Just minutes after registering a shocking 54-47 upset over the defending champions Czech Republic, Germany downplayed the importance of the victory and said it would mean nothing if they don't reach the quarter-finals of the 2007 EuroBasket Women.

"We will enjoy this win for about 10, 15 minutes and then re-focus on our next game because we still have two more games to get where we want to be," said German star Linda Fröhlich, who collected 18 points, 10 rebounds and three steals in Germany's first victory in the Group E qualifying round contest in Vasto.

		Anne Breitreiner played a big part in Germany's historic win with 10 points and five rebounds.

"We're very happy that we were able to beat a great team like Czech Republic. But we haven't won anything yet. We can't go home and celebrate that we beat the defending champions and be last. So, it doesn't count for anything. Now it's time to move on."

The upset came against a Czech team which had walzed through their preliminary round with a 3-0 record and an average winning margin of 27 points, and Germany came into the showdown after losses to Belgium and Lithuania in their last two games.

The Germans, who are looking to reach the quarter-finals for just the second time following their bronze medal 10 years ago in Hungary, improved their record in Group E to 1-2.

But after their loss to Lithuania in Group B they still must gain points from their final two games against Turkey and Latvia to advance.

Fröhlich said the 71-57 defeat against Lithuania really hurts now, adding: "That's why it was especially important to win this game. Every loss in that first round hurts you because it's still the first round, everybody plays a little looser. Now it's getting more difficult every game."

Beating the Czechs will undoubtedly give the Germans plenty of confidence going into their

		“	We're very happy that we were able to beat a great team like Czech Republic. But we haven't won anything yet.	„
		Germany Forward  Linda Fröhlich

final two games, after proving the perceived impossible is possible.

"I told the players, 'We have to believe we can beat the champions if we fight from the beginning.' They believed it and everyone, from the players on the bench to the starting five believed it," said German coach Imre Szittya, who called the victory the biggest of his career.

Whether or not the Germans wanted to play down the win, its importance was not lost on Roland Geggus, the former president of the German Basketball Federation DBB.

"This isn't the biggest victory in history since we took bronze in 1997. But this is a very, very important win for German basketball. To knock off the european champions is an unbelievable story and I think it will give women's basketball new impulses," said Geggus, who served as DBB head from 1994-2006.

When asked what the victory means for German basketball, he added: "It's like a quantum leap because the Czech Republic have been at a different level for a long time. And this showed that we are on the right path with this young team."

"This is a new generation of women's basketball. Whenever you're so successful (like in 1997) you always experience a downturn. But you need time to rebuild. And if I think about some of the teams who already have been eliminated from this event, then we can be satisfied," Geggus added.

A spot in the quarter-finals would make the Czech upset all that more meaningful.