It had been an eight-year hiatus since France's beloved Les Bleues had last taken the European title. During that time, French female basketball fortunes had steadily devolved, with the French finishing eighth two years ago and failing even to make the Olympic cut in 2008.

But the French were determined to reverse the downward trend. Veteran wing Catherine Melain, who had left the national team after 2005, decided to delay retirement to help France in the EuroBasket tournament, the largest continental basketball championship for women's national teams, which took place in Latvia from June 7 to 20. Though Melain is no longer the scorer she was in her prime, her experience and leadership add stability to the team. Her sacrifice was amply rewarded, when France beat Russia, 57-51, in the final to take the title and secure its place in next year's Women's World Championships.

The Preliminary Line-Ups

The road to the championship was filled with 54 high-level basketball games played in several cities scattered throughout Latvia. The preliminary rounds were divided into four groups. Group A, competing in Liepaja, consisted of Spain, Czech Republic, Ukraine and Slovakia. European basketball analysts expected Evaristo Perez's Spaniards to contend for a podium finish. Spain was defeated by Russia in a great gold-medal game two years ago. The only problem for the Spaniards was that their forward Amaya Valdemoro, an exceptional shooter and MVP of the last EuroBasket Women, injured her calf before the competition. Valdemoro sat out the first five games of the tournament, and although she played (an average of just over 23 minutes per game) in the latter four games of the competition despite lingering edema, she averaged just 11 points per game well off her usual mark. Still, even without Valdemoro, Spain got plenty of help from Anna Montanana and other veterans, sailing undefeated through the preliminary rounds.

The Czechs, gold medalists at the EuroBasket in Turkey four years ago, were considered the other top contenders in Group A. However, the Czechs were playing under a new coach as Milan Verveka replaced veteran Jan Bobrovsky at the head of the Czech national team earlier this year, and many of their players this time out were relatively young and inexperienced. The Czechs took just one of their three opening round games, losing to Spain (59-66) and the Slovak Republic (58-65) but narrowly beat out Ukraine (79-77) to make it to the second (qualifying) round.

Less was expected of Slovakia, who were playing in their first EuroBasket final round games in six years, but in the end, Slovakia prevailed over the Czech Republic, 65-58, in their head-to-head, and demolished the Ukraine, 77-55 in the opener, to move on to Round II with a 2-1 preliminary round record. At the helm, for Slovakia, was former Louisiana State University Coach Pokey Chatman.

Ukraine had to survive an Additional Qualifying Round simply to make it to Latvia and fared about as expected, dropping all three of their preliminary round games, though giving the Czechs a run for their money in a 77-79 shoot-out.

Host nation Latvia welcomed Hungary, Greece and Poland to Group B in Liepaja. The Latvian National Team had finished fourth at the previous EuroBasket in Chieti, Italy in 2007. The 2007 FIBA Europe Women's Player of the Year, Anete Jekabsone-Zogota, was the most famous name in Latvian Coach Ainars Zvirgzdins' squad. The home team gave their fans plenty to cheer about, pounding their way through the preliminaries unbeaten, and offering a thrilling, winning (70-68) performance over Greece.

Poland, led by Agniszka Bibrzycka, who returned to play despite spraining her ankle in her team's opening game thrashing by Latvia (52-76), prevailed over Hungary and took a narrow victory over Greece to move on to the second (qualifying) round. There, however, they lost consecutive games to Slovakia, Spain, and the Czech Republic, dashing their quarterfinals hopes and leading Krzystof Koziorowicz to resign as coach of the Polish national team.

Though Greece acquitted themselves almost unexpectedly well as host nation at the Athens Olympics in 2004, they were beaten in all three of their preliminary round games and made an early exist from the EuroBasket Championships held two years ago in Italy. They improved on that record substantially this year. Though Greece won only one of their preliminaries (over Hungary, 59-43), their two losses, to Latvia and Poland were each by margins of just two points--enough to allow Greece to move on to the second round.

Hungary proved to be the weak sister in Group B, losing all of its preliminary matches -- to Greece (43-59), to Latvia (59-76), and to Poland (53-60)--for an early exit.

Elsewhere, in Group C, Russia, the defending champions in this competition, remained the favourite team this year. They looked strong again but had to face very athletic teams like Coach Rutenis Paulauskas’ Lithuania and Coach Jovica Antonic’s Serbia, as well as the Turkish squad in Group C in Valmiera. Before the competition, there was a big question on whether Rebekka Hammon (US-born WNBA star Becky Hammon) was going to join the team or not. Not until the first day of the tournament was it announced that Hammon, who had already started the WNBA season with San Antonio, would arrive in Latvia on June 13 to participate with Russia for the balance of the competition. Once she got there, Hammon put up 16.5 points per game en route to leading the Russians back to the EuroBasket finals, but it was not enough to retain the crown.

Even in Hammon's absence, Russia took decisive preliminary round wins over Turkey (74-61) and Serbia (72-32), and a somewhat closer victory over Lithuania (60-52) to emerge from the prelims undefeated.

The rest of Group C was more evenly matched. Despite showing an ability to stay on the court with the Russians and mopping the floor with the Serbs (71-49), Lithuania handed Turkey the win in a close match (66-69). Serbia, too, stumbled against the Turks (55-65), allowing the decided underdog of the group going into the competition to emerge from the preliminaries 2-1, while Serbia, finishing winless, got the early trip home.

Group D in Valmiera--with France, Belarus, Italy and Israel-- seemed to be more open. Like Ukraine, Italy had had to play its way in to the EuroBasket championships in Latvia through an additional qualifying round. The French, as previously noted, had been in decline for some time. If there was a favorite at all, it may have been Belarus, who performed unexpectedly well in its debut Olympic appearance last year in Beijing.

In the end, however, France finished unbeaten atop Group D (after pulling out a 63-62 squeaker over Belarus). Italy won two of its games against Israel (75-64) and Belarus (67-58), while Belarus dropped two of its games -- to France (61-63) and to Italy. Israel went home winless, though they gave France a scare (70-73).

On the first day of competition, the most impressive performance came from Group D at the Vidzemes Olimpiskas Centrs in Valmiera where the French national team under Coach Pierre Vincent had a good third quarter and, in the end, won their first game of the tournament by a 15-point margin over Italy. Twenty-one-year-old French star Sandrine Gruda was the difference maker, leading all scorers with 23 points.

On Day Two, France struggled and overtime was required to beat 2007 bronze medallist Belarus. Meanwhile, the Slovak women defeated their neighbours, the Czech Republic, by seven points in a hotly contest game in Group A. The Czechs had to wait until the next day to win their first game in the competition, overcoming Ukraine in a very close game on Day Three.

On the Day Three highlight reel, Elisa Aguilar and Anna Montanana combined for 45 points as Spain, still without Valdemoro who was recovering from injury, beat the Slovak Republic (71-54) to top Group A. Raffaella Masciadri led Italy over Belarus (67-58) with 20 points. Despite 30 points by Liron Cohen from Israel, France remained perfect with a (73-70) victory. Poland held off Hungary (60-53) to secure a ticket for the next round.

After three days of preliminary round, four teams were then disqualified: Ukraine lost all three games in Group A; Hungary was disappointing and also finished with a 0-3 record in Group B; Serbia, weak in offense, was unable to grab even a single win in Group C; while Israel was just unlucky, falling short in each Group D game, but by respectable -- in some cases, narrow -- margins. All qualified teams then moved to Riga for the two Qualifying Round groups: Group E and F.

Off to Riga and Round 2

Latvia strolled to an easy win over the Czech Republic (65-47) on the first day of Round 2, but lost its first game of the tournament on the second day of Group E's qualifiers, falling by nine points (69-78) to a Slovak team playing inspired basketball. The Slovakians had also taken their first qualifying round game over Poland by the same nine-point margin (65-56).

The Poles could not surprise the Spaniards in their second qualifying game, with Spain, thanks to a fantastic third quarter, finally taking the the victory with a 12-point margin (67-55). Spain had taken their first qualifying round match, over Greece, by an even more decisive, 67-48, spread.

Greece pulled out the stops in their second qualifying game, handing the Czech Republic their second Round 2 loss, 62-45. That left Spain and the Slovak Republic undefeated in the second round and secure on their paths to the quarterfinals; Greece and Latvia on the cusp, tied at one game and one loss apiece; and the Czechs and Poland fighting for survival at 0-2 going into the third day of qualifying round competition in Group E.

Day 3 of the Group E qualifiers, held on June 15, offered a nice day of competition as undefeated Spain welcomed back superstar Amaya Valdemoro with a great victory celebration, after felling Latvia, 67-60, in a crowded Riga Arena. Greece punched its ticket to the quarterfinals with a 59-57 victory over the Slovak Republic in a game that went down to the wire. The Czechs pulled out an 82-68 win over Poland, but with a 1-2 qualifying round record, the Czechs (organizers of the upcoming 2010 FIBA Women's World Championships) were swept aside. Poland, at 0-3 in the qualifying round, also packed their bags, as Spain, still undefeated, Slovakia, Latvia, and Greece all moved on to the quarterfinals.

On the Group F side of the bracket, Russia dominated Belarus (66-51) and remained undefeated in the competition. Turkey started strongly, continuing to surprise the pundits with a five-point (64-59) win over Italy. Les Bleues, relying on a tough defense led by Cathy Melain, also continued their unbroken march to the elimination rounds, though Lithuania gave them a close contest (57-55).

The French continued their string of victories on the second day of the qualifying round with a 55-43 win over Turkey. Meanwhile, Russia, led by Svet Abrosimova, kept its perfect record with an easy win over Italy (67-59), putting the Italians' heads on the chopping block. Lithuania was defeated by Belarus (55-61), meaning that the Baltic team was definitely eliminated and Belarus still in the run for the quarterfinals.

On the last day of Group F, Lithuania suffered its third qualifying round loss (58-72) in what was a very important game for Italy. The win moved the Italians into a tie with Turkey, with both teams holding 1-2 records after the Turks dropped their match to Belarus, 70-86. The Italians, who had not taken part in the Final Eight since 1995, advanced on a tie-breaker, as Italy's star forward Laura Macchi finally made it through the Qualifying Round this time.

Also on the last day of Group F, France made the headlines as Coach Pierre Vincent's Les Bleues handed the Russian team (with Becky Hammon by now having joined Ilona Korstin and Maria Stepanova, their first loss of the tournament, 72-66. That left France as the sole undefeated team in Group F, with Russia and Belarus, tied with 2-1 qualifying round records, and Italy squeaking in at 1-2, all advancing to the quarterfinals, while Turkey and Lithuania were eliminated.

The Quarterfinals

The competition became even more heated as the format turned to sudden-death and the stakes increased: All teams reaching the semis as well as the team winning the final game for fifth place earned a ticket for the 2010 FIBA Women's World Championships. On June 17, the first day of quarterfinal competition, Belarus became the first team to qualify for the EuroBasket 2009 semifinals (and thus for the 2010 Worlds) when they pulled out a 70-68 overtime win over a Slovakian team that continued to surprise with their toughness.

Spain, led by Amaya Valdemoro, Isabel Sanchez and Alba Torrens, coasted to their spot in the semis, beating Italy 61-42.

On the following day, the quarterfinals continued with France beating Greece, 51-49, in a dramatic finish to secure their semifinal berth. Russia needed overtime to overcome a tough Latvian team, led by Gunta Basko, in front of a large crowd of 8,713 fans. The final score was 69-64 in favor of the Russians.

The Battle for Fifth Place

For once, the elimination bracket mattered, as Greece, Italy, Latvia, and the Slovak Republic duked it out for fifth place and the all-important final European berth in the World Championships. Greece got the job done, 64-59, over the Slovak Republic, and Latvia put on a brave show but disappointed the home crowd when they fell to the Italians, 66-68. The following day, Greece prevailed over Italy, 60-56, to take fifth-place and an invitation to next year's Worlds. Latvia ended its home stand on a high note with a 67-59 win over the Slovak Republic to take seventh-place. Italy and the Slovakians finished at sixth and eighth, respectively.

The Semifinals

Meanwhile, in the semis, the French National Team moved on to the EuroBasket 2009 Final after beating Belarus, 64-56. The French win came in large part thanks to the play of Celine Dumerc, who finished with 13 points; Endene Miyem added 11 points, while Sandrine Gruda accounted for 10 points and 13 rebounds in the semifinal. Ex-West Virginia center Yelena Leuchanka responded with 14 points and nine boards for Belarus in the losing effort.

On the opposite side of the bracket, Russia edged closer to their third European championship title in six years, setting up a rematch against France with a 77-61 trouncing of Spain. Russia seemed to have overcome the fatigue they must have experienced after their exhausting quarterfinal marathon against Latvia. Spain had no answer in the final minutes of the game and Russia coasted to a comprehensive victory at the end. Becky Hammon stepped up with 28 points for Russia. Maria Stepanova added 19 points and 16 boards, while Svetlana Abrosimova finished with 14 points for the winning team. Alba Torrens replied with 17 points and five boards for Spain.

On to the Championship

When France took the floor for the title game of the EuroBasket championships, it was their first time their since their gold-medal winning year of 2001. They beat Russia in the title game that year, 73-68, and were obviously hoping for a reprise.

French public television suddenly decided to change all programs and broadcast the EuroBasket championship game live. And they did well as Pierre Vincent’s team dethroned the reigning Russia champions, in a hotly contested, if low-scoring, 57-53 match.

A rigorous French defense held Russia to just 19 points in the opening stanza, and opened a 19-point lead in the third quarter. But Russia refused to quit, and made several critical errors late in the game, which ultimately came down to crucial free throws in the final minutes. Late in the game, Sandrine Gruda, who stepped up for France with 12 points and seven rebounds, made one of those mistakes, fouling Maria Stepanova as she attempted to shoot beyond the arc with the shot clock winding. Stepanova, who finished with 13 points and six boards for Russia, made all three attempts at the line, bringing the game to a four-point margin, the French up 55-51. Russia still had a chance to close the gap, but Becky Hammon and Svetlana Abrosimova both missed three-point attempts.

russia pulled to within four (57-53) in the final seconds on an Abrosimova lay-up, and after Emmeline Ndongue, who finished with 11 points, missed two from the charity line, Russia had a final chance to cut the lead to two. But Abrosimova, Stepanova, and Marina Karpunina were all off the mark, and France's Celine Dumerc snatched the board on Karpunina's final miss to put an end to Russian hopes.

The French squad was invited to the sports TV show Stade 2 the next day and was welcomed with a standing ovation in the studio. Sandrine Gruda said that she was very happy with the title and also with her great stats during the tournament: 15.4 points per game. Cathy Melain explained that it had been a wonderful campaign to put the final stamp on her pro career and Pierre Vincent emphasized the fact that the objective before the European Championship's began had simply been to reach the fifth spot and a qualification for the World Championship as well as to build a competitive team for the 2012 Olympic Games.

Orlando Magic’s Mickael Pietrus, also present in the studio of Stade 2, congratulated Les Bleues and said that it should set as an example for the French men’s national team as well. The French men have had a tough time to qualify for a major event indeed. Women's basketball is the big winner in French sports this time.

Spain took the bronze with a 63-56 win over Belarus. Greece's Evanthia Maltsi was crowned the MVP of the EuroBasket 2009 tournament after the final game. Sandrine Gruda (France), Celine Dumerc (France), Svetlana Abrosimova (Russia), Evanthia Maltsi (Greece) and Anete Jekabsone-Zogota (Latvia) made up the All-Star Five of the tourney. Both Russia and France booked tickets to the 2010 World Championship as well as Spain, Belarus and Greece.

Greek's Evanthia Maltsi, MVP of Eurobasket Women 2009, once wore a Connecticut Sun uniform. Here, Maltsi celebrates with teammate Margo Dydek of Poland during the second half of a 2007 WNBA game.

Final Standings

1. France
2. Russia
3. Spain
4. Belarus
5. Greece
6. Italy
7. Latvia
8. Slovakia

As a final note, Europeans can look forward to more competitive women's basketball in the year's ahead, as Russia can no longer be counted on to dominate, and other national teams flex their muscle. Back in the U.S., it will mean minor shake-ups in WNBA rosters as European stars return to take their places in the line-ups.