PARIS (France) - Having racked up six editions of the FIBA Women's EuroBasket and with a pair of gold medals and an MVP award on her resume, Cathy Melain knows this prestigious tournament inside out.

A centerpiece of the French national team for almost 15 years, she punched hard at the elite level throughout her playing career.

Also legendary at club level as a three-time EuroLeague Women champion with Bourges Basket, we caught up with Cathy to take a trip down memory lane and get her reflections on some of the highs and lows competing at Final Round.

Let's go back to your first FIBA Women's EuroBasket in 1995. For most European players, this is their first big tournament, but you actually played at the FIBA Women's World Championship the year before? How much did playing in Australia help you? 
Yes, the FIBA Women's World Championship the year before was my first competition with the French national team. It was a waking dream. I could see with my own eyes the greatest players of the world, in an outstanding competition and the final was epic! Furthermore, I got to play. It was unexpected for me.It was a great souvenir because this helped me to discover the level I was supposed to play. It was a way for me to discover the international level as a senior, to discover the national team and the great players of the time. It was a transition to adulthood and a possibility for me to embrace it with innocence. I had no real role, so no pressure. I was also really surprised to be selected. When I left Australia,I told myself that I had so much work to do to be able to face teams and players I had seen there, but I also realized that my motivation was to reach the highest level and that I would do my best to do so.

What are your memories of your first ever FIBA Women's EuroBasket during 1995 in Brno before, during and after the tournament?
I started with a genuine desire to give my best in order to be selected and to do all I could for the team to help it to reach the best result. But this was a very bad memory. We had really bad results and some internal problems. It was a catastrophe and a big disillusion for everyone. I left thinking that it was impossible that this was the French national team. It’s not about results, but more about values, commitment and a state of mind. I didn’t want to experience a moment like that  again in my life.

Six years after your debut at the FIBA Women's EuroBasket, you made history as France claimed their first ever title and you were the MVP. Tell us the story behind this success. 
The story of the 2001 title started right after Brno in 1995. We started in Group C, with a new head coach, Alain Jardel, and a new chapter to write, using our previous experiences. The goal was the 2000 Olympics. We had four years to reach the top. The coach started to build a team by mixing players who had been playing for the national team for some years (for example Isabelle Fijalkowski and Yannick Souvre) with new players (for example, Nicole Antibe, Audrey Sauret, Sandra Le Drean and Nathalie Lesdema). It started from there - our fervor to win and to never live a disillusion like 1995 ever again.

We were quality players, but we had a tendency to see ourselves as inferior to other countries and this had to be removed! At Bourges, Vadim Kapranov had already helped many French players to change confidence levels and belief in our possibilities. He was really important for me, because he persuaded me that I was better than others. So it was quite cruel to play against Russia and therefore Vadim, in the Final, since he was a factor of that victory for some of us and especially myself.

Also, in 1999, we had won the silver medal in Poland and thus secured our qualification for the 2000 Olympics. We had reached our goal and amassed confidence. In 2001, we were at the peak of this group and the timing was perfect because the FIBA Women's EuroBasket was taking place in France. The general state of mind was at its best, with new ambitions for the French national team and that we were the contenders for the title and nothing else. The whole team, players, coaches, medical staff and everyone else involved was looking to this aim.

The Federation helped us to have the means for this ambition and helped us to reach this dream. Internally, players put their quarrels aside. It was the time of the rivalry between Valenciennes and Bourges when the games between those two teams were fierce and sometimes violent. But we were able to use everyone's experience to put our bitterness aside and go forward together. Sometimes playing on your own soil can be a burden, a weight and provide an additional pressure, but it was not the case for us. We drew a huge strength from it. The arenas were full, supporters were behind us in every game, our families were there too and nothing could stop us. We were ready, focused on the objective, confident and ready to face any difficulties. Looking back, I daresay we were programmed to win.

Which player(s) did you enjoy playing with the most on this great team - who did you have the best connection with on the court and why was this?
What I liked the most was playing with this team as a whole. It's difficult to choose one player in particular. I think my best connections in the games were with Yannick Souvre. We played together in Bourges, so we had established playing habits, while Isabelle Fijalkowski was always at the right spot. She was a game facilitator with her toughness and was a strong focal point. But there was also Nicole Antibe too. We were the same age and we had been trained together. We could count on her and she perfectly supplemented Isabelle as a power forward.

Some 8 years after winning in 2001, you signed off with success and another title at your last tournament. That must have been a special way to end?
It was the best end of career I could have hoped for! I finished with a victory and another FIBA Women's EuroBasket title. What better could I have dreamed of? It was my last competition, my last games, the closest in time to now and so I still have many fresh memories. I have so much I could tell you and it’s difficult to choose.

My first memory is when Pierre Vincent, the head coach, came to ask me to come back in the national team, since I had retired three years before. I thought it was a joke and that he had gone crazy! I had already decided to put an end to my career at the end of the season with Bourges and it was only a month before my actual retirement. But, he found the right words and convinced me. Most importantly, he adapted the training for my old legs!  I only asked him to confer with the leaders at the time to see if they agreed with the idea. A new generation was to take the leadership of the national team and I didn’t want to interfere with it. Celine Dumerc told me "Don't come. Don't break the image you took so many years to build. It would be a pity if people keep a bad image of you if we fail."Then, after the Final, she told me "Fortunately you didn’t listen to me."

My second memory is the games that we won during money time thanks to one or two decisive actions. We were able to find a solution in each situation. Sometimes it was improbable and with a different player in each situation. Another memory is the Quarter-Final against Greece when they played very well and we were not in the game. We didn't play well and we couldn't find solutions. Anyway, the clock was ticking and we were still losing towards the end. It could have went either way. Having won during money time in the group phase games, this helped us in this Quarter-Final. We won it on a three-point shot by Florence Lepron as she hid in her corner and sealed the game for us.

My one last memory was the Final against Russia. We kept saying between us "we're going to win this game, there 's no other way".Three quarters of the game was perfect, but then we eased off and Russia were slowly coming back in the game. But curiously, as Russia were coming back on us, we didn’t feel any doubt, or any fear.

How do you compare the 2001 and 2009 successes? What was different for you?  How do you reflect and look back at the gold medals?The biggest difference between 2001 and 2009 was the way we approached the competition. In 2001 we went there to win. In 2009, we went without ambitions, but only talking about things game by game. Besides, for me, the difference laid in my position within the team and my state of mind. In 2001, I was a key player and I was focused on my performance. In 2009, I was there to help a new generation, to accompany them. I didn’t experience these successes the same way, and this proves that several paths can lead to victory.

As a former athlete, what do you miss the most about playing at the FIBA Women's EuroBasket?
At first, I missed many things and the adrenaline. But I have definitely put that time behind me since then and now I don't think like a player when I am watching the French national team. I don’t picture myself playing the game anymore. I did my time and I enjoyed great times, but I don’t miss the game any longer.

Finally, tell us about 2021. France will obviously host with Spain. What are the expectations from the team on the court and the event off the court? Also, how do you think the team will be shaping up for Paris 2024?
Covid-19 could be a game changer for 2021. The ambitions haven’t changed though as far as I'm concerned, I do have doubts concerning the resumption of the 2020-2021 season as there are still many questions. It is important to have quality in your club season. Also, I fear the impact of cumulative competitions. To take part in a tournament is already difficult and tiring. But in 2021, there will be the FIBA Women's EuroBasket and also the Olympics.

I wish the best to the French national team as I'm still so attached to them. I really hope the team will handle all of it. I'm really happy that we will get to host part of the tournament, but I still worry because we don’t know what will happen. It's always an important event and the supporters really look forward to cheering their national team. So, I really hope we will be able to live it. When I see what they achieved a t the FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Bourges earlier this year, I’m excited to see what comes next. We have the means to achieve great results in the future, like in Paris 2024. But let's see what happens in this next year!

FIBA