After a daily season stuffed with twists and turns each on and off the court docket, the 2022 FIBA EuroLeague Ladies postseason is formally upon us. The primary spherical (quarterfinals) will start this Tuesday, March 8; the quarterfinals have been initially scheduled to start in late February, however needed to be pushed again to accommodate make-up video games that had initially been postponed as a result of COVID-19-related disruptions.
Getting into the 2022 quarterfinals, EuroLeague Ladies is now confronted with one other important off-court growth. Final week, FIBA introduced a sequence of selections made to “safeguard the integrity of competitions and the security of all contributors” in response to present occasions in Ukraine; Russian groups and officers are actually barred from taking part in FIBA competitions till additional discover, whereas Ukrainian groups taking part in FIBA competitions can not play their video games in Ukraine.
For EuroLeague Ladies, which means the exclusion of UMMC Ekaterinburg — which went an ideal 14-0 within the common season and has gained the final three EuroLeague Ladies championships — and Dynamo Kursk from the postseason. The 2 Russian golf equipment will likely be changed within the quarterfinals by TTT Riga and Spar Girona, which can in flip get replaced within the EuroCup Ladies quarterfinals by KSC Szekszárd and Galatasaray.
The revised playoff bracket will nonetheless comply with the standard EuroLeague Ladies format. The competing golf equipment — purposefully cross-matched by regular-season group to make sure contemporary matchups — will play best-of-three sequence within the quarterfinals, that are scheduled to run by March 19. The semifinals and finals will then be performed on April 8 and 10, respectively.
The favorites
Evidently, the exclusion of Ekaterinburg from the postseason opens up extra aggressive eventualities for the remainder of the sector. Whereas golf equipment like Perfumerias Avenida (11-3 in the course of the common season), ZVVZ USK Praha (10-4) and Fenerbahçe Safiport (11-3) had sturdy regular-season performances and have the quantity of worldwide expertise required to win a EuroLeague title, none of them have been thought-about a hands-down favourite to win all of it previous to FIBA’s resolution to take away Ekaterinburg from the competitors.
Praha, specifically, has a excessive ceiling, as evidenced by a six-game regular-season successful streak wherein the Czech membership outscored its opponents by almost 36 factors per recreation. Connecticut Solar teammates Alyssa Thomas and Brionna Jones are the important thing cogs in Praha’s success; Jones led EuroLeague Ladies in FIBA’s effectivity metric (24.1) and was second in scoring (20.1 factors per recreation) in the course of the common season, whereas Thomas showcased her common all-around excellence, averaging 14.3 factors, 9.6 rebounds, 6.2 assists and a couple of.1 steals per recreation. Thomas was named EuroLeague Ladies MVP for the month of February and Jones earned MVP honors for December.
Avenida, in the meantime, was equally as spectacular, in the end beating out Praha for second place in Group A. The Spanish membership includes a well-balanced roster that features a sizeable frontcourt (Bella Alarie and Emese Hof) and loads of outdoors taking pictures on the wing (Katie Lou and Karlie Samuelson). Its offense is pushed by Kahleah Copper, who led EuroLeague Ladies in scoring at 24.2 factors per recreation, together with three 30-point efforts. Final season’s runner-up, Avenida needs to be excited on the prospect of returning to the EuroLeague Ladies finals and doubtlessly successful all of it this time round.
Then there’s Fenerbahçe, which entered the 2021-22 common season as Group B’s most proficient crew and a classy decide to ultimately dethrone Ekaterinburg as EuroLeague Ladies champions. The legendary Turkish membership overcame a gradual begin to end the common season on a nine-game successful streak; its backcourt of Kayla McBride (19.3 factors per recreation) and Alina Iagupova (16.3 factors and 5.6 assists per recreation) alone makes the crew a must-watch, with Satou Sabally and Elizabeth Williams offering defensive versatility and playmaking. Don’t be shocked if Fenerbahçe stays scorching and wins the entire thing.
As at all times, all video games will likely be streamed reside and totally free on FIBA’s EuroLeague Ladies YouTube channel. Right here’s the whole quarterfinals schedule, in addition to a breakdown of every matchup and an inventory of gamers to look at for.
EuroLeague Ladies Quarterfinals schedule
Perfumerias Avenida (11-3) vs. Spar Girona (7-7)
Sport 1: Wednesday, March 9 at 2:30 p.m. ET
Sport 2: Wednesday, March 16 at 3:15 p.m. ET
Sport 3: Saturday, March 19 at 1 p.m. ET (if needed)
Notable gamers: Kahleah Copper, Katie Lou Samuelson, Karlie Samuelson, Bella Alarie, Emese Hof, Maite Cazorla (Perfumerias Avenida); Kennedy Burke, Rebekah Gardner, Laia Palau, Julia Reisingerova (Spar Girona)
Matchup particulars: Although Girona didn’t make the preliminary postseason lower in Group B, it was one of many nice surprises of the 2021-22 common season, thanks largely to Burke (18.2 factors, 6.1 rebound and two steals per recreation). When stacked up towards Avenida, although, Girona’s crew statistics are pretty pedestrian; Avenida’s offense is far more explosive (80.7 factors per recreation and 35.8 % on 3-pointers in comparison with Girona’s 69.4 factors per recreation and 29.9 % on 3-pointers) and the crew usually is much much less reliant on anyone participant. A giant sequence from Burke is simply one of many many issues Girona will want as a way to upset Avenida.
Sopron Basket (8-6) vs. BLMA (6-8)
Sport 1: Tuesday, March 8 at 12:15 p.m. ET
Sport 2: Thursday, March 10 at 2 p.m. ET
Sport 3: Wednesday, March 16 at 1:15 p.m. ET (if needed)
Notable gamers: Gabby Williams, Briann January, Bernadett Határ, Jelena Brooks (Sopron Basket); Olivia Epoupa, Sydney Wallace, Haley Peters, Mamignan Toure (BLMA)
Matchup particulars: Sopron was truly ranked at No. 2 in FIBA’s EuroLeague Ladies postseason energy rankings, and if the Hungarian membership has one factor going for it, it’s protection. Williams and January hounding the basketball on the perimeter whereas having Határ backing them up within the paint is a nuisance for opponents to play towards, so we’ll see if the offensive playmaking of Epoupa and Wallace is sufficient to overcome that. Tempo of play will likely be essential on this matchup; Sopron normally intends to maintain scores low, so BLMA might want to pace issues up if it’s to keep away from falling right into a halfcourt slog.
ZVVZ USK Praha (10-4) vs. Beretta Famila Schio (8-6)
Sport 1: Tuesday, March 8 at 12 p.m. ET
Sport 2: Tuesday, March 15 at 2:30 p.m. ET
Sport 3: Friday, March 18 at 1 p.m. ET (if needed)
Notable gamers: Alyssa Thomas, Brionna Jones, Maria Conde, Teja Oblak (ZVVZ USK Praha); Diamond DeShields, Sandrine Gruda, Kitija Laksa, Kim Mestdagh, Jasmine Keys (Beretta Famila Schio)
Matchup particulars: Whereas Thomas and Jones have been powering Praha for many of the season, don’t low cost Conde’s contributions — the younger wing averaged 17.2 factors per recreation and is among the crew’s most credible outdoors threats. Schio, in the meantime, has the veteran expertise of Gruda on its facet, together with two of the competitors’s premier 3-point shooters in Laksa (43.3 %) and Mestdagh (42.2 %). On the finish of the day, Praha’s total stage of expertise could also be an excessive amount of to beat, however Schio is not any slouch and has the roster to no less than preserve issues shut.
Fenerbahçe Safiport (11-3) vs. TTT Riga (6-8)
Sport 1: Tuesday, March 8 at 11 a.m. ET
Sport 2: Thursday, March 10 at 11 a.m. ET
Sport 3: Wednesday, March 16 at 3 p.m. ET (if needed)
Notable gamers: Satou Sabally, Alina Iagupova, Kayla McBride, Elizabeth Williams, Bria Hartley, Amanda Zahui B., Kiah Stokes (Fenerbahçe Safiport); Ieva Pulvere, Jasmine Thomas, Daugilė Šarauskaitė, Vanesa Jasa (TTT Riga)
Matchup particulars: With all due respect to Riga and what it’s completed, that is probably the largest mismatch of the quarterfinals. Fenerbahçe has been proving for months how tough it’s to match up with, and it’s maybe essentially the most harmful two-way membership left within the competitors. Thomas has the potential to place up some spectacular scoring numbers, however many extra issues must go proper for Riga to have an opportunity on the upset. Fenerbahçe merely has an excessive amount of inside protection and perimeter scoring and may breeze by this quarterfinal matchup with out a lot of a problem.
