republic 7 turnovers. Here is Croatian NT Head Coach Stipe Bralic’s statement: “We struggled against Viteckova and Vesela. They dominated us for 40 minutes. The Czech team was very difficult.” (source: EuroBasketWomen2011.com)
5th-8th Place Qualification Game – Thursday, June 30th
Croatia vs Latvia 84:75
5th Place Game – Saturday, July 2nd 2011
Croatia vs Montenegro 73:59
– Croatia qualified to additional qualifying cycle for 2012 London Olympics
All the games were broadcasted LIVE on Croatian National Television.
