Team Profile: Serbia’s road to a third straight Olympic showcase

BELEM (Brazil) – Serbia’s  goal is straightforward: secure one of the three tickets to the Olympic Games, with the aim of adding another medal to their collection after earning bronze in 2016.

If they’re able to get through this event in South America, Serbia will participate in their third consecutive Olympics.

Ranked No. 10 in the FIBA World Ranking Women, presented by Nike, the European powerhouse comes in with very strong arguments.

The Roster

Head coach Marina Maljkovic is expected to have most of her stalwarts for this event. The squad will likely feature 33-year-old point guard Yvonne Anderson, who led the team at last year’s EuroBasket Women by averaging 16.0 points, 3.9 assists and 3.4 rebounds.

Center Dragana Stojakovic and power forwards Mina Djordjevic and Aleksandra Crvendakic, Serbian player of the Year for 2023, are expected to patrol the paint and control the boards.

Tina Krajisnik (10.7 points and 7.7 rebounds at the FIBA Basketball Women’s World Cup 2022) and Jovana Nogic (10.3 points at EuroBasket Women 2023) are other key players to watch. Angela Dugalic and Masa Jankovic lead the next generation of Serbian rising stars.

The Question

Can they translate their European dominance to worldwide success? Serbia has won 2 of the last five EuroBasket Women and have reached the Semifinals in the last two Olympic Games. At the same time, they failed to qualify for the FIBA Women’s World Cup 2018 and could not get past the Quarter-Final round in 2014 and 2022. 

The squad is currently firing on all cylinders and seems poised for a breakout performance in France, but first they must validate themselves one more time in Belem.

The Hope

Serbia beat Germany, 78-62, on the last day of the 2023 FIBA Women’s EuroBasket. They also defeated both Brazil and Australia at the Women’s World Cup Qualifiers at home in Belgrade in 2022, proving they can best all three of their upcoming opponents.

Serbia defeated Australia in Belgrade in 2022

They did lose to Australia (54-69) at the Women’s World Cup 2022 in Sydney, where they were eventually eliminated in the Quarterfinals, but a positive head-to-head record against their opponents in recent match-ups is a boon to their chances.

The Fear

At the EuroBasket Women 2023, Serbia dropped games against Hungary (in the Group Stage) and future champion Belgium.

The 40-point loss to Belgium was a shocker, with the opposing team leading almost wire-to-wire and scoring 93 points on 56.1 percent from the field. This marks the first major event since that disappointment, and the upcoming three games will help us determine whether it was merely an isolated incident or if there is a more profound flaw within the team.

Serbia could not stop Belgium at the last EuroBasket Women

This event’s round robin format allows any team to survive a bad shooting day, but the Serbians will need to keep the foot on the gas to achieve their goal and avoid any hijinks.

SERBIA IN THE LAST 10 FIBA EVENTS

FIBA