After four straight road games, NKA Universitas Pécs returns home: on Thursday the defending champions Sopron Basket visit the Lauber Dezső Sports Hall. The historic rivalry always brings a special atmosphere, and this time it will also be a key measuring stick for our team.
The first meeting of the season between Zeljko Djokic’s team and Sopron was a classic: we won 77–76 in overtime at the Novomatic Arena. It was Pécs’ first victory in Sopron since the 2015–16 season, achieved in a tremendous battle.
In crunch time Julia Reisingerová and Eszter Rátkai delivered big baskets, while Adenike Olawuyi’s free throws sealed the game in overtime. The team fought it out with disciplined defense and great heart, one of the biggest wins of the season.
Sopron has been one of the dominant forces of Hungarian women’s basketball for years, but recently we have played several close games against them. This season we have already proven we can compete with them and that will again be our goal at home.
Our team captain, Ágnes Studer, said ahead of the game:
“It's extra motivation for us that we can finally play a competitive game in the Lauber again after a long time. We expect a tough, physical battle and we definitely want to win at home and for that we will really need our fans.”
Head coach Zeljko Djokic emphasized the importance of returning to our identity after the DVTK game:
“We played four consecutive away games and we’re really looking forward to playing at home. In Miskolc the atmosphere put a huge mental load on us, the arena was literally boiling. We couldn’t impose our will and didn’t play the way we planned. In the last five minutes, however, we finally played in our rhythm. There are no ‘ifs’ in sports, but with five more minutes we could have tied or even won.
This is the classic rivalry. Now we must play forty minutes the way we played the last five minutes in Miskolc. Sopron is strong on both ends of the floor. They have five imports but only four can be active, so their lineup can always change, that gives them extra tactical flexibility.
In December they signed experienced center Sam Fuehring, who adds a new dimension inside, and Nika Mühl also returned, she didn’t play against us in the fall.
They score a lot even against top teams in the EuroCup and run a very well-organized offense. We need disciplined defense and we must control the tempo.
I call on everyone to support us! We would like to create an atmosphere similar to Miskolc because that drives the team forward. At home we have to show we can play our basketball for forty minutes.”
The NKA Universitas Pécs – Sopron Basket game tips off Thursday at 18:00 at the Lauber Dezső Sports Hall. We are waiting for everyone in the stands!
