Captain Skrela ready to command BLMA’s EuroLeague Women return
MONTPELLIER (EuroLeague Women 2017) – When Basket Lattes Montpellier Agglomeration step back onto the EuroLeague Women floor in a few weeks, they will be in the safe hands of their captain Gaelle Skrela.
MONTPELLIER (EuroLeague Women 2017) – When Basket Lattes Montpellier Agglomeration step back onto the EuroLeague Women floor in a few weeks time, they will be in the safe hands of their on-court leader and captain, Gaelle Skrela.
The 33-year-old has become synonymous with the French champions as she enters her ninth European campaign during her staggering 13th year with the club.
BLMA have opted to sit back at the top table, having taken a sabbatical from EuroLeague Women and the experienced guard can’t wait to engage in the rigours of a demanding schedule once again.
She revealed, "I'm happy to be playing in EuroLeague Women because training all week for only Saturday [French League] matches, can be a little frustrating as the weeks become a bit too long.
"We’re here to win, but we must not delude ourselves as this is an extremely tough competition. Even Tango Bourges have struggled to exist at this level in recent seasons.
"We will be going to do our best and we will try to reach the last eight which we have managed to do only once before. It’s a competition which requires ten times more experience, as you play against much stronger teams. We have to really stay together.
"It will be very complicated," continued Skrela.
"We will face the best European teams with high performance players. It will not be easy, but I think we have the team to do it if there are not too many problems. If we do what is asked, then we should be able to get there.
"Even if this is not achieved, it will not be synonymous with a failed season because the priority remains the French Championship and the French Cup. That’s because if we want to exist again at the European level, then we must be assured in these national domestic competitions."
Back from the Rio Olympics, Skrela is trying to come to terms with France missing out on the podium, during what proved to be a real roller-coaster ride for her and the team.
She stated, "The Olympics with Team France had gone very well until the last game unfortunately.
"After the injury of Caps [Celine] Dumerc, everyone thought we had died. It was a real blow, but the team found new resources and new players expressed themselves even more.
"To then get to the Semi-Finals and finish fourth is disappointing. It’s still hard to have an objective opinion, but, I think [in time] I'll have more positive memories, as the Olympic Games was a goal of my career.
"Overall it was still positive as the young players were also seen playing at an unbelievable level. They looked assured and this is very good sign for the future of France."
But does that future still include a EuroBasket Women 2017 swansong for Skrela? Or has she played her last minutes in a Les Bleues jersey?
"I don’t know if the Olympics will be my last competition with the national team," she confessed.
"I think if Celine [Dumerc] will attend and I am called too, then I will be present. Celine is someone very important to me," concluded Skrela.
Basket Lattes Montpellier make a return to EuroLeague Women on 26 October when they play at Mersin Buyuksehir, but will firstly concentrate on this weekend’s prestigious LFB Open.
FIBA