EuroCup
By Lior Klinger
The Eurocup is Fiba's new 2nd most important club competition (replacing the
Ronchetti Cup). The teams were divided into 3 conferences: North, West &
South. Each conference has six groups of 3-4 teams. The winner of each group
along with a few fastest losers qualifies for the next round.
The four Israeli teams play in the south conference. Bnei Yehuda and Ramat
Chen are in Group A along with Adana (Turkey) and Burgas (Bulgaria). Raanana
and Ramat Hasharon play in Group B, with Astir (Greece) and BC Red Star
(Yugoslavia). The games tipped off on the 30th & 31st of October, as the
Israelis faced each other.
Maccabi Raanana 59 - Ramat Hasharon 69
Ramat Hasharon used its first Eurocup game to recover from 3 straight losses
in the Israeli league, and their newly signed Turkish guard, Gulsha Akkaya,
debuted with the team as they won in Raanana.
Tatum Brown and Raanana jumped to an early lead but Varbanova and Gourevitch
wouldn't let it last. The visitors held Raanana on 1 point in the final 3
minutes of the quarter and led 21-14. The lead grew to 36-20 in the 2nd
quarter, but at the half Raanana was down just 37-28. Brown was leading the
way with 17 points.
The locals kept their momentum in the 3rd and cut the lead to 37-35.
Varbanova stopped the Ramat Hasharon drought and they regained control. A
few drives by Nikki Thompkins kept Raanana in the game, but she also
contributed to her team's terrible FT percentage. After three Ramat Hasharon
led 53-44.
Ramat Hasharon protected its lead in the 4th as Raanana struggled and
couldn't get closer than 5. A three by Sharon Zeevi narrowed it down to
62-57 with 2 minutes left, but Varbanova was quick to reply on the other
end. Both teams visited the FT line frequently down the stretch, the
visitors hit their shots too.
For the Ramat Hasharon:
Ina Gourevitch: 26 pts (10/18 FGs, 6/8 FTs), 9 rebs.
Lidiya Varbanova: 18 pts (8/13 FGs, 2/4 FTs)
Danielle McCulley: 12 pts (2/6 FGs, 7/8 FTs), 11 rebs, 19 minutes.
Gulsha Akkaya: 2 pts (0/5 FGs, 2/4 FTs), 4 ast, 3 rebs, 3 TOS in 19 minutes.
For the Raanana:
Tatum Brown: 27 pts (12/16 FGs, 3/13 FTS!!!), 10 rebs
Nikki Thompkins: 16 pts (6/10 FGs, 4/8 FTs), 6 rebs, 6 ast
*Raanana shot just 8/23 from the line*
Bnei Yehuda 70 - Ramat Chen 83
Ramat Chen had little trouble getting its 1st W in the Eurocup. Leading
39-29 at the half, the visitors increased the gap to 15 in the 3rd but Bnei
Yehuda decided to fight back. The lead was cut to four, 49-45, with just
under 4 minutes to go in the quarter. Following a timeout, Tal Salz hit a 3
to start a 10-0 Ramat Chen run. They led 64-50 after three. The biggest lead
of the game was 25. Bnei Yehuda failed to score in the first four minutes of
the final quarter and trailed 75-50. Tawona Alhaleem completed a 3 pt play
to end the drought, and Bnei Yehuda kept trimming away until the buzzer went
off.
For Ramat Hen:
Simone Edwards & Vicky Hall 21 pts each.
Marianna Raguz & Rivi Grinboiem 15 pts each.
For Bnei Yehuda:
Travesa Gant & Tawona Alhaleem 19 pts each.
Information reprinted with permission of Lior Klinger and Orli Klinger. Send an e-mail to be put on the mailing list.