Spanou: “Eurobasket was a good lesson, the goal is to qualify for the next one”

Statements about the presence of the National Women’s Team in Eurobasket granted by Artemis Spanou.

Among other things, he emphasized that this year’s course will be a lesson for the future, while the next goal is to qualify for the next one.

In detail what he said on EEC webradio:

For the image of the Women’s National Team at EuroBasket 2023: “We arrived there knowing that we want to claim qualification from our group initially. There was a bit of disappointment from Montenegro in the 1st match where we didn’t manage to get a win that we were aiming for. Then with Latvia we knew that if we won we would still have hope, so we went in, gave everything and with the way we played we showed that this is how the National team wins, together, with passion, with heart, with defense. The last game against Spain we fought, we were close, but we didn’t make it. The game against the Czech Republic came which brought a lot of emotions and certainly a disappointment at the end of the match. We had the possibility to go to the last 8 and we wanted it very much, we gave everything in this match as well, but in such games the details are played. We had played the day before, so our energy and clear mind didn’t last as long as we wanted.”

On their immediate recovery after the defeat to Montenegro: “After the match against Montenegro there was silence in the dressing room, it was the game we were aiming for, but we didn’t get it and we were a bit shocked. Then at the hotel, we had lunch, got together and told each other that we can recover. The next day in the morning training he was “shining” the eye of all of us, you knew we were all going to get on the floor and he was going to do something good for the team. We wanted it, we would be together and whatever happens in the game we will fight for it and give it our all.”

For the win over Latvia: “It was a game we had to win and we knew it, a game that would save us temporarily, so our only hope was that match. Our stubbornness, our teamwork, our energy, our very good defenses came out. All our good facts came out.”

For her and Mariella Fasoula’s appearances in the tournament: “After the last Eurobasket, both Mariella and I left with a very bitter “taste” and we had told ourselves that we didn’t want to leave like that again. The work we have both done certainly paid off. I would say that we made a statement about what kind of athletes we are and we were also determined, because they put our team last in the tournament predictions and it was something we didn’t want to happen. We both showed that we can be leaders of this team and get better and better every year.”

For “outside” comments about the Women’s National Team: “After the game with Latvia, only positive comments were made. And from the other teams, some old players from Spain, they were just telling us that we showed our fighting spirit and what they know a Greek team plays. This for me personally was big and very positive and for the future for sure”.

On what they keep from this year’s Eurobasket: “What I take from the Czech game and the whole tournament is that we showed how we can play, how this team has been playing for years, how this team wins and we can only learn. It was a good lesson for us and it can only make us stronger and more hungry for the next one.”

For the next goal of the Women’s National Team: “Certainly the next goal, which will start again from November, is to go to the next pan-European. This has already entered our minds.”

On what they need to improve in terms of “windows”: “There was a lot we could fix. The most obvious and the ones that cost us against Montenegro and the Czech Republic were the box-outs on rebounds and one-on-ones. They are two big things, that if we did a little better we could now be in Slovenia.”