Collins hails British spirit after Israel success
BySportsbeat
Published 12/11/2017 at 12:16 GMT
Skipper Stef Collins effusively hailed the resilience of her Great Britain players after they came back to sensationally defeat Israel in their FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2019 qualifying opener.
Eurosport
Image credit: Eurosport
In a see-saw encounter at the National Basketball Performance centre in Manchester, Britain sealed a dramatic 90-87 overtime success thanks to telling efforts from Rachael Vanderwal and Jo Leedham-Warner.
The hosts were trailing 77-74 with seconds left, but Chantelle Handy landed a three-pointer to force overtime, with Vanderwal and Leedham-Warner netting key shots to seal victory in the extra period.
And Collins insisted it was down to old-fashioned British spirit and resolve which allowed them to come out on top, roared on by a lively partisan crowd.
Collins said: "We're really, really ecstatic about that win. We played our hearts out and it was great to have the crowd behind us.
"We were able to hit some clutch shots down the stretch and showed some great GB spirit."
Head coach Chema Buceta added: "Israel showed that they are very strong and they have good shooters and they play good defence.
"We were able to play at that level and finally win the game.
"We were six points down at half-time but the girls did a great job to overcome that situation."
Britain travel to Kozani to face Greece, who defeated Portugal 66-60 in their opening qualifier, on Wednesday as they look to make it two from two in the early stages of qualification.
Sportsbeat 2017
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