BELGRADE (2016 Rio Games) - The plaudits and accolades continue to flow for EuroBasket Women 2015 winners Serbia after they were named the Female Sports Team of the Year in their homeland.

The historical first-ever EuroBasket Women title they won earlier this year in Budapest has catapulted head coach Marina Maljkovic and her players firmly into the mainstream media. And, with a maiden Olympic appearance in Rio penciled in for 2016, they intend to stay there. 

"Thank you for this award on behalf of all players and the entire basketball family," said Maljkovic, as she proudly collected the prestigious gong. "With the direct qualification for the Olympic Games, we have fulfilled a dream - but, as it was the case in all years, our team will give their all also in Rio to make you proud."

Meanwhile Sonja Petrovic, who came in from the cold at EuroBasket Women Final Round after several years away from the international stage, added: "I'd like to compare us to the fairy tale of Cinderella. We walked on broken glass to reach our dreams and showed little girls that anything is possible in life."

Serbia's profile will also be boosted further with a postal stamp having been commissioned in honour of their glorious EuroBasket Women triumph - with an initial run of 25,000 stamps having been produced.

The inspirational element to their historic accomplishment is certainly one which is expected to encourage a new generation of young girls to pick up a basketball. That is likely to be inflated even further and gather additional momentum when they take to the court in Rio, with many of the star players now becoming household names.

FIBA