PIRAEUS (Greece) - After an astonishing and jaw-dropping conclusion to FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2025, the enormity of Emma Meesseman and Belgium's achievements might not be truly appreciated for some time.
Still visibly in shock after leading her team to one of the most epic Final wins ever, the forward was coming to terms with snatching a famous victory from the jaws of defeat.
The Cats retained their title by beating Spain 67-65 having trailed by 12 points with less than three minutes remaining. Digging seriously deep to somehow pull out a victory, Belgium became only the third national team to ever complete a successful defence of the trophy.
Belgium really did show they are the Cats that never ever give up. After all, they won both their 2023 and 2025 titles despite trailing at half-time in both games.
For context: only one team had ever managed to win a FIBA Women’s EuroBasket title game after trailing at halftime in the previous 14 editions.
It's a good reminder to never give up - in sport or in life.
Meesseman herself made history as she became the first ever player to land consecutive TISSOT MVP awards, adding yet another jewel to her individual crown and legacy - while also cementing her status as a legend.
But such was the extraordinary finish to the Final itself - there's only one thing the 32-year-old is likely to remember.
She said: "It's still hard to believe - I have had a lot of games in my career but not one like that before and especially not in a Final. It's a good reminder to never give up - in sport or in life."
She deflected the personal accolades and instead focused on the bigger picture - writing history for her country.
"If individual awards come along then I am fine with that, but I will always be most proud of this trophy and the team that I did it with," she said.
"Especially where we came from. It's not like we ever had a history like France or Spain. We just did it with this group. This [MVP award] might be catching some dust, but this [the gold medal] will always be on show. It's the thing I will remember always." "I do like writing history though," smiled Meesseman.
Belgium's marquee star also took time out to reflect on the overall growth in popularity of the Belgian Cats.
Having all the attention from the fans and from the kids - it's something beautiful that we have built.
Not only breaking spectacularly into their nation's mainstream sporting sphere, but the following they have built up which shows no signs of slowing down. "This means a lot and if you had told me in 2017 we would achieve this, nobody would have believed you," admitted Meesseman. "We have come so far. We see all these people coming all the way to Athens just to watch and support us and that is what makes me realize what we have done.
"Having all the attention from the fans and from the kids - it's something beautiful that we have built and we are still building," she concluded.
FIBA