Diana Gandega has proven to be the backbone of the Malian Women’s National Team. During the Olympic Games in Beijing, Mali won the 2007 FIBA Africa Championship. Since that showcase, Gandega has been called up for every international campaign in which the national women’s team has taken part. She was a key player that helped Mali make it to the finals in the last FIBA Africa Championship. Although they lost to Senegal, the Malian Women’s National Team still has an opportunity to participate in the FIBA World Championship for Women, a first ever for Mali. Gandega, also known as Iverson, currently lives and plays professional basketball in France.

I recently had a brief interview with Diana discussing the upcoming FIBA World Championship.

How are you feeling about the idea of playing in a World Championship and representing your country?

Diana: It’s the same as I feel every time that I’m called to play with the national team. It is a special pride to be able to defend the national colours in such a competition. I’m looking forward for this competition and I think I can help my country become victorious.

What are your expectations on and off the court for this tournament in the Czech Republic?

Diana: I don’t have a lot of expectations outside the court during this competition, but I have one goal and that is to win as many games as possible.

What chances do you think Mali has amongst the competition?

Diana: People consider us as small team, but we will give our best to prove what we are worth as we did in Madagascar during the FIBA Africa Championship. I think all the players learned a great lesson from this competition, which can help us during the FIBA World Championship.