"They are fast and physical as well, and they're a very complete team without many weaknesses."
Something will have to give in the north east tomorrow as both teams go into the game with unbeaten records in the early stage of EuroBasket qualifying.
While GB were winning 91-82 in Hungary on Monday, Macedonia recorded a 71-58 victory in Ukraine and followed that up with a 78-44 hammering of the Hungarians in Skopje on Thursday.
The Macedonians are led by Pero Antic who is averaging 20 points and five rebounds per game while Todor Gecevski is adding 16.5. Damjan Stojanovski is leading their rebounding with 5.5 boards per game, while naturalised American Marquese Green leads the team with 6.5 assists and 3.5 steals per game.
Finch has a good idea what his team will face on Sunday: "We scout all our opponents live as well as on DVD . We feel we have a very good handle on them and what they are trying to do. The challenge, as ever, is stopping them. We must take away the strengths of their key players both inside and out."
The GB coach was pleased with his side's display against Hungary, but knows there is still room for improvement: "We executed our stuff well, we guard very well at times and we rebounded consistently. We didn't start the game or the 3rd quarter very well and we didn't take the best shots. We need to improve on all aspects of our game and keep growing as a team to be successful on Sunday as well as in the group.
"We are fully fit and we do not expect any significant changes to our core line-up. We will however need a bit more bench production from a few more guys than we had in Hungary".
With GB sitting out Thursday's second round of game, they have had plenty of time to get used to the court at Northumbria University Sport Central, and Finch is impressed with the new facility:
"We came straight here from Hungary and have enjoyed our time here. We have had a great block of practice and have been able to add and adjust a few things. The arena is top-drawer and we are excited about playing here. It's the perfect size for a game in this country".
Macedonia finished joint ninth in last summer's EuroBasket in Poland, though they won only one of their six games.
They made it through the group stage thanks to a narrow 82-79 win against Israel, losing the other two games against Greece and Croatia by double digit margins. In the qualifiers they had proved to be unbeatable on their own floor, and the victory in Estonia ensured their passage to Poland.
