Second place in Group C of the EuroBasket Women is up for grabs when Italy meet France in Chieti on Wednesday afternoon.
Edged by Russia in their first game, the Azzurre had the perfect reply with a convincing win over Greece – the first in eight years in the final round of a EuroBasket for the Italians.
And they pulled off the feat with a surprise move by winning coach Gianni Lambruschi, who opted to play with a smaller line-up instead of utilizing Dubrivka Dacic, their 1.98m center.
“It will be a different game tomorrow (Wednesday),” Italy coach Gianni Lambruschi said.
“Tomorrow, we can play with our big girl inside. Today, she took the day off because we needed to run.
“Tomorrow will be a physical game inside. I think we must work hard against France’s players inside.”
The French followed up their opening day win against the Greeks with a loss to Russia.
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Sandrine Gruda is averaging 10 points per game in France's first two contests.
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They trailed by 17 points midway through the third quarter but twice closed the gap to just one late in the fourth quarter before falling.
“The most important thing for us is tomorrow,” said France coach Jacques Commeres.
Last Result: Italy defeated Greece, 65-55 and France lost to Russia, 63-59.
Key Match-up: Italy’s Dacic v France’s Sandra Dijon. Dacic did not score many points against Russia but Italy coach Lambruschi felt his big center was very combative and will be looking for more of the same against France’s low post players like Dijon and Sandrine Gruda.
Key Stat: France are shooting just 35.9% (33 of 92) inside the arc and 28.6% (eight of 28) from three-point range in their two games.
X-Factor: Emilie Gomis nearly led France to a stunning come-from-behind win over Russia. Averaging 13 points per contest, the athletic 1.80m guard raises the intensity of Les Bleues when she is on the floor and should cause some problems for Italy’s veteran guard, Francesca Zara.
Speaking Out: “They will be excited, we’ll be down. We’ll have to come back and play with heart. We know it’s going to be a tough game” – France veteran Audrey Sauret-Gillespie
