The improvement and advantage of Maljkovic counts on to reverse that result is the said "maturity" of the team.

"Based on age, we are one of the youngest teams here, but as a whole we are a lot more mature," said the 32-year-old coach, indisputably the youngest among her peers in Turkey.

Maljkovic added: "We have a lot more experience now." 

A battle against the hosting team also means that Serbia will play in front of the largest and most enthusiast crowd at the tournament.

"That's the least we expect of Turkey. We expect a great atmosphere with all the fans supporting the home team," she said.

"It will be a pleasure to play in a full gym."

Maljkovic was also watchful about her team's prospects.

"We need to play the game (like) we did against the USA and Angola," she warned.

"We have to play our game. We need to improve our defense. We need to make no more mistakes like we did in our last two games."

"This is the biggest game of our basketball careers so far," they said in unison.

The two siblings have been reliable in their contributions to Serbia's cause.

"We have to play at our best. We will take a lot of heart going into the game. I'm counting on her to come good," Milica Dabovic said pointing to her sister.

Ana Dabovic replied: "We need her brains to be working at the best. We need to play smart."

Jelena Milovanovic (the third vertex of a three-prong Serbian offense machine) added: "We need both of their fire. We need the whole team to execute what we plan. We can't afford any mistakes."

As human beings, my players are more mature and can handle pressure better. - Maljkovic

(Source: 2014 FIBA for Women Official Website