CRO – Momma Mandir the heroine

KATOWICE (EuroBasket Women) - The true quality of an athlete can be judged by how he or she responds to adversity.

There was plenty of pressure in the Croatia camp at the EuroBasket Women after their 86-40 demolition at the hands of France on Friday.

Sandra Mandir, the Croatia captain, had laid an egg just as all her teammates had.

But that was France, the defending champions.

Against Greece, less than 24 hours later, Mandir proved a lot can change.

Playing 37 minutes, the 33-year-old capped a magnificent, gritty performance with a game-winning drive in the closing seconds for a 65-63 triumph over Greece.

"I'm the most experienced player in the team and I'm used to taking the final shot," Mandir said to FIBA.com.

"Sometimes it goes in, sometimes it doesn't.

"I was very confident on the last play that I would make it."

Mandir, mother of a young son, finished with a game-high 19 points.

Croatia had looked like the worst team in the tournament on Friday but they sparked their EuroBasket Women back into life in a true drama with the Greeks.

"We're very happy, especially after losing badly against France," Mandir said.

"We were able to turn it around 15 hours later and get a big win against a country that has more experience at international level.

"We knew we could beat Greece and we also know we can beat Latvia."

Mandir didn't know if she was going to play this summer for Croatia.

"The coach called me and asked I'd like to play so I have and am happy about it," she said.

FIBA