The 16-year-old girls’ basketball team that won the EC gold arrived in Finland.
Aino Paloniemi,
Jussi Jäkälä
The fresh European champions got the welcome they deserved at Helsinki-Vantaa airport, when the 16-year-old girls’ national team secured Finland’s first European Championship medal in basketball history on Saturday evening.
The championship party continued at the team’s hotel until it was time to go to bed due to an early flight, said the team’s captain Alina Nikkilä.
– We used to sing in the bath downstairs of the hotel, Nikkilä said and revealed that the songs included The Friday Night and Vaarallinen naini.
About the players Jessi Nenonen, Aino Koskela and Anna Gardziella confirmed that after securing the championship, the vocal cords were loud.
– The others jumped and I think I cried at that point. If we, France and Spain, can win, that’s really great, yes, we played really well as a team. Now I can push for the whole season, Gardziella beamed.
– Maybe we’ll celebrate this week and then continue training, school starts tomorrow, Koskela said.
“No B-level basketball”
Finland lost to France twice in practice matches played before the European Championship, but the lessons learned from the opponent had been learned for the final match, explained the head coach Jussi Räikkä.
– Wolf defense. We were the best defensive team in that tournament. France was second best, but we were better. Through that, we caught their attack and gave ourselves a chance to win, Räikkä opened up about the things that brought the championship.
– Winning is not easy and it requires that all the pieces fall into place. It takes hard work and probably a bit of luck, but this tournament actually went perfectly.
Captain Nikkilä confirms that the team entered the final as underdogs.
– Of course, the championship raises everyone’s self-esteem and level. Now we know that the level in Finland is tough, and there is no B-level basketball.
Tenacity won, maybe one day at the Olympics
In the reception hall of the airport, the players were greeted and the team was met by, among others, the head of the Finnish Basketball Association’s coaching Henrik Dettmann.
– Yes, it got to the emotions and a big piece of garbage got into the eye. This is such a great thing for many Finnish basketball people, for all club officials, players, parents, Dettmann listed.
Dettmann describes the tournament as straight out of the wolf cubs handbook – each member had their own role in the tournament and the team played together.
– This is a great example that the Finnish ball team can be successful. Maybe we’re not the fastest, maybe not the most athletic, but when we’re the most resilient, that’s what counts the most in sports.
– The goal is that this does not stop here, but one day these girls and their teammates will play in the Olympic Games, Dettmann uploaded.