Nele Deyaert's destiny was always to follow in her parents’ footsteps and play basketball.
The current captain of Belgium's women’s national team grew up watching both her mother and father play the game with great enthusiasm.
| “ | I was born with a basketball in my hand | „ | ||||
| Nele Deyaert | ||||||
"My parents played the sport for 20 years and their love for the game has been transmitted to me."
The 1.86m tall forward is full of optimism, which is clearly evident when she talks about qualifying for the 2005 European Championship.
The team from the low countries finished sixth at the 2003 Eurobasket in Greece.
Centre Ann Wauters was a major part of that hugely impressive success.
However, next month, Wauters will be in the WNBA with New York Liberty, leaving the Belgians with a huge void to fill.
"Our team is not complete," said Deyaert.
"We are missing two key players, Ann Wauters and Kathy Wambe.
"Wauters will not come this year, she made the choice to play in the WNBA. But despite her absence I believe we can do well."
They will be confident against group rivals Israel, the weakest side in last year's European Championship.
Belgium, who made their first appearance in the Championship for twenty years in Greece, will rate their chances even more with Germany and Romania both absent from the competition.
"It would be a disappointment not to qualify," said Deyaert.
"Last year's Eurobasket was a starting point for us, but we want to continue to improve and do better next time.
"It's not going to be easy but we need to be more ambitious because we have the quality to qualify provided we continue to work hard."
Their historic sixth position in the competition lifted Benny Mertens' team, who are hoping to go further this time.
"Nobody in the team was expecting that we would finish sixth in the European Championships," admitted Deyaert.
"We had some good games and the team played above its level at certain moments which was good but I hope we can do better next time."
The 24-year-old has fond memories of last year's tournament.
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| Nele Deyaert during the European Championship 2003 | ||||
"It was a really positive experience, a great tournament. I am really motivated and looking forward to playing in the Euro finals again."
According to Deyaert, many of their recent achievements are down to their coach Mertens.
"The competition in Belgium is not really professional," said Deyaert.
"There are only two teams in our country so it is difficult to organize something professional with the national side.
"Mertens has played an important role in the past two years in trying to get a professional structure.
"He believed in us and a lot of our results are down to his work.”
The future also looks promising for Belgium.
"We are introducing younger players into the team," continued Deyaert.
"They are getting experience and they will find the level in a few years time, I think they will be ready to take our places."
Belgium have met the likes of European Champions Russia, bronze medallists Spain and the mighty Australia during their summer preparation.
"It's an honour to play against the strongest teams," added Deyaert.
"It gives us more experience and it gives us an indication of what aspects of the game we need to improve.
"We didn't play well at the start of our preparation campaign but we are gradually finding our feet, which is encouraging for next month's competition."
Delayert, who played for Spanish club Autocid Burgos last season after two years competing in the French league, believes there is room for improvement in her game.
"I need to improve my long distance shot and also work on my defence," added the Beveren-born player.
