The seventh place was taken by the team of the Volga Academy of sports and tourism in the streetball tournament (3X3) in The European student games, held in mid-July in the Portuguese city of Coimbra. The international debut of "academicians", according to the coach of our basketball players Nataliya Kuleshova, can be considered successful.
Students Diana Popova, Kamilla Teterkina, Alina Novikova and Nataliya Makushina went to Portugal as part of the Academy team. Our girls won the right to represent the Volga region Academy and Tatarstan at this tournament, winning the student championship of Russia.
In the opening match of the group stage of the Academy team with the score 13:8 beat rivals from the University of St. istván (győr, Hungary), then "Volzhanka" defeated the hosts of the tournament, the team of the University of Coimbra (19:7). And only in the final match of the group stage lost another Portuguese team of Averasboro University (7:10). In the quarterfinal match our students suffered a humiliating defeat with a difference in two points (10:12) from tribalistic of the University of Ljubljana. Upset that they did not get to the semifinals, lost to the team from the Budapest Institute of physical education (14:10). But I was in a match for 7-8 place confidently defeated the team of the University of Porto (21:11).
It is worth noting that for the team of the Volga Academy performance in Coimbra can be considered successful not only because the University made its debut on the international sports arena, but also because streetball for basketball players and their coach – a non-core kind.
- In fact, it's a different kind of sports, - says Nataliya Kuleshova. - Tactically less rich than basketball, but more mobile, sharpened to the highest individual level of players and excellent physical training. I used him as a kind of surrogate species was, but now it is very interesting to me. Russia we won, unexpectedly for themselves, but came to the tournament after fees, well prepared physically and it worked! And before Portugal, everything turned out the opposite. The season ended in April and we did not train for two months. Managed to spend a week gathering at the Academy just before leaving, it was not enough for a serious result. The lack of international experience has also had an impact. The girls have never been abroad. And then there's the need to compete. The first match: eyes have them square, hands are shaking. Here also acclimatization "covered". On July 17 we had three games,and one of the girls had a condition up to fainting. Played, almost three, without substitutions. And the opponents came ready to fight. We have a lot to change in student basketball in the country. And in Portugal came the best, and besides, it is clear that the girls specialize in 3x3. But first of all we lost to them in physical preparation: because of it didn't get where had to get-throws from under a ring. And paid for it!