With 17 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals, Valerian Ayayi was the symbol of the heart of this French Team, especially since she often faced Emma Meesseman, to whom she gave centimeters and kilos.
“It was a series match but with the Belgians, it's often like that” she explains. “When you're at -10, -12 or -15, you have to stay calm and tell yourself that you'll come back. When they score 6-0 at the end, you have to tell yourself that it will pass later. I think we were ready physically but we also had the heart and the guts.”
Especially since the Blues went through all the emotions before winning.
“It was full of emotions, that's for sure. We knew that a semi-final against the Belgians would be complicated. We made runs, they made runs. We had the possibility of finishing the match in regulation time and we didn't do it. They come back. But hey, we play with our hearts and we went to get this victory with our guts.”
But now, the French women's team, like the French men's team, is in the final of the Olympic Games!
“We are at home, the preparation was difficult and long. But this group is special and we wanted to offer ourselves that. For now, we are going to enjoy ourselves a little, really not for long, but above all we are going to recover well. And then we are going to concentrate on the final.”
Against the United States, undefeated among women since 1992…
“Of course it's possible” assures Valériane Ayayi. “It's still basketball, they're a very good team and we respect the players that they are but we also have a lot of respect for the team that we are. We've worked, we know that we also have things to show. We'll give it our all. There's a gold medal at the end at home…”
Interview conducted in Paris
