Angela Adamoli and the women’s basketball team have a score to settle at the Games of the Small States of Europe.

In Luxembourg 2013, Adamoli and her girls went through what they described as a nightmare after suffering three successive defeats that left them bottom of the women’s round robin competition.

That was certainly a poor result for the gold medal winners in Cyprus 2009 ­– the last time the women’s basket competition was on the GSSE programme.

Two years on, Adamoli and her players are going to Iceland with their eyes firmly set on mounting a serious challenge for the gold medal to try and restore some lost pride.

“Luxembourg 2013 was hard to take for me and my players,” national women’s coach Adamoli told the Times of Malta.

“The Luxembourg Games were my first GSSE experience and we went to the Games with a team that was still trying to adapt to a new playing philosophy.

“Certainly, it was difficult for them to play a different style to what they had been used for the previous 10 years when Santino Coppa was in charge.

“The situation is completely different now.

“The players have settled into my system of play and in the last few weeks, there were some encouraging signs which encourage me to believe that we will be much more competitive than two years ago.”

Adamoli’s options for the Iceland Games have been significantly boosted by the return of the experienced Rebecca Brincat Thoresen, who missed the Luxembourg edition for personal reasons. The addition of Nicola Handreck, who plies her trade in the American college championship, should further bolster the Maltese team’s potential.

“The return of Rebecca Brincat Thoresen is a huge shot in the arm for our medal aspirations,” Adamoli, winner of two silver medals in the European Championships with Italy, said.

“She is a very experienced player and you can see that Rebecca can be a very good reference point for the team in difficult situations.

“We also have Nicola Handreck who helped her team win the US College championship this year while Josephine Grima has had one of her best seasons abroad with French side CB D’Ifs… we have better options this time.

“The most important thing is that all our players gel into one solid unit and if we manage to do that, we will be hard to beat.”

Malta open their commitments in the round-robin tournament against hosts and gold medal favourites Iceland on Tuesday night.

The Italian mentor is aware of the difficult task awaiting her girls.

“Iceland are the clear favourites,” Adamoli said.

“They boast a strong side and have the added advantage of playing in front of their own fans. Our record against them is not very encouraging as we have lost the last three meetings. It’s a tough assignment but I’m sure the players will be motivated to do well against them.”

“Luxembourg and Monaco are also tough opponents,” Adamoli added.

“We faced Luxembourg in their own backyard two years ago and lost by a few points but I hope this time the story will be different.

“Monaco are making their first appearance in the women’s tournament so we don’t have much information about them.

“However, I’m expecting them to field a team full of players who play in the French league, so they are certainly going to Iceland determined to make their presence felt.”

Cautious optimism

Asked about her objectives for the tournament, Adamoli refused to set defined targets.

“I don’t like to reveal my targets but what I can say is that it is my nature, even when I was a player, that I always want to win every match and it will be no different in Iceland,” the Rome native said.

“We are going out on court to try and win. The only thing I will ask from my players is that they give everything they have in every match. If they give their 100 per cent, they can have no regrets if results don’t come our way.

“But I’m confident that this time we will enjoy our time better at the GSSE.”