Stories

In Helsinki’s crisp winter light, the gym at HBA-Marsky hums with the ordinary sounds of extraordinary ambition, squeaking soles, a metronomic bounce, the thud of a net accepting another made shot. In the middle of it all is Ada Luukkanen, a guard whose game blends pace, poise, and a mind that is always one step ahead. It’s an introduction as straightforward as her jump shot. But behind those lines sits a story of family legacy, stubborn resilience, and a love for sport that refuses to fade; no matter the pressure, the injuries, or the stage.

Met een bron van liefde, kracht en bevlogen talent, net als haar moeder en coach Marlies Wesselius. bleek Romy Wesselius in de eerste vijf seizoen van Support by Report het meest levendige verhaal te zijn tot aan 2024. Met recht, want haar talent gaat over groeien, durven, voelen en samen winnen; en op het moment dat zij werd uitgelicht overkwam haar echt bijzonder veel goeds. Nu floreert ze met een nieuwe uitdaging als coach, eveneens een eigenschap die zij tot een succes gaat brengen!

There’s a special kind of energy that trails Iva Koleva onto the court, something between quiet certainty and a spark that can turn a game. At 16, the North Macedonian guard/forward (depending on what her team needs that day) is already playing up in two demanding environments: the Under-18 competition and the women’s Second League with ZKK Tim Arena. She carries herself with the ease of someone who’s been told she’s too young and then went out and proved “young” can still mean ready.

There’s a brightness to Nora-Liis Veisberg that shows up before the first dribble. It’s in the way she talks about teammates, the way she leans forward when she remembers a big win, the way her ambition quietly fills the room. At just sixteen, the Estonian guard from Audentese Spordigümnaasium already sounds like a seasoned competitor.

In Ružomberok, a mountain town where basketball is stitched into community life, a teenager is learning how to turn potential into proof. Her name is Michaela Oravcová, a Slovak guard who grew up in MBK Ružomberok’s gym and now splits her minutes between the club’s under 19 team and the women’s ExtraLiga competition. In 2024 she debuted for the national Slovakia’s under 16 team, averaging 11 points per game; in 2025 she stepped up to the under 18s and lifted that to 15, the kind of year-over-year leap that signals something real is forming. Ask her what basketball means and she doesn’t reach for clichés. She reaches for family. “My teammates, my coaches; I love them. I meet so many new people and I can meet so many people and it’s so good for me.”

In de sporthal van UBALL Utrecht hoor je Ejora Khalidi vaak voor je hem ziet. Niet omdat hij het hardst schreeuwt, maar omdat zijn spel ritme geeft: de extra pass op tijd, het helpdefense-schuifje dat een lay-up voorkomt, de drive die een ploeggenoot vrijspeelt. Nog maar vijftien, basisspeler in de onder 16 Eredivisie, en al een verhaal dat verder reikt dan scores en statistieken.

The 17-year-old Emilie Nørregaard-Laursen has already experienced so much within the basketball sport. She has spent most of her career with her club BK Amager, with just one remarkable detour; a year in the United States playing basketball in Phoenix. Her journey tells a story of amazing talent and a pure love for the game. “I actually started playing when I was five years old,” Emilie recalls. “My mom was playing back then, just for fun, and she introduced me to it. At the start I didn’t really like it, but then I was hooked after like one game.”

From the basketball courts of Copenhagen to the youth European Championships, 18-year-old Mollie Bælum Mauria has carried her love for the game with her every step of the way. A lifelong player for BK Amager and a member of Denmark’s youth national teams, Mollie’s journey is built on passion, dedication, and the dream of one day taking her talents abroad.

At just 17 years old, Rosalie Esser is already a name to remember in German basketball. A rising talent for Alba Berlin and a silver medalist with Germany at the under 18 European Championship (Division B), she embodies the energy and ambition of a new wave of women’s basketball players who are shaping the sport’s future.

Bij Esmée Fraser zie je iemand die plezier, lef en ambitie meebrengt. Ze is teamcaptain van het VU14 team van Basketball Academy Utrecht, en beleeft basketbal alsof ze nooit iets anders heeft gedaan. Esmée’s sportliefde begon niet op het basketbalveld, maar op het gras. “Ik zat eerst op voetbal, maar ik vond dat niet meer leuk worden en toen ben ik gestopt rond coronatijd. Ik heb me toen ingeschreven bij Almere Pioneers. Ik heb toen heel lang op de wachtlijst gestaan, maar uiteindelijk kon ik in het U10 team terecht komen.”

For Apostolia Zormpala, a young and rising star from Greece, basketball is far more than a sport. It is a lifelong love story that began when she was just seven years old, holding a ball that would forever change her life. “My father used to play basketball and he was the one that introduced me to the sport,” Apostolia says. “When I grabbed the ball, I fell in love with it; not only because I was watching my father, but because of the energy, the teamwork, and the competition.”

The sound of bouncing basketballs fills the air in the beautiful Hungarian city Szekszárd, as Carolina Rodrigues became part of her new team since this season: TARR KSC. At 27, she radiates calm confidence and effortless strength. Graceful and composed, yet intensely focused, Carolina represents the new generation of Portuguese basketball. Her story is one of passion, dedication, and the relentless pursuit of a dream that began years ago in a Lisbon schoolyard.