Basketball - Eurocup Women

Whole 2012 Women's Israeli League season has been cancelled because of Israeli Players' strike.
They have wanted to diminish USA Players number because They have had problems with find Club.
Because They haven't played in first round the League's Bosses have cancelled all season.
In that situation EuroCup Champion Elitzur and Maccabi may have big problems.
Will They play in the EuroCup still?
Will USA Players stay in the Clubs?
We will see.

After that week the Turkish Teams is leading 17-0 against Europe in category Win-Loss but Ankara won in the last second against Portugal's Vagos and Besiktas who is on of the main Favourites here won after overtime against inexperience young Sweden's Telge.
I think in future week record will be stop.

Sorell I wait for the turkish Teams results

Yes yes Everyone missing

In Top 5 Scorers are USA Players only.

Guzmas was born in USA but She has Dominican Republic nationality so maybe She has changed her.

Well before the last matches of Main Round probably or better for sure 100% Turkish Team will promote to Top16.

3 Russian Teams will be out from the EuroCup.

I worry about Dynamo Moscow future. The Team lost to Portugal Team and in the Russian PremierLeague is without Victory on last place. If nothing changes, Dynamo will be out from PremierLeague.

Well before the last matches of Main Round probably or better for sure 100% Turkish Teams will promote to Top16.

3 Russian Teams will be out from the EuroCup.

I worry about Dynamo Moscow future. The Team lost to Portugal Team and in the Russian PremierLeague is without Victory on last place. If nothing changes, Dynamo will be out from PremierLeague.

If Botas wins the EuroCup, will They have aspirations to play in the EuroLeague?

French and Turkish clubs make up half of the field of teams that qualified for the Last 16 of the EuroCup Women.

After Regular Season action was concluded Thursday, France, the EuroBasket Women 2013 hosts, and Turkey, the World Championship 2014 organisers, each have four representatives in the Eighth Finals.

Defending champions Elitzur Ramla and runners-up Arras are also through to the Last 16.

The two best-placed teams qualified from each of the 8 Regular Season groups were ranked from 1 to 16, based on their W/L percentage and their goal average coefficient. They were then paired based on that ranking.

The first leg will be played on 12th January 2012, with the return leg to take place a week later. The team ranked higher will play its first game away.

Sixteen EuroCup Women teams are preparing to do battle this week as they launch their bid to grab a quarter-final ticket.

In part one of his preview, Paul Nilsen checks out eight contenders in a tournament which has, so far at least, been dominated by the presence of clubs from Turkey and France.

But will this trend continue as the tournament continues to unfold?

DEXIA NAMUR (11) vs. HAINAUT BASKET (6)

It was a tough task for Dexia Namur to make the Eighth Finals after they had to sweat it out right until the last moment and now they face an uphill task to reach the quarter-finals and beyond.

For star player Ifunanya Ibekwe who not only led the team in scoring, rebounding and steals but who has also been one of the standout players in the tournament, decided not to return to Belgium after the winter break.

While the experienced Biljana Pavicevic has been drafted in as a replacement, head coach Dan Goethals has work to do to integrate his new recruit and get his team believing they can progress without their reference player.

Dexia Namur also has a tough task since Hainaut Basket is full of confidence having beaten French league leaders Challes-les-Eaux over the weekend with 28 points by Lithuanian Marina Solopova who will continue to be a big threat.

The French club is strong in most areas and has huge experience in the likes of Petra Stampalija who is having an excellent season with a near double-double of 14.7 points and 9.7 rebounds per game.

Even more impressively, the Croatian is showcasing she is more than just strength under the basket by leading her team in assists with a super 3.3 per game.

Also going in favour of Hainaut Basket is that they lead the competition in steals with Amisha Carter having averaged 3.6 per game - more than any other player in EuroCup Women - so Dexia Namur will have to cope with the defensive pressure.

BASKET LANDES (12) vs. ARRAS PAYS D'ARTOIS (5)

There will be at least one French team guaranteed a place in the last eight this year due to this all-French affair. While last year's finalists Arras have the higher seeding, their relatively new look team is struggling in the lower reaches of the French league with a 6-8 record while Basket Landes are slightly better off in mid-table with an 8-6 record.

It promises to be a fascinating tie. Both teams met each other domestically way back on the first weekend of the new season with Arras routing their opponent by 25 points and this may give them a boost. Basket Landes has been bolstered by the arrival of former EuroLeague Women All Star Justyna Zurowska who joins from Lotos Gdynia.

The main difference between the teams in EuroCup Women this season has been the sharp perimeter shooting of Arras and mainly Joye Cousseins and Gabriela Marginean. Basket Landes meanwhile has been pretty poor from the arc.

Arras possess one of the most interesting players around right now, in the form of Nadezda Grishaeva whose season double-double could see her potentially having an outside chance of landing a spot on the Russian Olympic team if her good form continues. She will be going for her fifth double digit game in a row while she has also accumulated two double-doubles in her last three games.

BC HORIZONT (16) vs. DYNAMO KURSK (1)

It's not just the seedings which suggest there is a big gulf in the capabilities of these respective teams but also the fact that Dynamo Kursk has been one of the favourites since the season tipped off and nothing which has happened since has done anything but reaffirm this notion.
21. Nadezda Grishaeva (Arras)
Nadezda Grishaeva is averaging double digits in points and rebounds and is one of Arras's main weapons in the all-French battle with Landes

Antatoli Buyalski will have to call upon his vast experience with the Belarus national team to ensure his BC Horizont team is competitive and at least get themselves in a position within the tie to perhaps pull off what would be a big surprise, although the Minsk club did show their teeth with some strong displays last season.

Even attempting to slay Kursk looks (on paper at least) to be an unenviable task but since basketball isn't played on paper, anything is possible and especially if the prolific Natallia Anufryienka gets the hot-hand for Horizont.

The fourth highest scorer in EuroCup Women this season, she has fired her team into the last sixteen of the tournament and it's a number with relevance since so far this season, she has never scored less than 16 points in any game she has played.

Belarus national team-mate Tatyana Troina is doing her best to lend support by leading the team in rebounding, assists and steals as well as adding 13.5 points per game while Aleksandra Khomenchuk is the fourth best shot blocker in the tournament.

As for the Russian club, it's been a very strong season both in EuroCup Women and domestically where they are chasing powerhouse duo Sparta&K Moscow Region Vidnoje and UMMC Ekaterinburg very hard indeed in the Russian league. They are currently in third spot with an excellent 8 and 2 record.

In EuroCup Women, they simply breezed through the group phase to top the tournament charts in points scored, rebounding and assists.

Michelle Snow continues to be a leader for this Kursk team and is averaging a season double-double of 14.2 points and 10.2 rebounds per game while Lithuanian national team star Ausra Bimbaite is also enjoying a strong campaign.

Anna Petrakova has justified the club's decision to prize her away from Chevakata last summer by exploding this year with some terrific performances, which have seen her harvest 19.2 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. Most importantly of all, Petrakova has showed her ability to step outside and drain three-pointers with great consistency.

USO MONDEVILLE (15) vs. BOTAS SPOR (2)

Like Dynamo Kursk, Botas Spor are another team yet to taste defeat in the competition so far this season. The Turkish club is having a mixed campaign in the sense they are not exactly flying domestically with a 5-7 record, but there has been no stopping them in EuroCup Women.

Courtney Paris, Monica Wright, Quianna Chaney and Marina Kress provide some real quality and have shown this with some top performances while the Turkish players have also contributed in a big way via veteran Nilay Karteltepe, national team player Naile Ivegin and exciting young shooter Burcu Cigil.

Paris and Kress have been powerful in the paint, Karteltepe has pulled the strings as playmaker and Chaney has had huge impact with her all round skills and versatility contributing 17.3 points, 3.3 assists and 3 rebounds per game.

USO Mondeville are in the top four of the French League and head into this game with some momentum having crushed EuroLeague Women strugglers Tarbes over the weekend.

They have brought former Wisla Can Pack and EuroLeague Women Final Four player Katerina Zohnova to France who played the first part of EuroCup Women this season with Maccabi Bnot Ashdod.

Mondeville couldn't get near to reigning champions Elitzur Ramla during qualification for the Eighth Finals and consequently Herve Coudray will know they have to bridge a gap and improve significantly in order to progress and give themselves a chance of fighting for the title - starting against Botas.

An injury to the likes of Lithuanian national team player Egle Sulciute hasn't helped the French club this season but nevertheless, they could just cause something of an upset if they can produce the kind of performance they have been showing on home soil each week in the French league.

So far at least, the team has had a very distinct seven-player main rotation in the competition and moving forward much will continue to rest on the shoulders of guard Kristen Sharp and also the powerful Laetitia Kamba and Naignouma Coulibaly inside who will have to handle Paris and Kress.

Meanwhile Lithuanian rising star Giedre Paugaite is yet to fully realise her enormous potential but is a player who remains important to the team and isn't just about numbers and productivity.

Certainly you get the sense this clash may not neccessarily be the huge mismatch which the respective rankings would suggest.

by Paul Nilsen

There were surprises galore in the Eighth Finals as four lower ranked teams maximised home advantage to claim precious wins and a valuable cushion for the second game on the road.

Paul Nilsen reviews the action from the opening game of the Eighth Finals and looks at what's potentially in store for game two as the clubs battle it out to punch their ticket for the Quarter Finals.

While three teams looking to have already put one foot and four more toes into the last eight of the tournament, everything is still to play for in the other five games which could still go either way.

Botas (2) - USO Mondeville (15)

Arguably the biggest surprise came in France where USO Mondeville ran out 69-58 winners against the previously unbeaten Botas after a remarkable turnaround which had seen them initially trailing 32-18 during the first half.

The most interesting dimension to this game was the contrasting fortunes of two respective debutantes. It was a night Katerina Zohnova will be all too glad to have in her memory bank since the Czech Republic shooting guard grabbed 15 points for the victorious team while Noel Kuin barely got a mention on the stat sheet during as limited 10 minute window of opportunity.

It's certainly not over though and Botas can point to USO Mondeville having crashed by 19 points on the road to Elitzur Ramla in the last round. However, if the second seeds are to avoid being eliminated prematurely they need to light it up from the perimeter once again since three-point shooting has been a main reason of Botas' success so far.

Besiktas JK (7) - Gran Canaria 2014 (10)
8. Ilona Korstin (Besiktas JK)
Ilona Korstin and Besiktas JK have a mountain to climb when they host Cran Canaria for game two

You really have to tip your hat once again in sheer admiration and respect for Astou Ndour, a nominee for Young Player of the Year, who just can't stop lighting up this competition after racking up 18 points and 15 rebounds against an opposing frontcourt containing Ebony Hoffman and Yasemin Horasan.

Knowing the danger this teenage terror poses is one thing but stopping her quite another as the Spanish team claimed a famous win and gave themselves every chance of finishing the job with a 69-60 home floor victory.

Even the presence of Candice Wiggins couldn't prevent the Turkish team from needing to win by double digits at home to advance.

Besiktas can't afford to give up as much penetration in game two and allow Gran Canaria so many opportunities from the line with the Spaniards racking up 24 of 29 free-throws during game one.

Respect is also due to another rising star in 1995 born Leticia Romero who racked up 25 minutes of action and is another exciting prospect for Spain.

Optimum TED Ankara (8] - MBK Ruzomberok (9)

MBK Ruzomberok didn't do anything differently from what they have done all season long and it allowed them to come away with a 71-65 success although whether this will be enough when they get to Ankara remains to be seen.

In particular since having shot the ball well from outside as they usually do, they found themselves 61-43 ahead and with a glorious opportunity to take a super-sized cushion into game two the win must have felt like a loss after the sloppy finish.

It promises to be a super second game and the Ankara fans can thank Gulsah Akkaya who was the only player on her team to reach double digits with 21 points.

Hainaut Basket (6) - Dexia Namur (11)

A final quarter drought handed the initiative to the French team in this tie as Hainut Basket returned from the short trip to Belgium with a 69-63 win. Dexia Namur could only muster nine points during the last quarter and that proved to be decisive.

A good start in game two will be essential to put some doubt into the minds of the home players and fans who could be in danger of taking things for granted.

Amisha Carter, Marina Solopova and Petra Stampalija all caused Dexia Namur a headache and it is likely to be the same in the next game.

Elitzur Ramla (3) - Kayseri Kaskispor (14)

The defending champions are now clinging on to their title by their fingernails and had it not been for a terrific performance by teenage talent Ana Turcinovic, Elitzur Ramla could have already been staring an exit from the competition squarely in the face.

The 18 year old Montengrin forward scored 17 points to limit the damage as the Israeli club crashed 79-69 in Kayseri. She was one of only two players to get into double digits as Shay Doron poured in 19 points.

Most worryingly for Elitzur Ramla is that they couldn't capitalise on the hosts both committing 23 turnovers and mis-firing from downtown. Le'Coe Willingham was instrumental in securing the success against her former team with a super double-double and will be looking to pile on the agony in game two.

In their favour, Elitzur Ramla are unbeaten in their last nine EuroCup Women games at home although winning by eleven points or more is another proposition altogether. Just like last season when they finished top of the podium, they are averaging around 74 points per game and so they are going to probably have to produce something special defensively to overturn their decidedly sticky situation.

Kayseri have lots of experience now with the addition of Andja Jelavic and she could be key as a veteran playmaker who is capable of dictating the tempo in the second game. Meanwhile it must be so tempting for head coach Ayhan Avic to focus even more intensely on stopping the prolific Shay Doron and asking a big question of her team-mates who would need to show they can provide the firepower if she is kept under lock and key in game two.

Dynamo Kursk (1) - Horizont (16)

Dynamo Kursk took the train to Minsk and came away with their title ambitions on track and looking like a EuroCup Women express which could prove difficult to derail. Fittingly, this convincing 82-55 success was mainly due to the homegrown quartet of Natalia Vodopyanova, Ekaterina Lisina, Anna Petrakova and Yuliya Rytsikava who top scored for the Russian team. Their passage to the quarter-finals looks as near to a formality as you could expect.

Chevakata (4) - Lotto Young Cats (13)

Chevakata are another Russian club who powered their way to an imposing road win and they find themselves on the verge of the last eight. They romped to an 82-55 win in Belgium - despite the best efforts of teenager Emma Meesseman who claimed yet another double-double for the hosts.

Unable to cope with the ball pressure and trashed on the glass, it will be another long night for the Cats in Russia but the experience absolutely invaluable to this young team.

Arras (5) - Basket Landes (12)

In a tie with eight quarters of basketball between two French teams not too far apart in their domestic league, it was a shame for neutral fans that this match-up looked to be all but over inside the first period.

Arras raced out of the blocks and left the home fans stunned by producing a quite devastating 27-8 first quarter which caught Basket Landes cold. In fact, they were freezing all night especially from downtown where they were 0 of 11.

You simply can't afford four key players in Anais Le Gluher-Cano, Amelie Pochet, Katarina Manic and Justyna Zurowska all having an off night during such a big game. The quartet were a truly excruciating 4 of 34 from the field with each player only making a solitary shot each.

Dynamo Kursk became the first club to reach the EuroCup Women Quarter-Finals after claiming another resounding victory over Horizont.

The Russian club won the first leg last week in Belarus, 82-55, and finished off Horizont with a 78-53 triumph on Wednesday for a 160-108 win on aggregate.

Facing a 27-point deficit before tip-off, Horizont had to start well just to have a glimmer of hope but they were outscored 15-10 in the opening frame and went to half-time trailing in the second leg, 34-21.

Kursk put on an exclamation mark on the victory by outscoring Horizont 29-15 in the third quarter.

Ekaterina Lisina had 27 points and 14 rebounds for Kursk, who have this week signed former Latvia international Gunta Basko.