Serbia women beat Greece 84-74, Jankovic scores 28

It took Masa Jankovic eight minutes at the Sports Hall to score 15 points. That was enough to tip the game between Serbia and Greece toward the hosts, and it stayed there until the final buzzer. Serbia’s women won 84-74 in Belgrade on November 11, a successful start to the second phase of qualifying for the 2027 European Championship.

The game at the Ranko Zeravica Sports Hall was the first round of Group L, which also includes the Netherlands and Slovakia. The stands were full, but no attendance figure was announced.

How did Serbia get to 84-74?

The quarters finished 23-14, 17-17, 19-20 and 25-23, and the teams went to the break with Serbia ahead 40-31. Jankovic and Turudic opened the game, scoring nearly all of the first quarter’s points between them, and Andjela Dugalic pushed Serbia to a nine-point lead with four straight points.

The second quarter began with an 11-0 run, and the hosts’ lead grew to 16 points in its first half. Greece slowly clawed back the deficit and in the last quarter came within five. Then Jankovic hit a basket and drew a foul, and Naumcev made a three-pointer for 72-61, which all but settled the game. Greece never tied it. Dugalic stood out in the closing stretch, scoring eight points in a row.

Who carried Serbia?

Jankovic finished with 28 points, shooting 12 of 16 from the field and making three free throws, along with two rebounds, two steals and a block. Dugalic added 19 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals. Ivana Raca scored 10 points, and Jovana Nogic and Aleksandra Stanacev had seven each. Nogic shot 1 of 10 from the field.

For Greece, Robin Parks scored 22 points with seven rebounds and five assists, Marijela Fasoula had 17, and Artemis Spanou, who plays for Red Star, added 14.

What did the head coach say?

Head coach Milos Pavlovic made no secret after the game that the win could have been more convincing:

“We knew they would not give up, and we contributed a lot to the game going that way ourselves. Even though the first quarter was good, we missed a lot of layups and had a chance to pull away right then, but we did not manage it. We kept everything under control and deserved the win.”

Asked about Jankovic’s performance, Pavlovic said:

“Somebody had to take over. When it is not going for one player, another has to step up, and Masa did that, and we need to have that depth for the games ahead.”

Asked what has to be different against the Netherlands, he answered: “We missed the layups, we were late too many times, and those things have to be done consistently. When we did not do them, they came back.”

Masa Jankovic singled out the full stands as the best part of the evening: “It means a lot to us when we see full stands, I think there have never been this many people. It is great to play in front of them.” She added that this is a new team: “It is a special wish and motivation. We all can’t wait for these games. A new story with new girls and new energy.”

Ivana Raca was briefer: “We prepared really well, we knew the game plan. Now we have the Netherlands, and we will focus on them. I thank the crowd.”

What comes after Greece?

In the preliminary qualifying Group G, Serbia won all four games, against Portugal and Iceland. Before the end of the November window it plays two more away games: November 14 at 2:30 p.m. against the Netherlands and November 17 at 6 p.m. against Slovakia.

The numbers from Belgrade show where Pavlovic saw the problem. Serbia held a double-digit lead several times, yet still let Greece get within five points, with the missed layups the coach mentioned himself. Against the Netherlands on November 14, the question will not be who scores 28 points, but whether the rhythm of the first eight minutes can last longer than one quarter.