BEL - Vanloo and Meesseman a great 1-2 punch for Belgium

TOULOUSE (2010 FIBA U17 World Championship for Women) - When thinking of memorable duos, the names of Bonnie and Clyde or Laurel and Hardy might be among the first to come to mind.

If one were to narrow the field and talk about the current best sporting duos, the Los Angeles Lakers pair of Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol would have to rank at the top of that list.

At least that's how Belgium's Julie Vanloo and Emma Meesseman feel and those are players they would like to emulate maybe one day on an WNBA hardwood.

If you look at them on the court, they could not be any more different and yet they are the best of friends.

FIBA.com caught up with the Belgian stars for a unique interview.

FIBA: What quality do you appreciate the most in one another?
Vanloo: Emma is very quick, she is good at catching and controlling the ball, she's tall and she shoots well too. (Emma says 'that's a lot'). But most of all she's very smart, she thinks a lot and has great court vision and understanding of the game.
Meesseman: Julie is a great three-point shooter - she's one of the best. She can take anyone one-on-one and no one can stop her. She's great at orchestrating our defense.

FIBA: Have you played on opposite teams?
Vanloo/Meesseman: No not often but when we did, it resulted in high-scoring games! We've played together for six years, we know each other very well and what the other likes to do on the court. We like playing together. We have a great connection and partnership.

FIBA: What flaw could you point to about your team-mate?
Vanloo: I think she needs to be a bit more vocal during the games. I try to encourage her to do so. But other than that she's doing everything right.
Meesseman: It would be good if she made all her three-point shots (laughs).

FIBA: Which one of you shouts the most on the court?
Vanloo (with no hesitation): That would be me because as captain I have to talk and sometimes I have to scream and shout.

FIBA: What are your nicknames?
Vanloo: Everyone call me 'Jul'.
Meesseman: I'm 'Emme'.

FIBA: What do you like to do outside of basketball?
Vanloo: Football is my other passion. My team is Bruges.I love them, really!
Meesseman: Yes she really is crazy about Bruges (laughs).
Vanloo: I cheered Spain on during the World Cup, even though Fernando Torres didn't play well/ I also like music, listening to Chris Brown.

FIBA: Who are you a fan of?
Vanloo: In basketball, I like Pau Gasol. Outside of basketball I like football player Samir Nasri…and Chris Brown!
Meesseman: I like Kobe Bryant.

FIBA: Who do you get compared to?
Vanloo: I'm compared to Sarah Lemmons, a player with the senior Belgian Cats (senior national women's team). But really every player has her own individual style of play.
Meesseman: I get compared with Ann Wauters who plays in the WNBA

FIBA: Where do you see yourself in the future?
Meesseman: I would like to go to university and study, but I'm not sure in what field.
Vanloo: I don' really like studying so I'l like to keep playing basketball if I don't get too many injuries. Play in Italy or in the USA. Basketball is my main interest.

FIBA: Tell us a bit about your team-mates.
Vanloo: I think Ann Schyvens, Hanne Mestdagh and I are the most talkative and the ones who make jokes the most. We sing a lot. And our coach also is very funny. In the locker room before the game against China, he told us: Come on girls, we're going to sing…'I got a feeling…' (Black Eyed Peas song). And it worked because we were a lot more relaxed.

FIBA: What will you do if you win the final?
Vanloo/Meesseman: We will dye our hair so it looks like the Belgian flag!

FIBA/LOC