There is a great pride that comes with donning your country’s colors, and while junior Rienk Mast and senior Malevy Leons are more than proud to wear red in Peoria, there was something special when they got to join the Orange Lions of the Netherlands’ National Team.
“Yes, of course,” Mast said when asked if he felt any honor playing for his home country. “Even though they were just friendly games, you’re still representing [your home].”
A native of Groningen, Netherlands, Mast has had his fair share of experience with the Dutch before. In 2017, he earned All-Star honors at the FIBA U16 Championship and the following year, he helped the team finish first in the FIBA U18 Championship as a captain. Mast also played with the Dutch team last year but this time, his teammate in Peoria joined him for the ride.
“[Malevy] picked it up on his own pretty well,” Mast said. “Of course, I know a little bit of what it is, so I kind of told him, but he also knows most of the guys already.”
Leons, a native of Ijmuiden, Netherlands and Mast’s elder by nearly two years, joined his more experienced ally in accepting an invite to practice and play with the national team after being seen in Mast’s tapes.
Both upperclassmen took a trip across the pond to Holland over two weeks ago to meet up with the team. After landing at 8 a.m., the two got some sleep before a 1 p.m. practice where they caught up on conditioning for the rigors of bona fide competition.
“They’re almost towards the end of their preparation, so they already had good conditioning,” Mast said. “[Practice] was more just walking through shooting and a little bit of skills.”
On Aug. 12, Mast and Leons suited up for an exhibition match versus Germany. Leons didn’t see action, but Mast saw some time in the 68-66 loss.
Just seven days later, they rode to Lithuania for another friendly, this time losing 94-68. Both Mast and Leons were able to get some minutes on the court, with Leons picking up his first points in his debut for the Orange Lions.
“Everyone was about seven feet [tall], so I got to guard guards and some other guys,” Leons said. “That [was] pretty interesting to do.”
Another benefit that both players agreed upon was being able to see their families again. Naturally, it’s harder for international players to visit home and for their families to attend their games. That’s why Mast and Leons were excited when the national team gifted them tickets to allow their families to see them suit up for the home match versus Germany.
In addition to the tickets, the duo maximized their experience in their home country. Leons was able to eat with his family, while Mast also hung out with his family when he wasn’t practicing.
Mast and Leons are fully focused on competing for the Braves in what is expected to be an opportunistic 2022-23 season. The offseason competition, albeit a short one, was a good way to reconnect and see strong competition before strapping things down again.
“[I’m] just excited for the season,” Mast said. “I think we got a good chance at winning it all; [we’re] just kind of waiting for all the teams to get started to see who our main competition is.”
