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We’ve reached the final week of group play in EuroLeague Women, and all eight spots for next month’s play-ins have been qualified for. The clubs that will be moving on are:
Group E
ÇBK Mersin (10-1)
Beretta Famila Schio (8-3)
Tango Bourges Basket (7-4)
Basket Landes (6-5)
Group F
Fenerbahçe Opet (9-0)
Valencia Basket Club (7-2)
Casademont Zaragoza (5-4)
ZVVZ USK Praha (4-5)
That doesn’t mean there’s nothing to play for this week, however. The play-ins are formatted in a way that guarantees the top teams advance further to the EuroLeague Women Final Six (essentially the league’s playoffs). Mersin, Fenerbahçe and Valencia have already qualified for the Final Six and will be playing in the semifinal play-ins; the final spot in the semifinal play-ins could go to either Schio or Bourges, depending on the results of their head-to-head matchup this week.
Things aren’t completely finished in Group F, either. Zaragoza and Praha have both qualified for the quarterfinal play-ins, but their respective spots in the standings—and play-in opponents—could flip depending on which club wins this week, so they still have something to play for before the competition goes on its pre-play-in hiatus.
This week’s game between Bourges and Schio will be streamed live via DAZN, while all other games will be streamed via FIBA’s EuroLeague Women YouTube channel. Here’s what we’ll be watching for in the final week of group play.
Tuesday, January 28
Basket Landes (6-5) vs. ÇBK Mersin (10-1)
When: 11 a.m. ET
Where: Servet Tazegül Spor Salonu in Mersin, Turkey
How to watch: FIBA YouTube live stream
Notable players: Destiny Slocum, Leïla Lacan, Sam Fuehring, Luisa Geiselsöder (Basket Landes); Marine Johannès, Natasha Howard, Karlie Samuelson, Bridget Carleton, Yvonne Anderson, Iliana Rupert, Marine Fauthoux, Regan Magarity (ÇBK Mersin)
Matchup details: Though Mersin proved itself to be one of EuroLeague’s strongest clubs very early in the competition and has already secured the best possible seed in Group E, it did suffer its first loss of the season last week to Schio, so a tune-up against Landes couldn’t hurt. It goes without saying that Mersin is the more talented offensive team, with Landes averaging just 68.2 points per game, which is the lowest of the competition’s remaining teams. The battle on the boards is something to monitor closely, though; Mersin was out-rebounded 42-27 by Schio last week, but held a 51-32 advantage on the glass against Landes the last time the two clubs met.
Perfumerias Avenida (4-7) vs. Žabiny Brno (3-8)
When: 11 a.m. ET
Where: Starez Aréna Vodova in Brno, Czech Republic
How to watch: FIBA YouTube live stream
Notable players: Sika Koné, Arica Carter (Perfumerias Avenida); Elissa Cunane, Eliška Hamzová (Žabiny Brno)
Matchup details: This is the one game this week that won’t have any play-in implications, as both Avenida and Brno have already been eliminated from contention. Avenida is also dealing with the unfortunate situation of much of its roster suffering from food poisoning, which, needless to say, was a factor last week when it lost to Bourges. Avenida did defeat Brno in a close (albeit sloppy) game two weeks ago. The Spanish club prevailed despite making just one 3-point shot and committing 19 turnovers, in part because Brno committed 20. At this point, these two teams are probably a good match for one another, so it’s fitting that they’ll face off one more time before bowing out of the competition.
Casademont Zaragoza (5-4) vs. ZVVZ USK Praha (4-5)
When: 1 p.m. ET
Where: Královka Arena in Prague, Czech Republic
How to watch: FIBA YouTube live stream
Notable players: Markeisha Gatling, Helena Pueyo, Tanaya Atkinson, Stephanie Mawuli (Casademont Zaragoza); Ezi Magbegor, Brionna Jones, Maite Cazorla, Valeriane Ayayi, Emese Hof (ZVVZ USK Praha)
Matchup details: Praha hasn’t played up to expectations this season, but a 4-5 record has still been enough to sneak the Czech club into the play-ins, and its cumulative point differential of +15 correctly suggests that more than one of its results could have gone the other way. One of those came two weeks ago against Zaragoza, which, despite a relatively poor game from its imports, went to-to-toe with Praha and won 73-68. Praha can leapfrog Zaragoza in the final standings if it wins this game by five points or more; any other result would give the third seed in Group F to Zaragoza, which would then face Landes in the play-ins.
Fenerbahçe Opet (9-0) vs. Valencia Basket Club (7-2)
When: 1:15 p.m. ET
Where: Pabellón Fuente de San Luis in Valencia, Spain
How to watch: FIBA YouTube live stream
Notable players: Ariel Atkins, Emma Meesseman, Tina Charles, Gabby Williams, Nyara Sabally, Julie Allemand, Nikolina Milić, Sevgi Uzun (Fenerbahçe Opet); Alina Iagupova, Leonie Fiebich, Stephanie Mavunga, Yvonne Turner, Kayla Alexander, Leticia Romero, Alba Torrens (Valencia Basket Club)
Matchup details: We were heavily anticipating the previous meeting between Fenerbahçe and Valencia, but it didn’t turn out to be much of a contest. The two-time defending champs cruised past Valencia in a major statement win and are now poised to go undefeated in group play once again. With both clubs locked into their respective spots in the standings, this game will nevertheless be important, as they could end up seeing each other again in the Final Six. For Valencia, the object will simply be to play better than in their last matchup, when the Spanish club turned it over 26 times and shot 35.2 percent from the field.
Beretta Famila Schio (8-3) vs. Tango Bourges Basket (7-4)
When: 2 p.m. ET
Where: Palais des Sports du Prado in Bourges, France
How to watch: DAZN
Notable players: Kitija Laksa, Jasmine Keys, Janelle Salaün, Ivana Dojkić, Dorka Juhász (Beretta Famila Schio); Amy Okonkwo, Morgan Green, Pauline Astier, Kariata Diaby (Tango Bourges Basket)
Matchup details: This has been designated as FIBA’s EuroLeague Women game of the week, and rightfully so. If Schio wins, it will clinch a spot in the Final Six; Bourges can do that, too, but only with a victory of five points or more. Schio is one of the hottest teams in the competition after taking down Mersin last week, but don’t underestimate Bourges’ ability to score points in a hurry; the French club has four players averaging double-figure points and ranks third among remaining teams in points per game (76.4) and first in 3-point shooting percentage (37 percent). These two teams should be careful what they wish for, however—the second seed in Group E will end up playing Fenerbahçe in the semi-final play-in.
