NEWCASTLE (Paul Nilsen Women's Basketball Worldwide) - Time to off an A to Z rundown of what proved to be a hugely enjoyable EuroBasket Women 2015.

A is for All-Star Five and for once, it seemed that the choice was universal in Celine Dumerc, Ana Dabovic, Alba Torrens, Sonja Petrovic and Sandrine Gruda.

B is for best ever or at least the best EuroBasket Women in recent memory in terms of excitement and the sheer close number of games. It was extraordinary how competitive it was and how many games went down to the wire. Half of the games in the vital last phase in Budapest were decided by less than five points.

C is for champions and a historic moment for Serbia as they climbed to the top of the podium for the first time.

D is for Danielle Page who was ridiculed in some quarters when announced as Serbia's naturalised player, but did a great job and even sung the Serbia anthem as well as anyone from Belgrade.

E is for exit door as we waved a EuroBasket Women goodbye to an array of stellar and legendary names including Laia Palau and presumably Nevriye Yilmaz for example.

F is for female coaches and the only two in the competition in Marina Maljkovic and Valerie Garnier both made it to the Final.

G is for George Dikeoulakos who typically worked a miracle to get Greece to the cusp of a Quarter-Final place.

H is for heart. The tournament slogan was to 'play with heart'. And man, did everyone do that with some amazing comebacks and intense finishes.

I is for idols and inspiration. After the Final had concluded, Ana Dabovic spoke passionately about Serbia having potentially inspired more young girls in their homeland to pick up a basketball and them now having idols to look up to.

J is for June and a month in the women's basketball calendar which I will remember for a long time.

K is for Kissova and Martina Kissova of Slovak Republic, who I think was a great example of the numerous debutantes at the event who showed they can have an impact at the elite level for their respective nations.

L is for Lithuania who were arguably the real EuroBasket Women champions after opting not to harness any naturalised players.

M is for MVP and Ana Dabovic was certainly feeling it down the tournament stretch as she came alive to fire her team to the title. While she can sometimes be frustrating, she is like a runaway train when she finds the hot hand and is super to watch.

N is for naturalised players and they mostly performed positively for their respective teams.

O is for Olympic Games and that was the added prize for Serbia who will play at the Women's Olympic Baskeball Tournament for the first time in their history.

P is for predictions and I didn't do too badly by stating that only three teams could win it and one of those was Serbia - even if they hadn't won a medal before.

Q is for 'Queen Bee' aka Milica Dabovic who is the heart and soul of the Serbia team and very much leader and captain. While she ended her tournament with an elbow injury in the Final, she landed the Olympic dream he craved. 

R is for Rio and France, Spain, Belarus and Turkey will be strong contenders to progress at the 2016 FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament (WOQT).

S is for Sonja Petrovic and she was the difference-maker after coming in from the cold which had previously witnessed her go six years without playing for Serbia. She is an astonishing player by the way, who is getting even better with age.

T is for too long. As brilliant as it was, the decision to remove the middle phase of the tournament from 2017 is a smart one.

U is for unsportsmanlike fouls, several of which at this event I thought bordered on potential ejections. It really was a magnificent dogfight at times - especially off the ball and the officials had a real struggle to keep a lid on it.

V is for Vadeeva and Russian star Maria Vadeeva. The 16-year-old was sensational on her tournament debut. She shot the ball better than anyone else on the entire Russian roster and the Sparta&K M.R. Vidnoje center is the best young player I have seen 'live' along with Breanna Stewart and Angela Salvadores.

W is for worries and dethroned champions Spain have a few of those. Their record of only one loss does not tell the story. They looked well off the pace at times and probably could and indeed should have lost in the Quarter-Final against gutsy Montenegro.

X is for 'X-Factor' and this tournament had exactly that - with some outstanding plays.

Y is for yes and that is what Czech Republic got last weekend when chosen to host the 2017 edition of the tournament. If it is anything like this, or the EuroLeague Women Final Four in Prague recently, I am counting down the days already.

Z is for zest which is defined as 'great enthusiasm and energy' - something I am consumed with when it comes to the women's game after an amazing three weeks or so. As I previously wrote, 2014 was not a great year for the women's game, but it really has delivered so far in 2015 and I feel like I am falling in love with it all over again!

Paul Nilsen

FIBA

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