The captain of the women's basketball team, Renáta Březinová, talks to journalists before departing for the European Championship in Israel and Slovenia, June 12, 2023, Prague.
Ljubljana – Czech women's basketball players lost 61:62 to Hungary in the quarter-finals of the European Championship in Ljubljana and will fight for 5th to 8th place with Germany on Saturday. Coach Romana Ptáčková's players erased a 17-point deficit today and led 61:60 thanks to Kateřina Zeithammerová's basket, but 3.6 seconds before the end, Debóra Franciska Dubeiová made the decision.
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Not even Natália Stoupalová's 20 points prevented a narrow defeat. Cyesha Goree scored 17 points for the winners, and Dubei scored a double double thanks to 10 points and 11 rebounds.
The Czech team advanced to the top eight after ten years at the tournament in Israel and Slovenia. He did not reach the semifinals, where he was last in 2011. They will now be fighting to qualify for Olympic qualification for next year's Paris Games, where the top five teams of the tournament will go alongside France. It is enough to succeed in the duels for 5th to 8th place on Saturday.
“It's difficult mainly because before the last car, which was eventually awarded to Hungary after a challenge, we were really close to winning. What hurts the most is that it was a few seconds. The player made a not-so-simple shot, three seconds into the last event there weren't many anymore,” Ptáčková told journalists.
“We probably didn't play it the best, but I have to say that I don't feel a great deal of sadness, because the team showed great character again. We matched such an experienced team on the rebound, the second at halftime, we turned the loss of profit in our favor,” added Ptáčková.
She had to do without winger Veronika Voracová, who renewed her ankle problems in Monday's round of 16 with Greece. She was with the team in the pre-match warm-up, but did not participate in the game.
The Hungarian winners of Group D, who advanced directly to the quarterfinals, could not hit the basket for more than four minutes in the beginning, and the Czechs led 6:0. The opponents equalized, but coach Ptáčková's selection had an 11:7 lead after the first quarter.
The Hungarians took the lead for the first time in the 17th minute and escaped to 24:20 after a seven-point streak. They had a seven-point lead at halftime.
At the turn of the first and second half, the Hungarians showed a thirteen-point streak and already led 37:22. Only Emma Čechová interrupted her and ended the Czech nine-minute passage without a point. Dominika Paurová broke the shooting woes with a three-pointer and five points in a row. The opponents immediately returned to the highest difference in the match, 17 points, with an 8:0 series, but the Czech players corrected to 39:48 thanks to five points in a row by Gabriela Andělova.
At the start of the final quarter, the triples of Réka Leliková and Ágnes Studerová calmed down the Hungarians. The struggling Czechs reduced the deficit to 53:54 with a twelve-point streak, the opponents escaped to four points, but Stoupalová reduced it to a single point with a three-pointer. the player who was on the field had defensive tasks, we had enough strength to keep fighting, it was a lot of contact,” noted Ptáčková.
After Zeithammer's action, the Czechs took the lead 61:60 with 10.8 seconds left, but then the referees changed the original decision on the Czech team's out in favor of Hungary, according to the video. And this despite the fact that, according to the available television footage, the ball bounced off the head of the attacking Ágnes Studerová without touching Zeithammerová. Dubeoivá subsequently secured Hungary's first advance to the semi-finals since 1997.
Březinová failed with a three-point attempt from a difficult position. “It should have been a hand off immediately to the point guard, who would drive into the free space. With the fact that if they covered her, there wouldn't be much time left and she would have to turn it around and go for a shot,” Ptáčková commented on the action.
< p>She has to shake off disappointment and resentment from her charges for the rest of the tournament. “That's probably always the hardest job. Everyone has to work it out on their own, it takes a little time. I hope they realize that it's been a great success so far and that we've troubled such a good team until the last minute. There's no reason to be too sad for a long time,” Ptáčková added.
The Hungarians are waiting for the Spaniards in the semi-finals, they beat Germany 67:42. The Belgian women are also in the fight for the final, who defeated the Serbian gold medalists thanks to Emma Meessemanová's historic triple double. The 30-year-old basketball player was the first to reach it at the Eurobasket, collecting 15 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists in a commanding 93:53 win. Belgium won bronze at the last championship.
Women's European Championship in Slovenia:
Quarterfinals (Ljubljana):
Czech Republic – Hungary 61:62 (11:7, 22 :29, 39:48)
Composition and points of the Czech Republic: Stoupalová 20, Vyoralová 5, Březinová 3, Hamzová, Holešínská 2 each – G. Andělová 13, Čechová 6, Paurová, Zeithammerová 5 each, Šípová, Sklenářová.
Most points of Hungary: Goreeová 17, Dubeiová and Kányásiová each 8.
Fouls: 22:15. Free throws: 12/8 – 23/14. Triples: 5:8. Rebounds: 40:42.
Belgium – Serbia 93:53 (49:31)
Most points: Meesseman and Allemand 15 each, Linskens and Vanlo 14 each – Anderson 20, Cadj 9, Djordjevičová 8.
France – Montenegro 90:46 (44:26)
Most points: Badianeová 20, Grudaová 18, Fauthouxová 15 – Kovačevičová 9, Vučetičová 7.< /p>
Spain – Germany 67:42 (33:16)
Most points: Gil 13, Queved 11, Casas and Cazorla 10 each – Greinacher 9, Gulich and Wilke 6 each.
Next program:
Saturday, June 24:
12:00 p.m. 5-8 place: Czech Republic – Germany,
14:45 on 5.-8. venue: Serbia – Montenegro,
17:45 semi-final: Spain – Hungary,
20:45 semi-final: Belgium – France.
Sunday 25 June :
14:15 for 5th place,
17:00 for 3rd place,
20:00 final.
