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Marko Banic admits the memory of Croatia’s 101-85 overtime defeat to Spain in their EuroBasket 2005 quarter-final in Belgrade has not been forgotten.
The Croatian forward, whose team bounced back from Monday’s setback to Latvia with a big win over Portugal, was asked if that setback has given his team additional motivation heading into their rematch with the Spanish on Wednesday.
“Yes, there is a big motivation with that match,” he said.
The disappointment was so great for Croatia that there were tears in the changing room and they were unable to rally themselves and qualify for the FIBA World Championship, which is what Spain did by winning that quarter-final.
Much has happened since that game.
Spain lost to Germany in that semi-final and then crashed against France in the bronze medal game but have since gone undefeated, including winning a world title last year in Japan.
Croatia, meanwhile, replaced Neven Spahija with coach Jasmin Repesa and had to go through qualifying just to reach EuroBasket 2007.
They had a poor start to EuroBasket 2007 with a defeat to Latvia, but Repesa’s men hit back and won convincingly against Portugal.
“We can play with them (Spain),” Banic insisted. “They are a great team, but on paper and on the court, it’s a different story.”
If the victory over the Portuguese has restored Croatia’s confidence, Spain’s triumph over the Latvians on Tuesday has bolstered theirs as well.
Pepu Hernandez, the Spain coach, was the happiest he had been this summer after the game, saying his players had shown “order, speed, and discipline”.
Spain now turn their attention to Croatia.
“Despite what happened (to them) on Monday against Latvia, I believe that Croatia for us is the strongest opponent for us in this first phase,” said Spain guard Jose Calderon.
Last Time Out: Spain beat Latvia 93-77, Croatia defeated Portugal 90-68
Key Matchup: Croatia’s Mario Kasun against Spain’s Pau Gasol. Neither Portugal, nor Latvia have been able to come close to stopping Gasol, who will only get better as Jorge Garbajosa recovers his full fitness and gives Spain another option on offense.
Statistics: Spain have bee far superior on the boards against their opponents, while Croatia have been out-rebounded by both Latvia and Portugal. If Croatia do not box out on the defensive glass, Spain will punish them.
X-Factor: Garbajosa has been inspirational by making it back to the EuroBasket and against Latvia, he was outstanding. If he continues to raise the level of his play against Croatia, it’s hard to see them beating Spain.
Speaking Out: “Tomorrow it’s Croatia. They will be a very complex opponent because they will be very different to the first game against Latvia. But we will play exactly the same, regardless of who the opponent is” - Spain guard Rudy Fernandez
The Croatian forward, whose team bounced back from Monday’s setback to Latvia with a big win over Portugal, was asked if that setback has given his team additional motivation heading into their rematch with the Spanish on Wednesday.
“Yes, there is a big motivation with that match,” he said.
The disappointment was so great for Croatia that there were tears in the changing room and they were unable to rally themselves and qualify for the FIBA World Championship, which is what Spain did by winning that quarter-final.
Much has happened since that game.
Spain lost to Germany in that semi-final and then crashed against France in the bronze medal game but have since gone undefeated, including winning a world title last year in Japan.
Croatia, meanwhile, replaced Neven Spahija with coach Jasmin Repesa and had to go through qualifying just to reach EuroBasket 2007.
They had a poor start to EuroBasket 2007 with a defeat to Latvia, but Repesa’s men hit back and won convincingly against Portugal.
“We can play with them (Spain),” Banic insisted. “They are a great team, but on paper and on the court, it’s a different story.”
If the victory over the Portuguese has restored Croatia’s confidence, Spain’s triumph over the Latvians on Tuesday has bolstered theirs as well.
Pepu Hernandez, the Spain coach, was the happiest he had been this summer after the game, saying his players had shown “order, speed, and discipline”.
Spain now turn their attention to Croatia.
“Despite what happened (to them) on Monday against Latvia, I believe that Croatia for us is the strongest opponent for us in this first phase,” said Spain guard Jose Calderon.
Last Time Out: Spain beat Latvia 93-77, Croatia defeated Portugal 90-68
Key Matchup: Croatia’s Mario Kasun against Spain’s Pau Gasol. Neither Portugal, nor Latvia have been able to come close to stopping Gasol, who will only get better as Jorge Garbajosa recovers his full fitness and gives Spain another option on offense.
Statistics: Spain have bee far superior on the boards against their opponents, while Croatia have been out-rebounded by both Latvia and Portugal. If Croatia do not box out on the defensive glass, Spain will punish them.
X-Factor: Garbajosa has been inspirational by making it back to the EuroBasket and against Latvia, he was outstanding. If he continues to raise the level of his play against Croatia, it’s hard to see them beating Spain.
Speaking Out: “Tomorrow it’s Croatia. They will be a very complex opponent because they will be very different to the first game against Latvia. But we will play exactly the same, regardless of who the opponent is” - Spain guard Rudy Fernandez
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