Glanmire's Mia Furlong relishes Irish call-up for Euro Basket qualifier
Mia Furlong after a win for The Address UCC Glanmire. Picture: Larry Cummins
THE Irish Senior Women’s team play the Czech Republic tonight in a FIBA Euro Basket qualification game in Prague and coach James Weldon called young Cork player Mia Furlong into his squad.
Furlong is a very athletic and promising youngster with The Address Glanmire and replaced DUC Mercy’s Rachel Huijsdens, who misses out due to education commitments.
The Czech Republic are aiming to qualify for their 15th FIBA Euro-basket finals so this game will be another difficult task for the Irish girls. However, they will be full of confidence after their great performance against the Netherlands recently.
Furlong, who is averaging six points a game for Glanmire in the MissQuote.ie Super League is eagerly looking forward to testing herself against some of the best teams in the qualifying group.
“I am really excited and I'm looking forward to our training camp and qualifier game in Prague next week. Czech Republic are a great basketball country but with the huge improvements in the Irish team in the last year it will be another chance to see how we match up against one of Europe's best.
“James called me into the squad at the end of last season. I was lucky enough to make my senior debut in the Gotham Drywall Series against Estonia during the summer which was a great experience. I was named as an extended squad member for the Netherlands game in November and was named as a final squad member for the upcoming game in Prague.
“I’ve learned a lot in my short time with the squad, James, Ioannis and Jillian are all amazing coaches.
"I had never seen it before, but it made me look at offensive plays differently. I pay more attention to plays and things now, even at National League level.
“The Czech Republic are hoping to qualify for the Euro-basket finals so it will be another big test for us. I think with how much the Irish squad has come on in the last couple of months, this game will be a good measure of how far we have come. Personally, it will be a great experience to travel with the team and possibly make my Eurobasket debut.
“As one of the younger players it’s been a great opportunity so far to learn from the best players in the country by training and playing alongside them, so fingers crossed I’ll still have that opportunity in the future.
"Recently I’ve been lucky enough to play alongside some of them like our club captain at the moment Aine McKenna. Her dedication to the team is something I really admire,” Mia added.
Irish captain Edel Thornton is another Leesider in top form and has been lighting up the Super League for her team Singleton's SuperValu Brunell.
“We last played Czech Republic in November of 2021, it was our second game in the Euro Basket competition and that week was a huge adjustment period for us.
“We have changed a lot since then and grown as a team and as individuals so I’m hoping we will put in a much stronger performance this time out. Between changes within the squad and the preparation games we played in the summer of 2022 along with our last Euro Basket game in November, we have drastically improved and look like a different team since our last meeting. We have started to scout them and some personnel of theirs has also changed so it should be an interesting matchup.
“We obviously had the prep games across the summer after a good block or training and then the last Euro Basket game we played in November against the Netherlands. This will be what we lean on going into the game, the confidence we gained from these performances and the growth that we have made as a team. We all believe we left a win behind us in November so we are really seeking out a win this time round.
"The management have been in constant communication with the team, providing us with new offences and scouting for the Czech Republic and we have had Zoom calls to help us best utilise our time."
