GB will take on the Czech Republic, Belarus and Israel in Group B next year following the draw in Poland.

"There are no easy games at this level of European basketball but we are full of confidence after topping our women's EuroBasket qualifying group last season," said Spice.

"Unfortunately we have drawn the form team in Europe, the Czech Republic, who won the silver medal at the World Championships behind the USA in Karlovy Vary last summer, so they will clearly be the favourites in the group.

"Belarus also had a great World Championships finishing fourth, so they are also playing well above their world ranking of 11.

"Israel we know well after playing them in the qualifiers in 2008 and they played really consistently last year, so they will be tough as well.

"That said, we are the 'new kids on the block' and have nothing to lose.

"We know how much we improved with hard work and meticulous attention to detail last season, so in 2011 we hope to build on those performances.

"The key now is to put in place another high-quality preparation programme to ensure we maximise this great opportunity.

"We are not just here to make up the numbers and I am confident that the coaches and players will rise to this challenge in 2011."

GB women's head coach Tom Maher said: "We are going into the EuroBasket competition in a good starting position.

"We have made real progress over the last season when we topped our group in the qualifiers and made team history in the process, but that is far from the end point.

"We are now where we wanted to be – playing with the best teams in Europe.

"All 15 teams who were in the draw are top standard so we were going to be up against the best whoever we drew.


"At this level all the games are tough but I am happy with Group B as I think it will provide a challenging and exciting competition.

"I am confident that with further growth in our team and providing we all continue to improve throughout next summer we are can put ourselves in the mix with the three teams we're up against in our group."

Stef Collins, a member of Britain's team, said: "The draw for the EuroBasket competition in Poland next year is very exciting - we are definitely ready to take the next step in playing at such a prestigious event against the best teams in Europe.

"We have made significant strides over the past few summers and have seen how important preparation is before these competitions, as it proved to be this summer in the qualifiers.

"Our draw will certainly be a challenging test for us, as these teams have a history of performing well at this level, but with our preparation we will strive to match this year's fantastic summer."

After being reinstated to Division A before the qualifiers the GB Standard Life women had a point to prove, which they then went on to do and they will be looking to achieve the same result in the EuroBasket competition.

EuroBasket Women 2011 tips off on June 18 with the finals on July 3.

Group A: Russia, Turkey, Lithuania, Slovak Republic in Bydgoszcz

Group B: Belarus, Czech Republic, Israel and Great Britain in Bydgoszcz

Group C: Spain, Poland, Montenegro, qualifier in Katowice

Group D: France, Greece, Latvia, Croatia in Katowice


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