Biggest EuroBasket Success
Fans from all over the world at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games were lucky eye-witnesses to a special Olympic moment  when the 12 members of the Greek women’s team holding each other and dancing “Zorba the Greek” in the center of the “Elliniko” basketball court, it was a moment not to be forgotten. Hosts Greece finished the Olympics in the seventh spot and that day is now regarded as the most important one in Greek women basketball history. But when it comes to EuroBasket, no Greek team has ever reached the top eight. It seems though that playing in their homeland has always helped. Former National Team coach Giorgos Tsitskaris and his team finished in ninth place at EuroBasket 2003, held in Greece, which still remains the country's best performance ever. Greece may not have made it past the group stages back then, but at least they exited the competition on a winning note, defeating Hungary 85-83.

		Evanthia Maltsi will be an important cog in the Greek machine.

Biggest EuroBasket disaster
This summer will be just the fourth EuroBasket Greece has ever participated in, though they seem to be improving and becoming a regular final round participant. The Greeks struggled during the 1997 qualifying round and were left out in the end. The darkest day so far would undoubtedly be the 27th of May 1995, when a buzzer-beater three-point shot hit by Bulgaria left the Greeks with a 67-64 defeat and relegated them to a third place spot in Group B (the equivalent of today's Division B).

Best Individual Performance/Best Player of All-Time
"The female Nikos Galis", Anni Konstandinidou, has been considered by the press and the fans through the decades as the woman equivalent of the man who became synonymous with Greek basketball. Also a point guard, Anni has persuaded the Greeks that basketball is a sport that women can do as well as men. Her big heart on the court and her professionalism in an era of amateurism gave her a special place in women’s basketball history. A deadly shooter, Konstandinidou was known for making three-pointers with two players guarding her.
 
Scouting report
With two players having earned experience from the top European leagues, a new and improved style of play will be obvious in Italy.  Point guard Anastasia Kostaki has become the first Greek woman ever to play in the WNBA (Houston Comets) and last winter she played in the Russian League for both CSKA Samara and Dynamo Moscow Region.  A natural scorer, EuroLeague Women All Star Evanthia Maltsi returns after a successful year in Bourges (fourth place in the EuroLeague Women). Her presence will definitely give headaches to rivals. 36-year-old Poly Saregou is the oldest player on the team and will once again be the captain. One of her tasks will be to help integrate a new crop of young stars into the National Team. The Greek Federation are now working on a three-year project regarding young female prospects around Greece and have appointed National Team coach Kostas Missas as the head of this five-member coaching staff. Their main objective is not only to pinpoint talents but also to work on prospective National Team player’s conditioning issues, such as strength, power and acceleration. Despite the newcomers, Greece’s weakness will once again be their frontline. Missas does not have enough post players and will once again rely on his perimeter players.

Prediction
In Greece, the draw of this EuroBasket Women 2007 was considered very unlucky.  Russia, EuroBasket Women silver medallists in 2005, and France, champions in 2001, target a place at the podium. Greece’s third rival in Group C will be host Italy.  So each win will be considered a success. Greece’s target is therefore to advance to the second round but considering their top ranking ever at a EuroBasket Women was ninth place in 2003, any spot above that would make Missas' ladies return home with a huge smile on their face.  “Taking into account the draw and the current competition system, we aim to make it to the next stage hoping for some luck too,” said the coach.
 
Likely Squad
Stars Anastasia Kostaki and Evina Maltsi will definitely be there as well as captain Polymnia Saregou, Dimitra Kalentzou, Olga Chatzinikolaou, Eirini Stachtiari and Stylliani Kaltsidou. Some family issues have not made it clear if Maria Samoroukova will be in the squad for sure. But if she does say yes to Kostas Missas, Greece will have an experienced center in the paint.  One of the youngest members of the team is 22-year-old promising shooting guard Lolita Limoura, who is ready for her first trip out of the borders of Greece with Italian club Virtus Viterbo for the 2007-08 season after seven years with Esperides.  More “fresh blood” comes in the form of Nafsika Stavridou, Zoi Dimitrakou, power forward Evangelia Katopodi and Pelagia Papamichail.

Last 10 events
Year Event Place Achievement
2006 World Championship Sao Paolo Did not qualify
2005 EuroBasket Ankara 10th
2004 Olympics Athens 7th
2003 EuroBasket Patras 9th
2002 World Championship Nanjing Did not qualify
2001 EuroBasket Le Mans 10th
2000 Olympics Sydney Did not qualify
1999 EuroBasket Katowice Did not qualify
1998 World Championship Berlin Did not qualify
1997 EuroBasket Budapest Did not qualify

How did they qualify
Qualifying round
1st  in Group A (4 W — 2 L)
Results
Sept-6th 2006 Greece b. *Hungary 70-64
Sept-9th 2006 *Greece b. Bulgaria 73-62
Sept-13th 2006 *Greece b. Belarus 79-71
Sept-16th 2006 Hungary b. *Greece 69-68
Sept-20th 2006 Greece b. *Bulgaria 81-55
Sept-23rd 2006 *Belarus b. Greece 63-60
* home team