Maltsi full of pride after taking down Serbia
PRAGUE (FIBA EuroBasket Women 2017) - Being drawn against the defending champions on opening night might make some teams quiver, but it can help others to sharpen their focus.
After Greece's impressive 69-60 victory over Serbia in Prague on Friday, it's clear which category this Greek team falls into.
Evanthia Maltsi, draped in a Greek flag and swelling with pride, was emotional in the post-game press conference. The Greek legend, playing her seventh and possibly last FIBA EuroBasket Women, was outstanding during the contest.
She picked up two fouls in the opening four minutes, but she stayed in the game and played with veteran savvy the rest of the way. Alongside brilliant performances from Artemis Spanou and Styliani Kaltsidou, Maltsi often provided the steadying hand when Serbia showed their championship prowess and threatened a comeback.
Maltsi ended with 16 points, 9 boards and 5 assists, and she was ecstatic after the match: "I want to congratulate my team. This is a legendary day for us. We have never beaten Serbia before. It was not our goal for this tournament, but we promised ourselves that we will be dedicated for everything and we will fight every game. We don't want to play against names - we just want to play basketball."
Maltsi was quick to caution though that the high from this victory can't lead to a let-down in the coming games. "I hope we can manage this win today because usually we don't manage very well these kind of wins - our heads get bigger," she said, with coach Kostas Kermidas grinning alongside her knowingly.
"So I hope we stay humble. We are nobodies, but we want to be somebodies. This is what we do - we serve basketball." Maltsi talked further about the spirit that her team brought to the game: "We played very good defense and we put a lot of passion into the game and this helps, this is us, we are Greece."
"As you can see, we don’t have tall players, but we all jump and fight and push - that takes a lot of energy."
But Maltsi has also seen it all before in a long and brilliant career, so she was quick to caution about getting carried away: "I've seen teams celebrate big wins and then go back home. So it might mean nothing. But I hope that my teammates will remain focused to come tomorrow, give 40 minutes hard play, and take the win."
Maltsi and her teammates take on Slovenia in their second match, a game that Maltsi described as their final - and they know that Slovenia will present a tough challenge after the debutantes’ impressive display in a heartbreaking defeat against France.
But if they can bring the same passion and quality as they displayed on opening night, anything is possible.
FIBA
