On Thursday evening, NKA Universitas Pécs will once again face Israeli side Elitzur Ramla in Group C of the EuroCup Women. After a commanding 78–50 win on Tuesday, officially as the away team but playing at home in the Lauber, the Pécs squad will now take the court as the official hosts, looking to preserve their unbeaten record, while Ramla seeks to bounce back from their first defeat.
Before Tuesday’s game, both teams were undefeated in the EuroCup with two wins and no losses, making it a high-stakes matchup for the Pécs side. The clash ended in clear dominance from NKA Universitas Pécs, who secured a 78–50 victory, improving their record to 3–0, while Elitzur Ramla suffered their first defeat and dropped to 2–1.
This wasn’t the first time the two teams met: over the past two seasons, they faced each other four times in the EuroCup. In the 2021–2022 campaign, Pécs won 90–83 at home, while Ramla took the return leg 66–56. The following year, both sides once again defended their home courts, Pécs won 78–58, and the Israeli team responded with a 69–58 win.
In Tuesday’s encounter, Pécs gradually pulled away after the first quarter and delivered a dominant final period, producing a 24–4 run in the closing ten minutes. The stats speak for themselves: 17 assists, 13 steals, only 8 turnovers, and 30 points from the bench. The top scorer was Ágnes Török with 17 points, while Alíz Varga added 14 and contributed strong defensive play to the team’s success.
Head coach Zeljko Djokic praised the team’s resilience:
“In the final quarter, we showed the kind of character that used to define the great Pécs teams. We’ll need our fans just as much on Thursday.”
Assistant coach Dalma Iványi emphasized the importance of focus and fan support in her full post-game statement:
First of all, we’re really happy about yesterday’s win, especially the fact that we managed to secure such a convincing margin. At the same time, it’s important to keep in mind that tomorrow will be a completely different game, and we’ll be starting from scratch again. It’ll be crucial to control the tempo, just like we did on Tuesday. We need to play tough, assertively, and at times a bit smarter than we did in certain moments yesterday. Today we’ll analyze both the mistakes and the things that worked well against Ramla, so we can build on those tomorrow.
I expect both teams to be more fatigued, which makes precision, patience, and disciplined execution all the more important. Our defense must remain just as tight and focused as it was in the previous match.
Fan support will be absolutely essential, we’ve seen time and again how much it helps. In those inevitable dips that may come from tiredness, they’re the ones who can lift the team and push us through. So we hope to see as many of them as possible, and together let’s create another unforgettable evening at the Lauber.
Kinga Josepovits also highlighted areas for improvement and the impact of the fans:
“The game against Ramla gave us a lot, it clearly showed that we need to focus more on boxing out, shooting, and reacting faster.”
The game tips off on Thursday, October 30 at 18:00 in Lauber Dezső Sports Hall. The goal remains the same: another win and an unbroken record in the EuroCup.
