EuroLeague Women 2019 quarter-finals preview

The WNBA season is still a few months away, but you don’t have to wait that long for high-level basketball. Next week, the EuroLeague Women quarter-finals will begin, with eight teams competing for the right to be called champions of Europe.

For the uninitiated, EuroLeague Women is the women’s basketball equivalent of the Champions League in soccer. Each season, the best teams from the various domestic leagues in Europe compete in a concurrent league (or tournament, or competition, or whatever you want to call it). It begins first with a qualifying stage, then moves on to the regular season, which features two groups of eight teams who play each other twice — home and away. The top four teams in each group then move on to the playoffs.

That is where we are now, as the quarter-final matchups are all set. At this stage in the competition, the teams play a best-of-three series, with the winner advancing to the Final Four. Here’s a quick look at each matchup.

Note: All games will be available to view live and for free on FIBA’s YouTube page

UMMC Ekaterinburg (Russia) vs. TTT Riga (Latvia)

• Ekaterinburg: 13–1, 1st place in Group A
• Riga: 8–6, 4th place in Group B

This matchup is perhaps more interesting from a historical perspective than it will be on the court. Defending champions Ekaterinburg are the current dynasty; they’ve won three of the last six titles, and have made it to the Final Four in each of the past 11 seasons. Riga, meanwhile, are the EuroLeague’s original dynasty. Then playing under the Soviet banner, they won 16 titles from 1960–77, including a run of 12 straight.

This season, Riga have made a bit of a Cinderella run from the qualifying stage to get to the playoffs, and are simply overmatched here. Ekaterinburg were dominant in the regular season, and boast a roster led by WNBA stars such as Brittney Griner, Courtney Vandersloot and Kayla McBride, along with Spanish legend Alba Torrens. It would be a surprise if this series goes the full three games.

Players to watch:

Ekaterinburg

• Brittney Griner: The Phoenix Mercury center has once again brought her dominance on both sides of the ball to Russia. She put up 14.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game in EuroLeague play this season, finishing in at least the top-eight in all three categories. Her size and skill make her nearly impossible to deal with in the WNBA, and the problem she poses for opponents is only magnified in Europe.

Riga

• Sheylani Peddy: Once a second-round draft pick of the Indiana Fever, Peddy never made it in the WNBA, but has built a solid career in Europe. Shifty and able to score at all three levels, while also more than willing to facilitate, Peddy was the main catalyst for Riga’s breakout season. The Latvian side will need Peddy at her best if they hope to spring a big upset.

Schedule:

Game 1: Ekaterinburg 78 — Riga 45

Game 2: Ekaterinburg 77 — Riga 55

Ekaterinburg advances to the Final Four, 2–0

Pick:

Ekaterinburg 2–0

Sopron Basket (Hungary) vs. Bourges Basket (France)

• Sopron: 8–6, 2nd place in Group B
• Bourges: 9–5, 3rd place in Group A

A year removed from their magical run to the championship game last season — which ended in defeat to Ekaterinburg — Sopron are back in the EuroLeague playoffs, and hoping to return to the Final Four for just the third time in club history. With the additions of Candice Dupree and Amanda Zahui B., they arguably have more talent than last season, but can they recapture that magic?

Standing in their way in the quarter-finals are the French powerhouse Bourges. A staple in the competition, Bourges will be looking for their first trip to the Final Four since 2014, and beyond that, their first title since 2001. While they may not have many names WNBA fans will know, they have plenty of talent — including the electric Marine Johannes, who just might be the most exciting player in EuroLeague.

Players to watch:

Sopron

• Yvonne Turner: The always reliable Candice Dupree has been a big addition to this Sopron side, but the veteran Turner is still their engine. Turner was once again one of the best point guards in EuroLeague, thanks to her abilities on both sides of the ball. Her matchup with Johannes will go a long way towards determining who wins this series.

Bourges

• Marine Johannes: Speaking of Johannes, probably all you need to know about the young Frenchwoman is that she made Alyssa Thomas — Connecticut Sun star and possible EuroLeague MVP — look like she was playing Twister after hitting her with a crossover earlier this season.

Schedule:

Game 1: Sopron 66 — Bourges 65

Game 2: Sopron 74 — Bourges 64

Sopron advances to the Final Four, 2–0

Pick:

Sopron 2–1

Dynamo Kursk (Russia) vs. CCC Polkowice (Poland)

• Kursk: 13–1, 1st place in Group B
• Polkowice: 7–7, 4th place in Group A

Kursk have burst onto the scene in recent years, making three of the last four Final Fours, including a title-winning campaign in 2017. And as they proved this season, they’re here to stay. They added reigning WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart to an already talented roster in the offseason, and subsequently cruised to a 13–1 finish in the regular season.

After two straight seasons finishing near the bottom of their group in the regular season, Polkowice finally made it through to the playoffs this season. Unfortunately for them, they likely won’t make it any further than the quarter-finals. Though they have some talent of their own — namely, Tiffany Hayes and Jasmine Thomas — Kursk is just on another level compared to most teams in the competition.

Players to watch:

Kursk

• Breanna Stewart: The reigning WNBA MVP finally made her debut in Europe this season, and showed exactly why fans were so eager to see her play in EuroLeague. Stewart was just as dominant for Kursk as she was for the Storm last season, and could add a EuroLeague MVP Award to her trophy case after leading the league in scoring. Her talent and athleticism at her size is just too much for opposing defenses.

Polkowice

• Tiffany Hayes: The dynamic Hayes has really come into her own in the past few seasons with the Atlanta Dream, making an All-Star Game and First Team All-WNBA, and she kept up her strong play in her first season with Polkowice. Though she doesn’t have quite as big of a role as she does with the Dream, she’s still one of the most dynamic wings in Europe, and is one of the few players on the Polish side’s roster who can match-up talent wise with Kursk.

Schedule:

Game 1: Kursk 89 — Polkowice 53

Game 2: Kursk 81 — Polkowice 77

Kursk advances to the Final Four, 2–0

Pick:

Kursk 2–0

ZVVZ USK Praha (Czech Republic) vs. Fenerbahce (Turkey)

• Praha: 10–4, 2nd place in Group A
• Fenerbahce : 8–6, 3rd place in Group B

While the 1 vs. 4 series on this side of the bracket may not be all that intriguing, that’s certainly not the case with the 2 vs. 3 series. Prior to last season, at least one of Praha or Fenerbahce had made the Final Four in six straight seasons, with the Czech side winning it all in 2015. That streak will re-start in 2019, but there can only be one moving on.

Praha had the better regular season, and are led by potential EuroLeague MVP Alyssa Thomas, who starred in her first season since returning to Europe from South Korea. But Fenerbahce, led by Kelsey Plum and Bria Hartley, are arguably deeper and more talented. There figures to be little separating these two sides, and it’s a shame this series can go a maximum of just three games.

Players to watch:

Praha

• Alyssa Thomas: There’s no question that Thomas is Praha’s player to watch. She made a leap in the past few seasons with the Connecticut Sun in the WNBA, and only furthered her case as one of the most versatile players on the planet in her debut campaign in the Czech Republic. She put up 17.9 points, 10.3 rebounds, 4.6 assists and three steals per game, finishing second in scoring to only Breanna Stewart, second in rebounding and first the league in steals.

Fenerbahce

• Kelsey Plum: The former WNBA №1 overall pick was a disappointment in her rookie season, but turned things around last summer, and continued her improvement with a strong EuroLeague campaign in Turkey. The lefty guard led Fenerbahce in scoring, and finished fourth in the league in that category. And most importantly, she did so efficiently, registering shooting splits of 46.4/40/92.2.

Schedule:

Game 1: Praha 76 — Fenerbahce 54

Game 2: Praha 77 — Fenerbahce 65

Praha advances to the Final Four, 2–0

Pick:

Fenerbahce 2–1