NEWCASTLE (Paul Nilsen's Women’s Basketball Worldwide) - It looks like EuroBasket Women 2015 co-hosts Hungary mean business after they re-appointed former head coach Stefan Svitek.

The play-caller previously held the reins in 2012, when he was unable to guide the team to a place at the EuroBasket Women 2013 table in France.

Although that must be filed in the drawer marked 'failure', I get the sense that the decision to give Svitek another bite at the job means he will be even more determined to succeed this time around.

It is of course a completely different mission.

There is no pressure of qualification, but the considerable pressure of a host nation needing to make an impression on home soil - something which always helps any tournament to sustain interest and a real buzz.

Svitek will oversee the re-integration of Hungary to the Final Round after a gap of six years, when their absence has been painful for a nation who have a long-standing tradition of supporting and loving women's basketball.

They flopped in a big way last time out in Latvia in 2009, suffering eye-watering losses to Greece and Latvia, before then going down 60-53 to Poland and leaving early without a victory to their name.

The last time the Hungarians tasted even a win in the Final Round was more than a decade ago. Yes, way back in September 2003, when they beat Israel in Patras (Greece) - relying on the likes of playmaking ace Dalma Ivanyi who is now an ambassador for this year's edition of the championship.

Svitek has several challenges to confront.

The first is of course getting his players fine-tuned into competitive mode, having neither been through the qualification process last year, nor having played at the FIBA World Championship for Women.

The second is that it is relatively unusual to be appointed to such a big job only a handful of months before a major tournament and, while he will know most players from his last tenure, it is still a potential issue.

He also needs to probably persuade Allie Quigley to suit up again as the naturalised option, since Hungary could do with her offensive armoury in a big way. His advantage is that he is coaching the WNBA star at club level in Europe with Wisla Can-Pack.

One of the main scoring threats in recent times has been Zsofia Fegyverneky, but she has been on maternity leave and so there is much for Svitek to mull over.

However, there are several positives.

The draw has given them distinctly winnable games against Lithuania and Slovak Republic - the nation where Svitek hails from. Sweden could prove tough first-phase opponents and playing Spain is a nightmare for any nation right now.

But it isn't a bad group to be in and there will be a raucous atmosphere in Sopron for sure.

Much could depend on Tijana Krivacevic who played as a teenager in 2009, but is now an established European forward after years in EuroLeague Women and EuroCup Women. Katalin Honti has played well as point guard with Beretta Famila Schio in EuroLeague Women this season.

Dora Horti is a powerhouse inside and has performed well with Mersin Buyuksehir both in the highly competitive Turkish League and in EuroCup Women, while Anna Vajda is a wily veteran who has seen and done it all before at the highest level.

Best of all, whatever happens in June, the future of basketball in Hungary looks bright with an array of outstanding youth players ready to make the transition to the senior ranks in the next few years.

Dora Nagy was a standout performer last year and provided the main thrust for her nation sealing a place at the U20 European Championship Women in 2015, having led the team to promotion from Division B. Having just turned 20, she is likely to push hard to make the roster.

Svitek may also be even more bold and invite the likes of Debora Dubei and Virag Kiss into the preliminary camp after their exploits in getting on to the podium at the FIBA U17 World Championship for Women.

While this year might be a little early for them, those two players in particular demonstrate just how much reason there is for fans of Hungary to be excited.

Paul Nilsen

FIBA

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