The women’s basketball players completed an aerial parade from a blind flight

The women’s basketball team won the World Cup qualifier, although Péter Völgyi’s team lost to Senegal in the opening match, but thanks to their constantly improving play during the tournament, they took revenge on the Africans in the final, so that there was no question for a few minutes which was the better team.

Since in the very diverse field, in addition to the champion of South America, our team met Asian, African and European opponents, they also competed against several basketball cultures, so in the end there really could be no doubt that the Hungarians were the best team of the tournament. And it is almost a natural consequence that our superiority also left its mark on the dream team: it was voted the best of the tournament (MVP) Reka Lelik beside Little Flower also became a member of the All Star team.

With the help of the basketball association, we reached the two outstanding Hungarian basketball players in Rwanda.

Blind flight – in every way

Péter Völgyi also said before the tournament that he can only roughly talk about balance of power, because it is impossible to say which team will arrive with which squad. Added to this was the exotic location, and although Rwanda was an excellent host according to the players, there were problems.

“We were given not only vaccines, but also medicines, and of course those who had side effects. Everyone was really very nice, we can’t say a bad word, and there’s nothing to be done about the fact that here, for example, they eat completely different things than what we’re used to. So there were circumstances that worked against us, but we didn’t deal with the problems,” said Réka Lelik, who played amazing basketball throughout the tournament, and it was not by chance that she was chosen as MVP.

“We picked up the rhythm slowly, we lost to Senegal in the first game, but we kept pushing into the game, and in the end it not only meant that we played the best in the final, but also that we were able to use the experience of the first game well.”

The other Hungarian member of the dream team of the World Cup qualifier, Kiss Virág, was similarly satisfied with our team’s play, and was the first to point out how much our team improved during the five games played at the tournament.

“In the final, we didn’t wait for the slaps, we gave them!” – said with a laugh the general of the Hungarian military movements under the palanquin, who is also an important leader of the dressing room.

Kiss Virág reliably delivers excellent performance (Photo: Péter Girgász/MKOSZ)

“I think it’s not just the tournament that should be looked at, but what we got out of the five weeks that the team worked together. The training camp was very useful, since a new coach came to the national team, now I can say that we perfectly implemented what we planned, and everything turned out as we planned,” Virág Kiss added with satisfaction.

We didn’t even know what to expect

In our previously mentioned interview, the captain talked about how the team produced fantastic results with Norbert Székely, but he still thinks there is an upward path, we talked about this right after his appointment. Völgyi felt that a different approach to the game would suit the profile of the Hungarian players better, so he made strategic changes to the team’s game. It passed the exam in Rwanda – with flying colours.

“I’m in an easier situation, since Péter Völgyi is my coach in my club team as well,” said the Diósgyőr manager cheerfully. “I feel comfortable in this game system from the first minute, the question was more how well the team can master the tactics based on hard defense and a lot of fast running. Although there was no question for me that it would work out,” added Lelik.

“I also think that this fast, transition-based basketball is better suited to the structure of the current team” – said Kiss, who is a Győr player, so he can only know Völgyi’s approach to the game as an opponent. “Of course, it took time, that’s completely natural, but we got the hang of it more and more, and if we just look at our first and last games, we can also say that we’re learning quite quickly,” he added with a laugh.

Our place on the world map

We can evaluate a tournament if we know the balance of power and their place in the international field. According to Lelik and Kiss, the opponents were missing important players (just like us, for example, Dorka Juhász was not there with the team), but the percentage of victories shows our improved game, not the opponents.

We have a lot of joy in the team (Photo: Péter Girgász/MKOSZ)

“This is a very good age group, and I’m starting to feel that the team has started to believe this. Many people may think this statement is bold, but I think we will compete with the best in Europe” – said Kiss, who is not speaking out of thin air, as the Hungarian team marched all the way to the semi-finals, in the Olympic qualifiers, after being knocked out by the defending champion at the last European Championship. and the flight ticket to Paris did not work out due to the speed of a single ring.

“We are rightly hoping for good results, I also feel that we are heading to the top half of the international field.“The Olympics was a dream that we said goodbye to very painfully, but perhaps it would not have been realistic. However, I do not consider a World Cup appearance to be a distant goal at all,” said Lelik.

One of the best of a good age group (Photo: Péter Girgász/MKOSZ)

“The tournament in Rwanda was also useful because we tested ourselves against all kinds of game cultures, and thanks to the successes of the past year, we already have enough confidence against everyone. Obviously, a lot depends on the draw, but we will no longer have an opponent whose game will be completely new. We know the field. And the field is also starting to get to know us,” Kiss added with a smile.