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It’s got to be either France or Belgium, right?
After the Quarter-Finals, it became evident that two teams stand out above the rest, and that might actually be underselling the gap between Belgium, France and their competitors. However, will today be a walk in the park for both?
The favorites
On Wednesday France demolished Lithuania 83-61, while, on Thursday, Belgium destroyed Germany 83-59. France opened up the game strong, winning the first quarter 35-14 and then basically went into cruise control, prioritizing containing the rivals over unleashing their offensive potential, which sounds strange considering that France scored 83 points. All members of the roster got to play at least 11 minutes, which showcased the French’s depth. On defense, they held Lithuania to 38 percent from the floor and forced 25 turnovers to just 11 assists. And against Spain, we should see a tighter rotation, with a deeper offensive focus.
Belgium’s game against Germany had a different story, as Belgium was up by just five point at the half. The Belgian Cats won the second half 42-23, and it was Emma Meesseman doing most of the heavy lifting, scoring 30 points, grabbing nine boards and dishing out five assist. But she didn’t do it alone, as the whole team shot 52 percent from the floor. Former Golden State Valkyrie Kyara Linskens had 14 points and 10 boards, while her former WNBA teammate Julie Vanloo had 12 points, five boards and eight assists. The game against Italy will show how good that Belgium roster is.
The hopefuls
Italy barely squeezed out an overtime win over Turkey, 76-74, the most exciting game of the competition so far. Italy benefited from an extraordinary game by Lorela Cubaj, the big who last played in the WNBA in 2024 for the Atlanta Dream. The former Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket was methodically crushing the interior, and finished the game with 16 points, shooting 66 percent from the floor. Turkey’s Sevgi Uzun had a bad game until the fourth quarter, in which she exploded for 16 points and scored the buzzer beater that took the game to overtime. The last part of the game belong to Cubaj, who scored some big shots and in the end. When the Turks missed a late 3, the Italians got to celebrate the win.
In the other game, Spain beat Czechia 88-81, but the win required a lot of effort and energy. The emotions were so high that some Spanish players actually ended up crying as the game was winding down. Czechia opened up strong and were up 44-33 at the half. Spain left the locker room a changed team though, and setting the pace was Raquel Carrera, proving that the No. 15 overall selection in the 2021 WNBA Draft was no fluke. Just 23 year old, the 6-foot-3 forward is yet to make her debut in the W, as she’s currently playing for Valencia. She had 31 points, while shooting 66 percent from the floor. She had great help from former Oregon Duck Aina Ayuso, who came off the bench to score 20 points and add five assists. Chances of the team rallying against France the same way are slim, but then again, maybe that wave of optimism will carry Spain to the next round?
