Fegyverneky, Torok in dreamland after Sopron Basket title win

SOPRON (Hungary) - You'll struggle to find a EuroLeague Women player and General Manager  duo whose influence is woven into the fabric of a club quite like the way it is with Zsofia Fegyverneky and Zoli Torok.

Club legends, role models and hugely respected not only in Sopron but also beyond Hungary's borders,  their embrace and look of disbelief as they celebrated on the court in Istanbul on Sunday night was captivating.

Zsofia Fegyverneky (left) lifting the coveted trophy with teammate Jelena Brooks

Neither of the could quite believe what had just happened. Sopron Basket had just been crowned EuroLeague Women champions for the first time.

Fittingly, it was the 37-year-old Fegyverneky whose veteran know-how at both ends of the floor helped Sopron get the job done, as she also netted the last point to put the Final out of reach for the crestfallen favorites, Fenerbahce Safiport.

"I really can't believe it has happened to me - happened to us. I really, really can't," the guard, who has spent more than a decade with the club, said with a smile.

"To even say these words out loud, that we have won the EuroLeague Women is something I can't even explain.

 

"You have to understand that It is a dream come true, because since I started playing basketball, winning this trophy was everything I thought of. EuroLeague Women was always the priority. I never wanted to play in a team that didn't play in this competition.

"During my whole career I was working for this and I never truly felt that we could finish and win this competition with Sopron. It is a once in a lifetime experience,  it really is," continued Fegyverneky.

"To think that this is my 18th season playing in the competition and even though I have been to many Final Fours before and had even played in the Final, I now know those achievements are nothing like this. 

 

"You win the trophy and it hits you hard, in a good way. You realize there is another step - something that you could never have truly imagined. Now I can tell anyone that it can happen to you if you are focused, mentally strong and you are working with a special group of players."

The shock factor for the long-serving and hugely popular Torok was also massive, explaining how he had asked from the team to bring home the silverware, perhaps more in hope than expectation .

"Before the Play-Offs, I went to the locker room and told the players how much I wanted us to win this trophy and now that this has happened, it is magical," the Sopron GM said.

"I think it is more than a dream. I have no words to truly explain  it, maybe except that it is one of the most important moments of my whole life."

While the top of the club's pyramid structure now proudly displays the moniker of the EuroLeague Women champions, further down the base, it means the grassroots work that Sopron is known for will also benefit.

"The whole of Sopron is very proud," enthused Torok.

"Especially all the family and young players that come into our club and are the future. It's another reason that I am so happy that we can produce a result like this.

 

"It's  something that is historic for us and for women's basketball in our country - also rewarding the work we do at youth level."

Fegyverneky echoed the sentiment, as somebody who knows only too well that Sopron has been home to many first-year EuroLeague Women players down the years.

"The wider importance of winning the trophy is that even more people can follow our club and see how we work," the veteran guard said.

"Some people already know about how we do things, but now more will be interested. We have so many players that are from Sopron or come through the system that we have in place.

"Not just Hungarians, but also young Serbians or rookie Americans for example, who all spent one or two seasons with us early in their careers.

"I think we are doing a really good job and I hope these much younger girls we also have coming to play youth basketball at the club will be inspired by this and what we have done.

"This is what winning and these special moments can do - they have a power to inspire others," she concluded.

FIBA