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8 October 2026  8 min read

Savannah Wilkinson: EuroLeague dreams, EuroBasket challenges - why not us?

The former London Lion has just faced the same opponent with everything on the line again - only in a new country, with a new team - Crvena Zvezda - and a very different role.

And this time, she and her Belgrade-based team-mates came out on top.

“It was an insane achievement,” said Wilkinson, who will also be key to the Great Britain Women’s EuroBasket 2027 Qualifying mission next month in France and in Manchester against Ukraine and Luxembourg.

“We missed the opportunity to qualify for EuroLeague when I was at London Lions, also against DVTK, so it was extra nerve-wracking because you have that memory in the back of your mind.

“To overcome the challenge was amazing. We worked extremely hard. Marina [Maljkovic, Head Coach] is known for how hard she practices and how hard her teams play and what people say is true. We definitely put in the work to achieve this and we were all ecstatic to get it done.”

 

 

 

 

 

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For Wilkinson, there was an added layer of satisfaction in the way she contributed across the qualifying semi-final (against Zabiny Brno) and in the final in Miskolc, Hungary – both single-game tests to reach the EuroLeague Women Regular Season, as opposed to London’s earlier two-legged tie against DVTK.

“In the first game through scoring and getting rebounds etc and in the second by bringing that defensive energy and leadership, it was really pleasing, and the cherry on top was to do it with Ivana [Katanic, former London Lions team-mate] after we missed out together a few years ago.”

That previous experience was never far from Wilkinson’s mind.

“I am a thoughtful person and having the different role this time definitely altered my mindset and gave me that extra push.

“Ivana and I didn’t really talk about it too much beforehand, but a couple of the girls asked if we’d played there before and we just said that we had and we’d never lost a game there, so we’d be fine, which helped frame the way we approached and looked at the game.”

A familiar but different experience

There was even a moment of amusement when Wilkinson realised she was back in the same arena.

“That game was definitely on my mind and I remember laughing to myself this time because we were on a different bench to when we played them with London so the fans were further away from us this time instead of being right on top of us and shouting all sorts at us.”

The difference from her London experience extends well beyond the location of the bench.

“With London I was more of a role player and didn’t have the same responsibility I have here.

“I can imagine for Temi [Fagbenle], Holly [Winterburn] and Megan [Gustafson] for example it hurt a lot more because they were carrying the team, and for me here I definitely felt more responsibility as one of the imports who has to perform, and as such it hit much harder to make the achievement.”

Now that the qualification battle is over, the reality of what comes next is beginning to sink in.

“Now, oh my goodness, it is hitting me that I’m about to play in the EuroLeague Regular Season. It was something I’ve dreamed about but now it is actually happening.”

The achievement has come during her first season in Serbia, where Wilkinson has quickly had to adapt to a new club, new team-mates and a new basketball culture.

“Everybody on the team is a good person. Any team dynamic starts with good people and that’s what I love about GB and all the teams I’ve played on, having good people around me with a mix of older players I can lean on and younger players who maybe lean on me.”

And then there is Maljkovic, one of the most respected coaches in the game.

“On top of that we have Marina who is a legend of the game with extremely high attention to detail, but also lets us make mistakes. She’ll say things like ‘that’s not forbidden, but if you’re going to do it, do it’ so she empowers us, for sure.

“It has been an adjustment to come together so quickly, of course, but the defensive mindset we have is big for me as it’s one of my strengths so to have that be one of her key areas of focus is big for me and I feel like enabled me to settle in and adjust more quickly as well.”

Savannah Wilkinson is captain of the GB squad

Wilkinson has also experienced first-hand just how big the Zvezda - or Red Star - name is in Belgrade.

“On my first day here I went to Serbia’s men’s game against Iceland in the World Cup Qualifiers and the fans were great but pretty tame, but then we came back from our game against Brno and we all went to watch the Zvezda men’s game against Zalgiris…it was insane.

“The whole stadium was bouncing, and it wasn’t even full because they had to close off one section because of a fine they’d had or something, so we were being told ‘this isn’t even the max’ and I asked ‘what do you mean?’ because it was insane.”

She has already seen signs of what that support could mean for the women’s team, which has not appeared in the EuroLeague for more than two decades.

“This team hasn’t been to EuroLeague for over 20 years so I hope we get that support and I think we will. The support for this team in the city is exactly what people say, it’s mad.

“We were flying back into Belgrade after one game and there were loads of little kids wanting photos with us and saying they want to be like us and play for Zvezda when they grow up which is so nice and inspiring.”

Not long after she takes her place on the EuroLeague stage, however, with Zvezda’s first Regular Season game on October 14 in Belgrade, Wilkinson returns to GB duty — with another major European challenge immediately ahead.

Savannah with GB team-mates in Manchester, where they return for a double-header in November

Back with GB - and another challenge

Great Britain begin the next phase of their EuroBasket 2027 Qualifiers in November against France in Nantes (November 11), before returning home to the National Basketball Performance Centre in Manchester to face Ukraine (November 14) and Luxembourg (November 17).

And Wilkinson is under no illusions about the scale of the opening challenge.

“When anybody sees France in their group, you know it’s going to be a tough challenge, but we’re competitors and it’s going to bring another level out of us.

“We have to thrive off the challenge and you have to face these tests if you want to be successful as a team, whatever your aspirations are.

“Their roster is full of firepower, but they don’t know what Great Britain Basketball is. We’re going to get on their nerves, get in their faces, be gnats on the court and you never know what can happen.

“I’ve played against France before in France and they support women’s basketball over there in a big way, so it’ll be a fun environment and a great challenge for us on our road to EuroBasket.”

For Wilkinson, the formula for what many outside the camp would consider an upset is clear.

“It’s important for us to go out and be 10 times more hardworking than they are, fight for those extra balls, win the 50/50 opportunities, knock down open shots… those are the kind of things that are non-negotiable which we have to bring.

“They dribble the ball the same way we do, they miss shots like we do and they’re going to turn the ball over like we will, so we just have to capitalise on every opportunity given to us and see what comes of it.

“Nobody except us will believe we can win that game, but it’s 40 minutes and we believe we can do it.

“Why not us?”

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