Social media spotlight and reaction - Game Day 2
MUNICH (FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2019 Qualifiers) - The opening window of the FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2019 Qualifiers is complete as we check out how game day 2 panned out on social media, as well as catching up with those involved.
Eleanna Christinaki was one of the main talking points as she reiterated Greece do have some real talent coming through to replace their storied veteran generation. The guard shot the lights out in a tight one against Great Britain as her nation squeezed out a 61-59 victory.
"It was a very difficult game and we got a very important win," stated the guard after dropping 18 points - her highest to date at senior level.
Eleanna Christinaki with the ⏰beater for @HellenicBF ! Great emerging talent. @umdwbb #WeAreMaryland #EuroBasketWomen pic.twitter.com/0JqjdDExOp
— Paul Nilsen (@basketmedia365) November 15, 2017
"We kept our will to fight and to cover for Evina Maltsi, to play as a team and to get the positive result.
"Also, since I study and play basketball in the USA, It has been a while since I played in front of the Greek supporters. The fans were simply perfect. I want to thank them and congratulate them. The arena was amazing and the fans sealed our win."
Another player paying tribute to the home support was Ann Wauters of Belgium. Returning to home soil for the first time since their maiden medal at FIBA EuroBasket Women 2017, it was a special experience - even for a legend.
Thank you! You were amazing! See you in february. @8500Kortrijk @TheBelgianCats #greatwin #fullhouse #🇧🇪🐱#stepbystep pic.twitter.com/tX4Aq9QePI
— Ann Wauters (@AnnWauters12) November 16, 2017
Belgium stormed to a 103-60 victory against Germany in a one-sided matchup that moved them onto 2-0.
There were some landmark wins on game day 2, including a terrific first success at the helm of Croatia for Anda Jelavic. The former playing star guided her team to a fabulous 83-71 victory in Italy.
"We knew that Italy is a great team with great players, but we were focused on this game after our loss with Sweden," explained the playcaller.
"We showed that we can play and fight, especially in defense. We played as a team with 18 assists and taking more rebounds than Italy. Congratulations to my players and to my coaching staff," added Jelavic.
In the same group, there was a comfortable 91-51 success for Sweden at home to MKD.
Att få träffa sina idoler 😍🌟🇸🇪🖊🤳#EuroBasketWomen pic.twitter.com/alT8tRjHIG
— Basket.se (@basketse) November 15, 2017
But there was just as much delight after the buzzer for those fans who got to meet their idols from the court.
Russia dodged a major bullet against Lithuania in a game that had a crazy last 90 seconds, the home side eventually prevailing 64-62.
That meant considerable relief for Evgeniia Beliakova and her colleagues as Russia kept their unbeaten record.
Turkey put in a powerful performance against Poland as they burst away in the last 15 minutes to take a 73-53 victory in the capital.
Cansu Koksal continued her great form in this window with another nice contribution and she was quick to praise the role played by Turkey's noisy and passionate fans.
Finally, the champions Spain rolled their way to another crushing victory as they threw a defensive blanket over Netherlands 92-26 on a sweet homecoming in the wake of the title they won earlier this year in Prague.
"It has been really nice to play in Valladolid," smiled Marta Xargay, who is already thinking about the next window in February.
"We go ahead with two big wins that will help us for the next qualification games and it seems that Ukraine will be our rival for the first place," she insisted.
FIBA
