FanPost

Euroball update: 2 December 2012


Hello, all. Here we are again, reporting everything in Euroball that might be interesting to the casual observer.

Let's start with the Euroleague preview.



Eurocup

The opening round of Eurocup finished this week, and the 29 participants have now been winnowed down to 16. Each of these 16 will play a "best of two" series - a team can advance either by winning both games or by splitting the games and have the highest aggregate score. Round of 16 play will take place the next two weeks, with teams seeded in a bracket-like advancement system:

16 VS Praha (CZE) vs 1 Dynamo Kursk (RUS)
9 Kayseri (TUR) vs 8 Mersin (TUR)
13 MBK Ruzomberok (SLV) vs 4 Dynamo-GUVD (RUS)
12 Olimpia (BLR) vs 5 Nantes (FRA)
15 Botas (TUR) vs 2 Lattes Montpelier (FRA)
10 Dynamo Moscow (RUS) vs 7 Tarbes (FRA)
14 Gorizont (BLR) vs 3 Union Hainaut (FRA)
11 Antakya (TUR) vs 6 Chevakata (RUS)



Russia

The Russia Cup quarterfinals took place this week. The single-elimination tournament had UMMC, Spartak Vidnoe Moscow, and Nadezhda all advance easily to the semi-finals. Dynamo Kursk and Dynamo Moscow will play the last game of the quarterfinals tomorrow.

Greece

An interesting occurrence in the Olympiakos-GAC Eunikos game in Greece. The game, which ended 65-28, ended with Olympiakos winning the fourth quarter 19-0. I don't think I've ever seen a basketball team shut out for the quarter in any level. GAC Eunikos are 0-9 for the season.

The game between Panathinaikos and Ikaros Kalithea - which ended with a 61-50 Panathinaikos home victory - was stopped for half an hour by the referees just before the end of the third quarter with the home team behind 42-41. The refs stopped the game due to offensive slogans and Panathinaikos fans throwing objects. After things calmed down, the refs returned to the court.

Brittany Johnson and Anna Spyridopoulou have left the Terpsithea ball club due to the economic situation in Greece. (They probably weren't getting paid.) The coaching staff thanked them for the time they were there. Terpsithea, at 3-6, will struggle without them.



1. UMMC (RUS):
6-0 D, 5-0 E

* Beat Perfumerias (ESP) at home 94-62 in Euroleague. Ekat finished the final period 28-8 after Perfumerias managed to close to 66-54 at the end of three - how far Perfumerias has fallen! (See a link to the entire game in the Bonus section.)

UMMC: Candace Parker 21/9 reb, Deanna Nolan 19, Ewelina Kobryn 14/12 reb, Diana Taurasi 12, Sandrine Gruda 12, Quanitra Hollingsworth 9.
Perfumerias: Egle Sulcuite 12/6 reb, Marta Fernandez 11, Marta Xargay Casademont 11, Isabel Sanchez 10.

* Beat Dynamo-GUVD 87-56 at home in the quarterfinals of the Russia Cup. Another game without a history, where Ekat won every quarter.

UMMC: Aneta Jekabsone-Zogota 19, Sandrine Gruda 15/7 reb, Evelina Kobryn 13, Quanitra Hollingsworth 11, Deanna Nolan 8.
Dynamo-GUVD: Sidney Spencer 15, Yvonne Turner 14.

Next: Dec 5 at Galatasaray (TUR) in Euroleague, Dec 9 at Dynamo Kursk (RUS)

2. Spartak Vidnoe Moscow (RUS): 4-2 D, 4-1 E

* Beat Spartak Noginst (RUS) 99-59 at home in the quarterfinals of the Russia Cup. Spartak Vidnoe Moscow led 56-27 at the break and won every quarter.

Spartak Vidnoe Moscow: Evgenia Belyakova 24/6 reb, Natalya Vieru 18/12 reb, Marina Kuzina 11, Candice Dupree 9, Becky Hammon 8, Elisa Aguilar 7/7 ast, Seimone Augustus 7.
Spartak Noginsk: Anna Tolikova 14, Maria Merzliakova 10.

Next: Dec 5 vs. Rivas Ecopolis (ESP) in Euroleague, Dec 9 vs. Chevakata (RUS)

3. Fenerbahce (TUR): 7-0 D, 4-1 E

* Beat Good Angels (SVK) at home 93-91 in Euroleague. Good Angels made an 8-1 run in the final minutes, but the 3-pointer they needed from Helena Sverrisdottir with 0:01 left wouldn't fall.




Fenerbahce: Angel McCoughtry 23/10 reb, Agnieszka Bibrzycka 18, Cappie Pondexter 16, Ivana Matovic 15, Anastasiya Veremeenko 10, Birsel Vardali 10.
Good Angels: Plenette Pierson: 20/6 reb/6 ast, Petra Kulichova 14/8 reb, Allie Quigley 15, Miljana Bojovic 13/7 reb, Tijana Krivacevic 11/6 reb, Helena Sverrisdottir 11, Natasha Lacy 6.

* Beat Ceyhan Bld (TUR) 80-68 at home. Fenerbahce (whose English translation is "Liverpool") remains undefeated in Turkish play. A 22-4 third quarter sealed the deal for Fener.

Fenerbahce: Ivana Matovic 20/6 reb, Cappie Pondexter 18, Agnieszka Bibrzycka 13, Esmeral Tuncluer 11, Birsel Vardarli 9/7 ast, Anastasiya Verameyenka 7/10 reb (Angel McCoughtry DNP).
Ceyhan Bld: Carolyn Swords 16/10 reb, Kristine Karklina 16, Jelena Ivezic 14.

Next: Dec 6 at Famila Schio (ITA) in Euroleague, Dec 9 at Samsun (TUR)

4. Galatasaray (TUR): 6-1 D, 5-0 E

* Beat Botas (TUR) 67-54 on the road. After being down 24-9 at the end of the first quarter, Botas managed to close to 37-32 early in the third quarter - but Gala would not be beat.

Botas: Christi Thomas 14/6 reb, Pelin Blgic 9, Courtney Paris 8/9 reb, Quianna Chaney 7.
Galatasaray: Ann Wauters 20/9 reb, Sancho Lyttle 14/5 reb, Bahar Caglar 10 (Lindsay Whalen 6/7 reb/5 ast).

Next: Dec 5 vs. UMMC (RUS) in Euroleague, Dec 8 vs. Canik Bld (TUR)

5. Rivas Ecopolis (ESP): 8-0 D, 3-2 E

* Lost to Wisla Can-Pack 66-62 at home in Euroleague (see below). Their forward, Vega Gimeno, suffered an ACL injury during last week's gave vs. Imos Brno and is now out for the season.

* Beat Gran Canaria (ESP) 71-43 on the road. Rivas remains undefeated in domestic play, leading this game by 30 points at the half and cruising to a victory.

Gran Canaria: Astou Nour 20/16 reb, Vanessa Ble 6/7 reb.
Rivas Ecopolis: Ziomara Morrison 12/7 reb, Oleksandra Kurasova 12, Laura Nicholls 11/9 reb, Anna Cruz 10, Aneika Henry 8.

Next: Dec 5 at Spartak Vidnoe Moscow (RUS) in Euroleague, Dec 9 vs. Bembibre (ESP)

6. Wisla Can-Pack (POL): 8-2 D, 2-3 E

* Beat Rivas Ecopolis (ESP) 66-62 on the road in Euroleague. A tight game. Down 62-61 with 1:32 left, Wisla scores the final four points including a 3-pointer from Alana Beard. Wisla may have turned its tailspin around. Charles and Beard are performing wonders (and they weren't guarded well this game). However, PG Cristina Ouvina might be injured for Wisla.

Rivas Ecopolis: Olexandra Kurasova 25/6 reb, Queralt Casas 12 (Ziomara Morrison 4/8 reb).
Wisla Can-Pack: Tina Charles 31/11 reb, Alana Beard 17.

* Lost to Lider Pruskow (POL) 68-51 on the road. Wisla has been a yo-yo team all year. They only scored five points in the fourth quarter during their loss, and it will be a struggle for Wisla to recover their consistency. Ouvina did not play.


Lider Pruskow: Brianna Galbreath 19, Sydney Colson 13/6 ast (Kali Bennett 5/11 reb).
Wisla Can-Pack: Alana Beard 12, Anke De Mondt 10, Tina Charles 10/6 reb, Dora Horti 8/12 reb.

Next: Dec 5 vs. Tarsus (TUR) in Euroleague

7. Dynamo Kursk (RUS): 5-1 D, 4-0 EC (up from #8)

* Beat Dunav 8806 (BUL) 80-66 at home in Eurocup. Dynamo Kursk, the defending Eurocup champion, finishes 4-0 in Group F and advances to the field of 16 as the #1 seed. Kursk only played seven players and still won or tied every quarter.

Dynamo Kursk: Epipphany Prince 16, Ekaterina Lisina 14/13 reb, Ausra Bimbaite 14, Maria Cherepanova 12/11 reb, Michelle Snow 10/7 reb, Temeka Johnson 9/9 ast (Erin Lawless DNP).
Dunav 8806: Kristina Santiago 20/8 reb, Amanda Johnson 17/9 reb, Merike Anderson 12, Zornitsa Kostova 11.

Next: Dec 3 vs. Dynamo Moscow (RUS) in the Russia Cup quarterfinals, Dec 6 at VS Praha (CZE) in Eurocup, Dec 9 vs. UMMC (RUS)

8. Nadezhda (RUS): 5-1 D, 3-2 E (up from #12)

* Beat Sopron (HUN) 73-69 at home in Euroleague. A close game, with a pair of free throws by Shenise Johnson cutting Nadezhda's lead to three with 19 seconds left. However, Nadezhda would be sent to the free throw line twice by Sopron and would go 4-for-4 in the final seconds to secure the victory.

Nadezhda: DeWanna Bonner 18/12 reb, Renee Montgomery 18, Zane Teilane-Tamane 12/8 reb, Natalia Zhedik 12 (Kelly Miller 5).
Sopron: Jelena Milovanovic 30/6 reb, Shenise Johnson 26.

* Beat Chevakata (RUS) 72-43 at home in the quarterfinals of the Russia Cup. Another blowout Russia Cup game - are the teams taking the Cup seriously, or are they just going through the motions?

Nadezhda: Elena Danilochkina 12, Vita Kuktene 10, Katerina Keyru 9, Dewanna Bonner 8/11 reb (Kelly Miller 5).
Chevakata: Glory Johnson 14/7 reb, Yuliya Kiseleva 9/10 reb (Jasmine Thomas 3).

Next: Dec 5 at Arras (FRA) in Euroleague, Dec 9 at Dynamo Moscow (RUS)

9. Good Angels (SVK): 14-0 D, 3-2 E (down from #7)

* Lost to Fenerbahce (TUR) 93-91 on the road in Euroleague (see above).

* Beat Piestanske C (SVK) 68-47 at home. (No box score yet.) Even though Piestanske is actually competitive, they were no match for the juggernauts of the Slovak League.

Next: Dec 5 vs. Targoviste (ROM) in Euroleague, Dec 8 at Petrzalka (SVK)

10. Bourges (FRA): 8-3 D, 4-1 E (up from #11)

* Beat UNI Gyor (HUN) 57-47 at home in Euroleague. Bourges was solidly in control through this game.

Bourges: Nwal-Endene Miyem 16/8 reb, Emmeline Ndonge 16/8 reb.
UNI Gyor: Chay Shegog 11, Nora Nagy-Bujdoso 10/6 reb (Ieva Kublina 6/10 reb).

* Beat Nantes (FRA) 66-55 at home. Nantes managed to get to with one point, 46-45 at the end of three but Bourges closed it out in the final quarter. Bourges remains in second place in the French League, two games behind Lattes Montpelier.

Bourges: Celine Dumerc 15/8 ast, Emmeline Ndonge 12/6 reb, Frida Eldebrink 10/6 reb, Nwal-Endene Miyem 10.
Nantes: Gunta Basko 16 (7-for-8 FT), Marielle Amant 13.

Next: Dec 5 at IMOS Brno (CZE) in Euroleague, Dec 8 vs. Mondeville (FRA)

11. Famila Schio (ITA): 6-1 D, 4-1 E (down from #10)

* Beat Orvieto (ITA) at home 66-46 to remain tied for first in the Italian League. Schio scored 48 of its 66 points in the paint.

http://www.eurobasket.com/boxScores/Italy/2012/1202_7616_14448.asp

Famila Schio (ITA): Jantel Lavender 29/8 reb (Elodie Godin 6/17 reb).
Orvieto (ITA): Masha Maiorano 11, Shamela Hampton 9/14 reb.

Next: Dec 6 vs. Fenerbahce (TUR) in Euroleague, Dec 9 at Priolo (ITA)

12. Athinaikos GRE: 8-1 D (down from #9)

* Beat Aris (GRE) 71-51 on the road. Among their other problems, Aris only shot 46 percent from the free-throw line.

Aris: Roula Mouli 12/7 reb, Eva Katopodi 11.
Athinaikos: Zoi Kechagia 18 reb, Milena Vukicevic 17, Lolita Limoura 11, Sofia Kiriakopoulou 10.

Next: Dec 8 vs. Asteras (GRE)


Bonus


Jasmine Thomas of Chevakata (RUS) shows off her team's facilities:




...and if you want an example of the luxurious living of American basketball players in Russia, Thomas shows off her crib. Interesting trivia - in Eurocup, teams are required to have names on the back in Roman script, but Thomas's uniform for domestic games has her Russianized last name.



The entire UMMC-Perfumerias game.


The current Top 20 table.

Team Name Team Country Game Count Current Elo Ranking
1 UMMC (RUS) Russia 15 2170
2 Spartak Vidnoe Moscow (RUS) Russia 13 2088
3 Fenerbahce (TUR) Turkey 13 2011
4 Galatasaray (TUR) Turkey 13 1951
5 Rivas Ecopolis (ESP) Spain 14 1889
6 Wisla Can-Pack (POL) Poland 16 1889
7 Dynamo Kursk (RUS) Russia 11 1885
8 Nadezhda (RUS) Russia 15 1880
9 Good Angels (SVK) Slovakia 19 1876
10 Bourges (FRA) France 16 1874
11 Famila Schio (ITA) Italy 12 1869
12 Athinaikos (GRE) Greece 9 1869
13 Taranto (ITA) Italy 7 1849
14 Perfumerias (ESP) Spain 12 1846
15 USK Praha (CZE) Czech Republic 21 1818
16 Dynamo Moscow (RUS) Russia 14 1760
17 Lattes Montpelier (FRA) France 16 1750
18 Sopron (HUN) Hungary 18 1711
19 Chevakata (RUS) Russia 16 1708
20 Elitzur Ramla (ISR) Israel 6 1706