Musina comfortable with star billing

SOPRON (FIBA U18 Women’s European Championship 2016) - In the absence of her great friend Maria Vadeeva, Raisa Musina knows that all eyes are on her - and she’s ready to deliver.

Russia’s talented center Musina has long been known to fans of women’s youth basketball. She was identified as having great potential at a young age, and has worked her way through the illustrious Sparta&K Vidnoje programme to fully realise that potential.

Vadeeva has been the brightest star to emerge from the Sparta&K programme in recent years, but she has often formed a devastating tandem with her classmate Musina, with the pair pushing each other to reach ever greater heights.

"I've been playing with these girls since childhood, so it's very helpful to play with my club mates here at such a big tournament." - Raisa Musina

Both have received full national team call-ups, and Musina is ready to follow in her friend’s footsteps and make an impact on the biggest stages in coming years.

The pair complement each other well, with Musina possessing a well-rounded inside and outside game that means she can shift to the wing while Vadeeva works inside.

But after a long hard season, Vadeeva has the summer off, leaving Musina to take up the charge as her team chases another podium finish.

It's a situation that she relishes. "Of course if Masha was here, it would be a great help. But it's a good opportunity for me too to take the responsibility without her and develop as a leader."

When pressed on how her game has developed over the past 12 months, she is coy: "I feel like my skills are good and keep getting better with experience. The biggest thing that I notice is that I have more and more confidence to perform on the court," for which she immediately defers and heaps praise upon the coaches who have helped her to develop to this stage.

That confidence will have been fuelled by a stellar appearance at the FIBA U20 Women’s European Championship 2016 in Matosinhos, where Russia earned a bronze medal, and she was fittingly named to the All-Star Five.

Raisa Musina, pictured here third from left, has already made an All-Star Five selection this year, playing with her nation's U20 selection in Matosinhos earlier in July

She is no stranger to appearing on such end-of-tournament lists, having been named to the All-Star Five of the FIBA U18 Women’s European Championship 2015 in Celje, as well as the U16 equivalent in Debrecen in 2014, when she and Vadeeva led the team to gold.

The Russian squad here in Sopron features no fewer than six of Musina’s team-mates from Sparta&K: Daria Kurlichuk, Sevara Nuritidinova, Anastasiia Komarova, Kamilla Ogun, Darya Kosulnikova and Kseniia Nesterova. Years of practicing and playing together has helped to develop teamwork and trust that can provide the crucial edge: "I've been playing with these girls since childhood, so it's very helpful to play with my club mates here at such a big tournament."

She's come out of the blocks in great form in Sopron, overcoming a poor shooting night to nail the crucial go-ahead bucket in the last minute of the opening-day victory against Italy, and swishing two crucial three-pointers in a fourth-quarter comeback against Turkey on Day 2.

The powerful Turkish frontcourt pushed the Russian team to overtime before Russia finally claimed supremacy: "It was a difficult game. The Turkish team played very well with a strong defence, they gave us problems. They have strong bigs, so it was hard work competing with them."

If all else fails, she can go back to working the glass, where she has hauled down 38 rebounds on her way to double-doubles in both of the first two games.

The tournament appears to be wide open, so a repeat of last year’s bronze medal looks possible, if not more. And it certainly won’t surprise anyone here to see Musina receive yet another All-Star Five accolade to add to her collection.

FIBA