A to Z of EuroBasket Women 2017's first qualifying window
NEWCASTLE (Paul Nilsen's Women's Basketball Worldwide) - The first two game days of the first EuroBasket Women 2017 qualifying window are in the books and there was plenty to reflect on.
A is for assists and Helena Sverrisdottir of Iceland took the honour as the only player to dish out a terrific 10 of them in a single game.
B is for Belgium and the return of Emma Meesseman, whose eagerly awaited return didn't inspire a win - but did produce a spectacular 31 points, 17 rebounds and 5 assists against Belarus.
C is for champions and what a reception Serbia got in front of 6,500 adoring fans in Belgrade as they danced their way to a massive win against Germany.
D is for derby and one of the most enjoyable games to watch was the match-up between Latvia and Lithuania - which the hosts won, although only just.
E is for Evanthia Maltsi, the former EuroBasket Women MVP who finally returned to inject some veteran class into proceedings for Greece.
F is for fans and they came out in their thousands to render the change to the FIBA calendar a roaring success.
G is for gulf in class and it was vast as 'minnows' such as Albania and Luxembourg felt the force of their opponents in some landslide losses.
H is for hosts and while everyone else sweats it out, Czech Republic await to see who else will join them in 2017.
I is for Italy who had a monstrous 37 assists against Albania and also a shot a spectacular 60 percent from the floor - both the best marks of the competition so far.
J is for (Anna) Jurcenkova who was the only player to swat five shots in a game after excelling against Iceland.
K is for Kostas Keramidas who had one of the hardest jobs of all in taking the reins from the acclaimed George Dikeoulakos with Greece, but is now 2-0.
L is for Laura Macchi who ended a six-year hiatus and came back for 27 points as the Italians shot down Great Britain in a crunch encounter.
M is for missing piece of the jigsaw and the NCAA players who were largely absent and that is a real pity and the only really flaw of the window system.
N is for new coaches and there were so many of them to track, with Alexander Vasin (Russia), Kostas Keramidas (Greece), Andrea Capobianco (Italy), Volodymyr Kholopov (Ukraine), Teodor Mollov (Poland), Martins Zibarts (Latvia), Aziz Akkaya (Turkey) and Miroslav Popov (Romania) all going undefeated.
O is for offensive boards and Montenegro's massive 21 was the most in a game and killed Great Britain off.
P is for Prague and Hradec Kralove - the two host cities in Czech Republic which are stamped on the ticket to EuroBasket Women 2017.
Q is for 'Queen of the Steals' with Slovak Republic's Anna Jurcenkova the only player to grab six in a game - a feat she repeated in both of her outings during the window!
R is for Rio and aside from one capitulation by Belarus, those teams going to the Olympics or bidding to do so via the FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament (WOQT) were imperious.
S is for Spain and Sancho (Lyttle) who made a serious statement in a brilliant win against a fine Sweden side on the road - it looks like the Spaniards want to regain the title they relinquished and they are enjoying the challenge. Good job by Victor Lapena too, who stepped in for Lucas Mondelo who stayed in China.
La #SelFEM ha entrenado esta mañana en Zamora. Disfrutando... pero 'sin confianza' https://t.co/uuB7KfReD7 pic.twitter.com/oiuSwKO15t
— FEB (@baloncestofeb) November 24, 2015
T is for turnovers and I can't fathom how a team like Lithuania could spill the ball an eye-watering 59 times across games against Latvia and Slovenia.
U is for unbelievable when it came to the late collapse by Belarus against Poland. They were on the wrong end of a jaw-dropping 19-1 final quarter!
V is for (Anastasiya) Verameyenka - the Belarussian center whose massive 24 points and 14 boards helped the EuroBasket Women 2015 Semi-Finalists and WOQT participants to bounce back with a win against Belgium.
W is for why not make it compulsory for nations to stream games?
X is for 'X-factor' and in this window it was the number of fans who reminded everyone that contrary to the belief of some within the sport - some people do actually want to watch women's ball.
Y is for young stars and there were a few given the chance to shine for the first time with Aby Gaye and Marine Johannes catching the eye with France.
Z is for Zera Butter whose 23-point display against Croatia gave Netherlands one of the biggest surprise and most impressive results.
Paul Nilsen
FIBA
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