Russia’s women are gold medal winners

LONDON (The Friday Eurovision) - Russia’s women are gold medal winners at the EuroBasket and heading to the Olympics.

So what’s new, you ask?

Though Russia usually contend for honours, they are not the all-conquering team that we sometimes believe them to be.

The Russian women captured their first gold since 2003, when they beat the Czech Republic in an amazing title game in Patras, Greece, that I watched.

I’m still wondering how good this year’s team is.

Firstly, know this.

This team played terrific defense in the final. They were stomping Spain by 20 points at half-time, and that was due to the ‘D’.

The delightful Svetlana Abrosimova, the tough-as-nails Olga Arteshina, and the very solid Ilona Korstin just flat-out steamrolled Spain.

Russia did not pull away, though. Spain, as is the case with any team that has Amaya Valdemoro on it, will never give up.

Watching Valdemoro score her 26 points to lead Spain back - they trailed by just four points in the final minute - made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

I truly believe it to have been the most heroic display in a woman’s game that I’ve ever seen.

She did everything, from rebounding to diving for loose balls to taking big shots. Most teams would have folded up their tents at half-time and gone home. Amaya wouldn’t allow her team-mates to do that.

When her lay-up that would have cut the deficit to two with the game in that final minute rimmed out, and Russia rebounded, that meant the end.

Spain fouled, Russia went to the line and Amaya cried. She wanted it so badly that she cried while Russia took their free throws.

If you were there watching her, you would have cried, too, because you got the feeling that no matter how good she has been in her career, she may never be quite good enough to win a gold medal.

Right, here is my all-interview team from the EuroBasket. This goes to the women who made my life and the lives of other journalists easy.

1 - Abrosimova of Russia, Natallia Marchanka of Belarus, Gunta Basko of Latvia, Kathryn Ress of Italy and Edwige Lawson-Wade of France. (I yearn for the day with Irina Osipova of Russia, Egle Sulciute of Lithuania and Anastasiya Veremeenko agree to speak to me!).

Now for the all-tournament team:

1 - Gunta Basko. Anete Jekabsone-Zogota is magical to watch, but gosh, Basko was the engine of this team. What a pity she dislocated her elbow early in the semi-final against Russia. Up to that point, she’d been the best point guard at the EuroBasket.

2 - Jekabsone-Zogota. You had to see it to believe it. I think this pair of guards, Basko and Jekabsone-Zogota, were worth the price of admission to any game. If the game was a blowout, they were amazing to watch. If the game was close, it was still amazing. Jekabsone-Zogota is a natural, and she’s a lefty - which always looks better.

3 - Amaya Valdemoro. She plays the game with passion, and she plays it better than anyone.

4 - Anna Montanana. Tom Maher, the Australian who coaches China, was on hand to watch the EuroBasket and he marvelled at the star power of Montanana, Laia Palau and Valdemoro for Spain. Montanana is so good at everything, from leading the fast break to hitting open three-pointers, to playing great defense.

5 - Irina Osipova. Journalists who didn’t put Osipova on the all-tournament team were probably the same ones who put Dirk Nowitzki in the starting five at the men’s tournament. Dirk wasn’t one of the best five, not even close (that’s right, I said it!), but Osipova was the most consistent and most dominant player on the floor for Russia from start to finish in Italy.

Best coach: Hands down, the best coach at the EuroBasket was Ainars Zvirgzdins of Latvia. The next time he coaches in Latvia, people, buy a ticket, sit down and just watch him for the entire 40 minutes. Don’t even watch the game. He looks so frustrated and angry that it’s funny. I’ve got three words for you - HE CAN COACH.

Biggest surprise? That would be Spain’s Cindy Lima.

“She’s terrible,” someone told me. “She can’t shoot, can’t hold onto the ball,” someone else said.

“What is she doing on the team?” another said, incredulously?

I’ll tell you what she’s doing. Lima was growing up in the team. Spain never would have been close without her. She played killer defense, rebounded and even scored. I think Amaya must have had some hard words for Lima in practice. Credit to Lima for taking everything on board and letting it make her a better player.”

Funniest moment?

That would be at half-time of the fifth/sixth place game between Lithuania and the Czech Republic.

The Czechs were leading 49-18, and the Lithuania coach Algirdas Paulauskas just picked up his bag, threw it over his shoulder and walked away.

I wondered, as did my colleagues, if Paulauskas would return.

He did.

Lithuania, with a chance to reach pre-Olympic qualifying tournament, ended up losing 93-54.

While at the EuroBasket Women, my colleagues Dave Hein (heinnews.com), Cindy Garcia-Bennett (PA Sport) and Yarone Arbel (The man, the myth, the legend) had their opinions about the all-tournament team.

Here is what Dave thought.

Irina Osipova - Russia
Anastasiya Veremeenko - Belarus
Amaya Valdemoro - Spain
Anete Jekabsone-Zogota - Latvia
Gunta Basko - Latvia

I would not argue with anyone who says Valdemoro is the MVP. But I'm going to go with Osipova, who showed throughout the tournament that she's a force to be reckoned with - both offensively and defensively. Of course she's on a team with more weapons than Valdemoro. But when Maria Stepanova struggled - including during the title game - Osipova was the one who stepped up.

Going over the rest of my All-Tournament Team:

Valdemoro proved once again that she's the heart and soul of the Spanish team. And I'd love to have her on my team if I was coach because she gives everything she has.

Jekabsone-Zogota is probably the most talented all-around player. She can score at will or set up team-mates, making her an unstoppable offensive force.

Basko is a shutdown defender at the point guard position who can also lead a team. She's also an excellent scorer and pass distributor. And just watching her play the semi-final against Russia with one arm shows all you need to know about her heart.

Veremeenko was not the leading scorer for Belarus. But that's because she only shoots when she feels she has a good shot - and with a 69 FG% you could say those were good shots. But 20-year-old is silky smooth and extremely effective. Everything looks easy for her. If she would develop a mean streak, she could be a super-star. She's already rock solid defensively, with 18 blocks to her credit.


Here is what Cindy wanted to say.

Anna Montanana, Spain
Amaya Valdemoro, Spain
Irina Osipova, Russia
Natallia Marchanka, Belarus
Gunta Basko, Latvia

Spain wouldn't have reached the final of the EuroBasket Women had it not been for inspirational duo Anna Montanana and Amaya Valdemoro. They are all-rounders, which means they do everything well.

Talk about inspiration, how about Basko?! She played with a dislocated elbow in the semi-final against Russia, even making a lay-up with her left hand at one point that brought the crowd to its feet.

How Osipova didn't make it to the all tournament team beats me. She was Russia’s most consistent player. Russia without Osipova would not have gone very far in the tournament, that's how crucial she was for them.

Point guard Natallia Marchanka wasn’t the biggest player on the court at 1.7m, but she played at 100 miles per hour and drove Belarus forward.

Here is what Yarone had to say at first.

Gunta Basko
Anete Jekabsone-Zogota
Amaya Valdemoro
Anastasiya Veremeenko
Irina Osipova.

Then he wrote this.

Some fans of the women’s game believe the game is much more about team play than the men’s version. If you need more support for this thought, take the MVP race at the EuroBasket Women.

It was impossible to find one player who shone brighter than the rest. It wasn't even a clear race between two or three players. The fact several people couldn't decide if the eventual MVP Valdemoro should be in the all-tournament team or her team-mate Montanana says it all.

No point guard was outstanding and this is why that spot goes to Latvia's Gunta Basko. Not a natural at the point, although she played that for long stretches, as well as all other positions other than center. She won two, if not three, games with clutch plays and her true fighting character stood out when she played with one hand in the semis.

Veremeenko deserves an honourable mention and came very-very-very close to make it to my team. Especially considering the shocking bronze medal by her team Belarus.

France's Sandra Le Drean, Germany's Anne Breitreiner and Latvia's Zane Eglite will stay in my mind as well. The fact I can't decide if it's more because of their game style or their beauty says a lot about their game.

Okay, back to Jeff.

It hurt me watching France in this tournament. I've never seen a country want it so badly, but not succeed. And that was the case for the men, and women.

Sandra Le Drean wept openly after France were knocked out of contention for a place in the pre-Olympic qualifying tournament. How did this team not do it?