ATHENS (Greece) - Start talking about the FIBA Women's EuroBasket and Evina Maltsi comes alive as if she's been catapulted back in time and is sat in the locker room ready to weave her magic once more.

This 'Greek Basketball Goddess' was renowned for not only her super scoring ability, but also her passion and that is what is pumping through her veins at breakneck speed when Maltsi is discussing what happened just over a decade ago.

"I WAS LIVING A DREAM AND STILL HAVE A SMILE ON MY FACE THINKING ABOUT IT."

"Oh, Riga 2009 - what a great tournament and what an amazing time for us and Greek women's basketball," she declares.

Her delight at a landmark event, an unexpected outcome and love of the FIBA Women's EuroBasket is encapsulated right there, in a single sentence. Maltsi vividly and joyfully recalls one of her greatest career chapters - as if it had only happened yesterday.

"I was living a dream and I still have a smile on my face when I think of it," she enthuses.

"Considering that right before the games I had a serious injury and the doctors told me that I wouldn't be able to participate, you can imagine my psychology. You can also imagine how hard I worked and how much I prayed just to make it to Riga 

"Then, to manage to go out and experience what followed, was something that I could never even think of or even have dreamed before.

"I remember we arrived in Riga and the whole organization was already very nice. The decoration in the streets, the buses, the hotels, the volunteers, the organizers - it was something glamorous and we were very happy and excited to be there.

"Also the opening ceremony was something that put us even more in the mode of the tournament. All the teams, the presentations, the welcome event meant that the atmosphere in our team was very warm. We were really enjoying every single moment of the tournament.

"Every little detail - from the hotel, the gym, the city and with the games going on every day, it was what I can still only call: a basketball celebration.

"We had a fantastic atmosphere in that team and we had been working all together for four years. We had developed some kind of identity - both on and off the court," she continued.

"We were eager to participate and to compete, but we could never have imagined that we would finish in fifth place and qualify for the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup. We, as a team, were always the underdogs and we had never made it even to the Quarter-Finals, so we were only dreaming about that possibility.

"THEY TOLD ME THAT I WAS THE MVP AND I JUST COULDN'T BELIEVE IT. MY BLOOD LEFT MY BODY FOR A SECOND AND I SAID TO MYSELF THAT I PROBABLY DIDN'T UNDERSTAND CORRECTLY."- Maltsi

 "But then we started winning and we couldn't even believe that we were moving to the next rounds. Then, this happiness brought us even closer together. Even if we didn't make it to the Semi-Finals, our ticket to those Worlds made it a dream."

Making it a true fairytale story for Maltsi was that she also went from being a near lock to miss the tournament, to being crowned MVP. It's rare for a player who doesn't compete in the Final to be handed such a distinguished accolade and almost unheard of in the modern era for someone who had not even made the last four.

Yet this also indicates just how much of a fire Maltsi had lit under a vibrant Greek team and how much capacity she had shown to entertain at the event. She reigned supreme at the top of the tournament's scoring chart with more than 21 points per game. 

"I remember that when they asked me to come downstairs because I was voted as one of the best players of the tournament and they then told me that I was the MVP, I just couldn't believe it," admitted Maltsi.

"My blood left my body for a second and I said to myself that I probably didn't understand correctly. But, it meant the world to me. It was the greatest payback for all the work I put into the game of basketball all these years. For all my life I was always looking up with admiration to the MVPs of previous tournaments I couldn't believe that I was then one of them.

"The moment that it actually happened, I wanted to cry, but at the same time, I had to hold myself. I turned to my teammates and coaches and I dedicated it to them. Without them, I wouldn't have been standing there.

"I can't remember anything that made me feel the way I felt in that moment. And, I know now that this feeling could only be compared with winning a medal. The award also gave me the motivation to work harder and continue asking more of myself."

Maltsi and her Greek colleagues wore the label of underdogs well. It suited them.

And, some eight years later in 2017, they were even more unfancied than they had been in Riga. Heading to Czech Republic they were tipped by some observers to not only struggle, but maybe even finish in last place.

 
Their main stars too old, not what they once were, lacking in offensive firepower and it was to be a tournament too far. To summarize, almost everyone thought they were simply past it.

How wrong could so many people be?

Maltsi and Greece slammed a huge custard pie into the collective face of the doom merchants, alongside a major portion of deja vu. Yes, perhaps even more amazingly than in 2009, they defied all expectations and predictions to make a historic best ever run to the Semi-Finals.

"Oh 2017? Yes, it was another great year for us," laughed Maltsi.

"I remember that during the Qualification Rounds we had built some strong confidence and belief, but right before the tournament, we lost three of our main players and that kind of knocked us down.

"When we got together for the preparation camp we couldn't really see how we would manage to pass our group, since we had lots of young players who had to come in with no experience and role players that that would really have to step up.

"In our first scrimmages we were losing to everybody by so many points that we decided that we must take away the stress from our shoulders by having no expectations and so we decided to just enjoy the ride at the tournament."

She continued: "Unexpectedly, this brought more joy into the team and we focused more on having fun than having a high goal and this also bought more energy in our game. The young players responded very well and since we were the underdogs, everybody underestimated us.

"A SMILE COMES WITH 2017 AND 2009 COMES WITH TEARS AND EMOTIONS OF ALL KINDS."

 "We had some amazing games, we accepted our roles, we stuck to the plan and we played by the book. We also sacrificed our own egos and this is what brought us results. It was more than crazy that we made it the Semi-Finals and I also believe that it was a situation that we couldn’t manage.

"But the truth is, we really played good basketball and we earned a lot of respect," smiled Maltsi.

One of the abiding memories from the tournament was the way that the legendary guard celebrated ecstatically after they knew they had made it to the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2018 in Tenerife - something that also came before Maltsi landed yet another All-Star Five place.

"The reason everyone saw me jumping, screaming and almost flying into the mixed zone, was because I realized that we got the ticket for the Worlds," she recalled.

"At my age, I had realized that it could be my last tournament with my national team.It was an unreal feeling. Especially when it came when we least expected it."

 
It seems almost cruel in asking Maltsi to select which of these amazing Final Round experiences she most cherishes - since both are so indelibly imprinted in her career DNA.

"Both have a special meaning for me, and also for different reasons," she muses.

"If I really had to choose a Final Round then I would tell you that a smile comes with 2017 and 2009 comes with tears and emotions of all kinds."

 As Greece continue to rebuild in the wake of a true FIBA Women's EuroBasket legend having finally hung up her basketball shoes, those that follow won't find it easy to pick up the torch. Yet typically, Maltsi continues to issue the rallying cry of an inspirational leader even though she is no longer involved.

"As for any generation, they have their fortune in their hands," she insisted.

"There is a lot of talent in the team and I'm pretty sure that the experience of 2017 showed them the way. They have to discover their limits and as part of the past generation, we will always be standing next to them," concluded Maltsi.

FIBA