BRUSSELS (Belgium) - Belgian ace Julie Allemand is ready to return to major tournament business at FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2025 and is setting her sights on securing back to back titles with the Cats.
A member of the All-Star Five in Ljubljana two years ago on a famous and historic night when Belgium were crowned winners for the very first time, the guard is now eyeing up a dream repeat.
She said: "I think that if we are all together, we can be champions again.
"Like, we have to think about it and we have to trust it. We all want the same goal. We all want to improve. We all want to be able to understand anything we are missing, to correct it and have it for the next one - for this year and this summer."
The big similarity between 2023 and the upcoming campaign is that once again, Belgium are heading into the tournament with a new head coach about to make his debut at the event.
"When I heard that Mike had come, it was great. I think that he can help us go to the next step too.
Title-winning playcaller Rachid Meziane has been succeeded by the veteran Mike Thibault, with Allemand a big fan already - having worked alongside her new boss during the last window of the Qualifiers earlier this year.
"I think it's good we have Mike," mused the 28-year-old.
"I mean, nothing against Rachid. We were champions, he did a good job and now that he can be in the WNBA, we understand it is too complicated to combine both.
"When I heard that Mike had come, it was great. I think that he can help us go to the next step too, with his experience, with everything that he has done. I really hope that he's going to help us.
"Because in February, it was a short time and it's always hard to get used to it. But, I remember in one week, in just five practices, I learned a lot. I hope that especially because we are a young team, Mike's going to be what we need."
The added incentive for Allemand to have an enjoyable time back with the Cats is that the ecstasy of becoming a champion in the Slovenian capital was followed just 12 months later by a challenging setback.
The Liege native was cruelly denied the chance to play at the Paris 2024 Olympics after she only just lost her race to be fit for the Games.
"It was tough and one of my hardest times of my life to not be there for the Olympics and to be there for my team," confessed Allemand.
"Especially because I did everything I could to get back. It was crazy, but at the end, I think that's how it was - Paris just wasn't meant to be for me.
"But I had a lot of good messages. Even if it's tough at that moment, I really wanted to use everything as positive that I could. It was nice, for example, to see my jersey on the bench. That little thing showed that I was still with the team, even if I wasn't there."
"The last time it was tough for me to watch the games. I really wanted to be in Paris and was really looking forward to it and so it was such a disappointment.
"So I think that now I have to use it in a positive way. Sure, I wasn't there last summer, but now I'm going to be there [for FIBA Women's EuroBasket), and I think that it can still be all-time for me." she concluded.
Allemand and Belgium will play in Group C against co-hosts Czechia, as well as Montenegro and Portugal, in Brno.
FIBA