Fiba ... EuroCup Women

Na het excuses ............ is het weer basketball die door gaat en waar prijzen zijn gevallen her en der
wens ik iedereen veel succes. Die in prijzen zijn gevallen van harte gefeliciteerd.

Wil en kan er meer over schrijven ... maar daar wacht niemand op ... toch.

Heden avond ... lees op Woensdag avond in Bourges te Frankrijk is de return van de Finale van de tweede Cup bij dames basketball hier in oude continent.
Dat heet dan EuroCup Women en die gaat zo als eerder vermeld tussen Tango Bourges tegen ESBVA-LM  waar de laatst genoemden .. Lille Metropole dus de regerende The Champs zijn in deze Cup. In de eerste wedstrijd kon Lille Metropole kon in eigen huis de power house van Tango Bourges niet tegen houden onder de borden en verloor met 51 - 40 met een marge maar 9 punten.

Vorige jaar waar zij ook in de Finale reeks tegen Castors Brainne de eerste wedstrijd verloren hadden
konden zij uit ook nog eens in Brainne deze achterstand goed maken en het Cup om hoog
hielden. Kijken of zij dat ook kunnen heden avond in Bourges.

Daar over heeft de web site van fibaeurope.com een leuke stuk over geschreven waar meer info te vinden is en wilde ik dit met basketball liefhebbers mee delen.
Onze grote dank er voor.



The info below is from the web site of
www.fibaeurope.com

EUROCUP WOMEN FINAL SECOND LEG PREVIEW

EUROCUP WOMEN

We take a look ahead to Wednesday night's action, when the curtain will fall on the 2016 EuroCup Women season and the coveted silverware will be handed out.

Tango Bourges Basket v Villeneuve d'Ascq

Can Tango Bourges Basket make history and win EuroCup Women at the first time of asking? After their incredible comeback in the first leg and subsequent 51-40 success, Valerie Garnier and her players have put themselves firmly in the driving seat.

Few could have anticipated such a stark turnaround, with Bourges having endured a painful 15-minute spell in the first-half when they continually coughed up the ball to Villeneuve and only scored two baskets. Consequently they found themselves on a potential cliff edge and were in serious danger of imploding as they lost the plot and handed the home side a 10-point lead at the interval - only managing to score 14 points in the opening 20 minutes of action.

But, it's always handy to have a world-class player like Celine Dumerc in your ranks during times of trouble and combined with the adjustments made by Coach Garnier in the locker room, Bourges came out transformed at the start of the third quarter. They turned the tie on its head with a devastating 19-2 run which left Villeneuve as a blunt offensive instrument and struggling desperately to get the scoreboard moving in a role reversal from the opening half.

With Dumerc stepping up and Jo Leedham shrugging off a poor shooting night to show her value with a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds - as well as seven assists and four steals, the visitors were able to move clear.

Villeneuve's misery was compounded by the loss of the highly influential Virginie Bremont to injury at what could prove to be the most crucial phase of the Final - certainly Frederic Dusart and Co will be sweating on the fitness and inclusion of his playmaker for the second game.

So is it a done deal with Bourges having such a healthy 11-point lead?

Far from it. Bourges were leading by 13 points after their Semi-Final first leg success in Kayseri against Agu Spor and were in danger of blowing it when playing in front of their own fans.

The question is whether the Bourges players can handle the pressure of playing in front of 5,000 fans who are coming expecting to see history and intending to enjoy an after Final party.

Villeneuve will perhaps feel they can capitalise on any potential fear factor, nerves or complacency add they now have nothing to lose. They will recall last year's Final when they lifted the trophy for the first time. They lost the first leg at home and then blasted Castors Braine away in front of their huge gathering of expectant home fans

A potential déjà vu in store?

For Villeneuve to recover, they will probably need a very positive start, or at least ensure Bourges don't jump out and immediately take the Final completely away from them. They must shoot the ball way better to have any chance of testing their opponents. For Styliani Kaltsidou, Megan Mahoney and Fatimatou Sacko are a leading and highly experienced trio and yet went an eye-popping and agonising 3-of-27 from the floor during the first game.

Too many turnovers, crumbs from downtown and a lack of transition were all big factors for both teams and if Villeneuve can improve those aspects, they could be in business.

The role of Kaltsidou could be vital as the veteran Greek national team player tries to shut down Leedham on the wing. If the Great Britain swingman is locked down, then who will step up for Bourges along with Dumerc? It looks like being a critical match-up.

And when it comes to Dumerc, it would be the fairytale finish that she dreamed of after announcing she would be leaving to go to Basket Landes in the summer. The home supporters are ready to celebrate with her and it's hard to envisage one of the greatest players around allowing such a glorious opportunity to land elusive European silverware to slip from her grasp.

- Both teams struggled enormously from three-point range in the first game with a combined 1 of 23 and only Johanne Gomis-Halilovic making a score from the perimeter.

- Perhaps rather unusually, both sides also saw their frontcourt players commit the majority of turnovers in the first game, rather than their guards.

- The one area where both teams excelled was boxing-out, with only 15 offensive rebounds given up in the entire game.

Door        LuluHoops