Finnish national basketball teams have been very successful recently, but the women’s grips have been sticky. Lilli Onnela is one of the promises of the future, who is looking for hardness in her grip from Korisliiga.
Anu Karttunen,
Sakari Lund
The performances of the Finnish women’s national basketball team have not been very strong recently, but the future looks brighter. One of the top promises of Finnish basketball is Lilli Onnela17.
After last season, Onnela, who moved from Helsinki’s ToPoLa to the ranks of HBA-Märsky, has been noticed elsewhere in Europe. In the summer, he received an invitation to the Basketball without borders camp, where the best Europeans of their age group are invited and where top-class coaches and NBA and WNBA players open gyms for the sport.
From Finland, in previous years, the same camp has included, among others Lauri Markkanen and Awak Kuier.
– It was a really great experience. I am very grateful to have been invited there. It was really sweet to meet new people, to play with them. There were coaches who are former NBA stars, there were also former players and coaches from the women’s NBA, says Onnela.
Huge leaps in development in a couple of years
The 182-centimeter Onnela is a member of the Finnish under-18 national team and was part of the team that finished tenth in the A-division European Championship in July. New head coach of the women’s national team Ilkka Palviainen believes in Onnela’s potential.
– Perhaps the best thing about him is this natural instinct to play basketball. He is a good scorer and a very fast player for his size. He has taken huge leaps in development in the last couple of years, Palviainen praises.
This season, Onnela is facing something new, playing in the Korisliiga for the first time. The player who made his debut on the league pitches on Friday was a little nervous before the match, but it was not visible in his moves.
Last season’s bronze team Vimpelin Veto managed to defeat HBA only after overtime by one point. Onnela scored 25 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and made four assists.
– I look forward to new challenges and new experiences. I think the league is a lot tougher than what I’m used to, Onnela stated before the start of the game.
The change in culture brought success to the youth national teams
The Finnish women’s national team has fallen seven places to 66th in the most recent world ranking. The last time the team played in the European Championship was in 1987, but the next European Championship qualifiers start already in November.
According to Palviainen, who became the head coach of the national team in April, the good results of the youth national teams are the result of a change in culture around the girls’ national teams.
– There is no longer so much talk about staying in the A-division, but rather we are aiming towards the world championships or towards medals in the EC competitions. At some point in time, this must also be visible in our adult basketball, Palviainen says and hopes that this will already be visible in the upcoming EC qualifiers.
HBA-Märsky is full of promises for the future of Finnish women’s basketball and the lineup includes, among other things, several players from the 16-year-old national team. In August, this team placed historically fourth and claimed its place in the summer 2024 World Cup. The oldest players in the team were born in 2004 and the youngest in 2007.
After high school, Onnela, who is aiming to go abroad and to university in the United States, assures that the team will go to every match to win, but her goal is above all to gain new experiences, challenge herself and get to play with Finland’s best players. According to Palvianen, winning is not necessarily the focus of HBA-Märsky.
– The focus is on moving the athlete forward, combining schooling and high-quality training. The fact that they get to challenge themselves in a new competitive environment. However, they have the opportunity to play in the national championship with the school team, Palviainen reminds.