Two former giants who used to dominate the world of basketball and traded the EuroBasket title between themselves for over two decades - as the former USSR and Yugoslavia respectively - are coming to the 2007 EuroBasket needing to proof they still deserve respect.

After several tournaments where they produced disappointing results, both Russia and Serbia want to show they can still dominate and this is where the journey begins.

In the blue corner is Serbia. In the red corner Russia. Each team has a new coach, two NBA players and a big desire to send out a message.

Last Time Out: Serbia won four of their last five practice games - including a 93-62 demolition of Greece - in the lead-up to this tournament. Russia meanwhile scored 66 and 65 points in their last two practice games respectively. It was enough to beat Portugal by 11 (66-55), but the second tally fell saw them fall by just a point to Germany.

Key Match-up: Keep an eye on the battle between the team's playmakers who offer

		Jaric will have an interesting battle with Holden

very contrasting styles. Russia's J.R. Holden, one of the shortest players in the competition, is a scorer, while his Serbian counterpart, Marko Jaric, is one of the tallest point guards, and has a pass-first mentality. Both have a tone of experience and will need to put it to good use out on the court. In the opening game of this type of competition, teams are always trying to seize each other up and make the necessary adjustments as quickly as possible. The point guards often play a huge part in this process, especially in the early stages.

Statistics: Andrei Kirilenko was Russia's top scorer in most of their practice games. That was nothing new though as he provided much of the team's points in this tournament both in 2003 and 2005. He is still - as he was then - the player who keeps them going offensively. Going up against him will be Milan Gurovic, Serbia's most lethal threat, who can quite literally score at will. Unless something goes drastically wrong, he should average over 20 points per game in this championship. Based on performances in their practice games - in which they scored at least 87 points in five of seven encounters - Serbia look like they plan on going with a fast-tempo and high-scoring approach. Russia on the other hand will rely on their defense. In four of their last five warm-up games, they held opponents - all participants in this tournament - to under 67 points. So, Russia's defense or Serbia's offense? That question will determine the outcome of this game.

X-Factor: Both teams can play long stretches of time without a true dominant center. Russia coach David Blatt didn't use either Aleksey Savrasenko or Nikita Morgunov much in the practice games as he went for a more athletic line-up. Serbia meanwhile does have Darko Milicic, but the 7-footer tends to gets in foul trouble quite a lot and coach Zoran Slavnic does not have any really talented big men on his bench he can turn to if that situation arises. So this game could be decided by getting an unexpected boost from a back-up big man. The young and inexperienced - but talented - pair of Zoran Erceg and Dragan Labovic could provide that for Serbia, while their opponents will simply play without a true center.

What It Means: Under the competition's new system, every win or loss matters much more as it is carried over to the next round. That means there's no time for slow starts. Keep in mind that the defeated side of this game still have to face European champions Greece knowing they have to make up for that first loss. That is certainly something both sides would like to avoid. In addition, starting the EuroBasket with a win has a special meaning – Of the last six champions, only Italy (in 1999) went on to win the tournament despite losing their opening game.