Anda Ramat Hasharon finished the 1st stage of the Eurocup ranked 1st overall, and will meet the 32nd seed in the 1/16th finals – BSE ESMA Budapest.
If there are no surprises, Ramat Hasharon is expected to advance and meet Parma and then, if both advance, Spartak Moscow – where Lisa Leslis is supposed to play.
Finishing 1st is not always a good thing.
Anda Ramat Hasharon rolled to huge wins in all six of its games in the early stage, finishing with a plus 231 points ratio and the #1 seed. Three other teams went 6 – 0 but their ratio is a mere plus 104.3 on average.
Ramat Hasharon’s opponent in the 1/16th finals, BSE Budapest, went 2 – 4 in Group A and is ranked #32. American center Kaayla Chones, who spent a few games with Ashdod last season, plays on the team who’s currently 4th in the Hungarian league.
The first game will be played in Hungary on December 8th, and the second game in Ramat Hasharon on December 15th. Anda Ramat Hasharon is expected to advance comfortably and meet the winner of the Parma / Zala Volán ZTE series. Parma, home to Michelle Snow and Chandi Jones, is supposed to advance despite not having home court advantage.
If Anda reaches the 1/4 final the opponent will be one of the teams currently ranked 8th, 9th, 24th and 25th. Chances lean in favor of the 8th ranked Spartak Moscow, who’s star players are Tamika Catchings, Natalie Williams, Ticha Penicheiro & Linda Frolich. There’s no doubt this team has an insane budget, and Lisa Leslie is supposed to join them in February.
The three other potential 1/4 finals opponents are Tarbes of France, and Fenerbahce or Ceyhan of Turkey.
Laine Selwyn’s Besiktas finished perfect and ranked 4th, which sets up a 1/16th finals meeting with ZKK Zagreb who finished 2nd in Group D with a 3-3 record.
Limor Mizrachi’s Gospic won 5 of its 6 games and is ranked 6th. They will play Zaporozhye of Ukrain in the 1/16th finals.
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Tough draw ahead
Photo by: Motti Klinger |