RUS - The sweet feeling of redemption for Korstin, teammates

ISTANBUL (Olympics) - Of all the tournaments that Ilona Korstin has played in for Russia over the years, the EuroBasket Women 2011 was maybe the most satisfying.

A year after a Quarter-Final humiliation at the hands of Belarus at the FIBA World Championship for Women, Korstin and Russia set the record straight on the best team in Europe by finding their top form at just the right time and storming to the gold medal in Poland.

They beat Latvia 83-72 in the Quarter-Finals, the Czech Republic 85-53 in the Semi-finals and Turkey 59-42 in the title game.

"We showed that we can play very beautiful basketball, and we showed our good level," Korstin said to FIBA.com.

"We worked hard to get to the Final.

"We had some problems in the beginning of the tournament and didn't play well but after, we improved and began to play well as a team on defense but also offense and started to have a lot of solutions.

"I think all of the players were involved so I'm really happy and glad that we won."

And in winning, Korstin and her teammates booked a place at the London Games.

A Slow Start

Making it back to the Olympics did not look a certainty early on in Poland, however.

Russia were out of sorts, looking as if they were still suffering a hangover from last year's 70-53 defeat to Belarus in Karlovy Vary that knocked them out of medal contention.

"We just showed that last year was a big mistake," Korstin said.

"We just lost our luck for one day and couldn't find any solutions and this year, we proved to everybody that we are still here, still the best team in Europe."

The coach, Boris Sokolovskiy, bounced back, too, although at first he seemed to be headed down the road to disaster.

Sokolovskiy watched as his team opened the EuroBasket Women in Poland with a two-point triumph over big underdogs Slovakia.

Russia then lost two of their next three games.

"He was just playing with a lot of players so that when we got to the final, we weren't tired," Korstin said.

"The Montenegro team, Lithuania and even France - they were so tired (by the knockout stage). But we were fresh."

Thumbs-Up To Elena, Masha

One of the greatest stories in the history of the EuroBasket Women, though, was the emergence of Elena Danilochkina as a Russian star.

The country had considered bringing another naturalized point guard from America, Epiphanny Prince.

Prince had just played for Sparta&K M.R. Vidnoje but her agent and the Russian Basketball Federation couldn't agree on a time when she would join the national team in their preparations.

Sokolovskiy, with his players having already been in camp getting ready for the EuroBasket Women, took their advice when they said they didn't want a naturalized player and felt they could win with what they had.

"I feel really happy about this," Korstin said.

"We had received a lot of criticism before and heard that it wasn't right to have Americans in the team.

"So this year, we arrived and played with only the Russian players.

"Now the gold medal proves it was a good decision. We gave the opportunity to Danilochkina to play point guard and she did so good.

"She was the best player (in the tournament)."

Danilochkina proved to be one of the best shooters in the game.

She made 18 of her 33 shots from behind the arc and led Russia in scoring at 13.1 points per game.

"Even last year, she was playing well but was the second point guard.

"I told the coach that she needed more responsibility because she has a lot of talent and she just helps us a lot."

Had Prince gone to Poland with Russia, the 25-year-old Danilochkina would not have had the opportunity to shine as playmaker.

"That's right, so she was the best solution," Korstin said.

Then there was the play of 32-year-old Maria Stepanova, or 'Masha' as her teammates call her.

While Danilochkina was voted MVP of the EuroBasket, Russia also won convincingly in the end because of the dominating play on the interior by Stepanova - a member of the all-tournament team.

"She's great," Korstin said of her close friend.

"She showed that she is still here.

"She was tired, of course, but she found something inside of her to keep playing and moving and she really helped us a lot."

The Olympics

Now comes what Korstin, who is playing for Besiktas in Turkey, hopes is her finest Olympics.

London, she says, is a magnificent place.

"Yes, I've been to Wimbledon," she said.

"It's a great city and I like it a lot and everything - the shows, theater, sports, everything - it's great."

On the court, Russia will be looking to improve on their past performances.

Korstin competed at the Athens and Beijing Games.

"We had the bronze medals at the last two and I hope next year, we can improve and do something better," Korstin said.

"For me, it's the last chance to go to the Olympics, I think.

"I would like this Olympics to bring me something new, a good feeling.

"The Olympics is something you cannot describe. You cannot compare it to another championship because it's all atmosphere. It's amazing."
 

FIBA