No stranger to hosting youth tournaments, the Hungarian city of Sopron held its latest recently, as four European clubs came together to face each other in a ‘round-robin’ format.
Here is a brief wrap of how the competition went down.
As a reminder, Sopron is the home of a EuroLeague Women side, hosted #FIBAU20Europe last summer and I was at the European Champions Cup (U16) last Fall.
Taking place at the Novomatic Arena, which has a main Arena Hall and side practise/training court attached, the teams met each other once, with the host club Sopron Academy joined by Vasas Academy (Budapest, Hungary), Pecsi VSK NKA (Pecs, Hungary) and ZKK Tresnjevka 2009 (Zagreb, Croatia).
Tresnjevka, home of the well-known sisters Nika and Hana Muhl, made a statement of intent in their opening game as they beat Sopron 47-61. It was Tihana Pavicic who starred, showing why she is another highly-rated star in the Croatian talent pipeline as she poured in 23 points. She just edged out Sara Menalo who had 18, with both showing the form they have been putting in during this season’s U15 WABA League.
In the other opener, Vasas blew away Pecsi 84-34 to highlight a gulf in the talent. It was Tyra Aho (sure you NCAA followers will all recognize that surname!) who netted 13 for Vasas and there was 12 from Eszter Ratkai, who was only just getting started in this tournament. Julianna Palasti was the only player to reach double figures in defeat, with 13 for Pesci
Soon, Tresnjevka were at it again.
This time they crushed PVSK NKA 41-70, with Zara Valcic shining brightly after scoring 8 points but also showcasing her all-around skills.
In another all-Hungarian meeting that always looked like it might be a tight affair, so it proved. Vasas squeezed out a 58-52 success against Sopron. This time Eszter Ratkai caught fire with 25 for points and some great play for Vasas.
Confirming their status as the best side in the tournament and indeed the winners, Tresnjevka completed a clean sweep by edging out Vasas 72-69 in a thriller.
This time it was Menalo who lit it up with a super showing of 22 points, being handed MVP ahead of her cohort Pavicic who had netted 27 points. But you’ve guessed it, Eszter Ratkai was the standout once more for Vasas, with some sensational three-point shooting – hitting 6 triples and 5 of those coming in the second half of the contest.
The last game of the tournament was a fitting success for home side Sopron, signing off on a high by beating the weakest link Pecsi PVSK NKA by 76-54. Luca Acs scored the first 8 points of the game and continued in a similar vein to eventually harvest 25 points. Reke Egresits also impressed with 21 points.
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