Magnificent Medgyessy is the ultimate late bloomer

CEGLED (FIBA EuroBasket Women 2017/EuroCup Women) – It's been an eventful and memorable calendar year for Hungarian play-making ace Dora Medgyessy and 2017 promises to be just as exciting.

The 30-year-old's career has lifted off in spectacular fashion after becoming a 3x3 MVP and champion, a new member of the Hungary side heading to FIBA EuroBasket Women 2017 and the heartbeat of EuroCup Women surprise package VBW CEKK Cegled. We caught up with her to find out more.

Tell us about your gold medal at the 2016 FIBA 3x3 European Championships. What was this experience like on and off the court in Bucharest?
It was a truly amazing experience. To fully explain our success, I must go back a few years. We started playing in this event about three years ago, and the team that won the gold medal consisted of the same four girls that started playing together back then. We have remained together and went to all the events we either qualified for, or that were available to us. In all honesty, we put in a lot of work (practice and preparation) and as our team chemistry got better along the way, we attained more and more success – something which culminated in us winning gold in Bucharest. It was one of the most beautiful and memorable experiences of our lives. We tried to stay fully concentrated and take it game by game. We truly believed in each other and our coaching staff did an exceptionally good job in preparing us. They guided and assisted us the entire way. The most memorable moment was lifting the trophy itself. It is hard to describe the feeling, it was just wonderful. And, we celebrated this great experience in style!

Why do you love 3x3 and how has it helped your game?
I immediately liked 3x3 after the first time I tried it and it proved to be a good fit for me. It requires quick decision-making and precise execution, but is also very physical, which I'm comfortable with. It benefited me in 5x5 because it has improved my speed and decision-making ability within half-court situations - on both defence and offence. Most importantly, the entire experience has improved my confidence, allowing me to fully contribute to my club.

Congratulations on reaching the Round of 16 in EuroCup Women with Cegled. It has been amazing first season and for you with an amazing nine assists per game!
Thanks! I’m very happy we've managed to make our debut in such a fashion and especially since nobody expected us to make it out of the Qualifying Round. I didn't have major expectations beforehand, but I hoped we could surprise opponents by playing good and effective basketball. We have a strong team and we hope we can keep playing at a high level. It may sound like a cliché, but with good team-mates alongside me, getting assists is expected. As a point guard, it's my job to move the ball and get it to our players in the right spots. They've done an excellent job of executing and scoring, which I give them a lot of credit for.

What has been the reaction of the city and fans?
The reaction of people living in this small city is amazing. For such a small place, we have so many people supporting us, it makes all the hard work worthwhile. In the history of women's basketball in Cegled, there's never really been a 'full house' during games, and this season the stands have sometimes been completely full! A relatively large number of fans have even supported us abroad in EuroCup Women. The people of Cegled are very proud and that support and devotion has played a big part in our success. I really hope that we can show our gratitude by winning as many games as possible in EuroCup Women and the Hungarian Championship. It's hard to say how far we can go, but I promise we'll do everything in our power to keep our campaign as long and as successful as possible.

Congratulations on making it to EuroBasket Women Final Round. What was the qualifying campaign like - for example, losing in Iceland and then winning big in Slovak Republic to advance?
This past summer was actually the first time I've been nominated to play for the national team and so I wasn’t involved against Iceland.

All the players and coaches worked hard and put in a lot of effort to improve our team and the road we're on seems to be the right one; hence the big win against Slovak Republic. I hope our recent form can be maintained and we carry it into the Final Round. It's something we're looking forward to and we hope we have a successful tournament.

It looks a very tough draw in Group A with Czech Republic, Spain and Ukraine?
It's true all our opponents are very strong teams. But, I think all teams who made it to the Final Round are very strong and are there for a reason. We may be anticipated to be an "underdog" team, but I'm hopeful we can surprise and advance from our group. We'll prepare as well as possible and stick together as a team to give ourselves a chance to reach this goal.

FIBA