Hatay or Reyer Venezia - who you got?
ANTAKYA (EuroCup Women) – As two of the leading teams all season in EuroCup Women, both Hatay and Reyer Venezia will continue their march towards a maiden title when they tip-off their Semi-Finals first leg clash.
But who will get onto the front foot in this exciting opening match-up? Here are some of the factors that might help you decide.
It’s an unexpected second chance for Reyer Venezia
OMG 😲
— Paul Nilsen (@basketmedia365) March 8, 2018
Amazing. Astonishing. Incredible it's a 4-POINT play on the ⏱️that puts @REYER1872 into the #EuroCupWomen Semi-Finals!
They were up 6 from first leg but down in the game so needed something big.
🏀♀️🏀 pic.twitter.com/laHPgz44m2
Even as neutrals, we can still feel the hairs on the back of our necks standing up after that astonishing finish in the Quarter-Finals second leg against Mersin when Reyer Venezia snatched their Semi-Finals ticket from the jaws of elimination. Captain Debora Carangelo sunk what was arguably the Play of the Season so far and one of the biggest shots of her entire career with a rare 4-point play in the last seconds against Mersin to save the skin of Venezia. Of course, that means having looked almost certain to crash out, they are just loving the fact they have been handed a wholly unexpected second chance. Nothing to lose now? All a bonus?
Hind Ben Abdelkader still has that hot-hand for Hatay
It will be quite a match-up between Riquna Williams and Hatay's home floor favorite Hind Ben Abdelkader who has been arguably one of the stories of the season in the competition. The Belgian has found a home in Antakya and has had some huge scoring performances, so if the guard can come alive in this first meeting, she could take the tie away from Venezia. She is WNBA bound with Indiana Fever this summer and must now live up to the hype and expectations that come with this. So far, she has shown that won't be an issue.
Reyer Venezia have already enjoyed some Turkish delight
While they lost that amazing and dramatic second-leg at home to Mersin, they were only just able to scrape through because of a convincing win in Turkey during the first meeting. With Mersin riding high in the Turkish League along with Hatay, at least Reyer Venezia head into the contest knowing they can get a big win on the road in this competition. They have also been terrific on road trips to the likes of ex-EuroLeague Women side Good Angels Kosice.
Hatay are so hard to beat in Antakya
If you go back over the last couple of years and including some games in EuroLeague Women, as well as EuroCup Women, you will see that Hatay have a very impressive record at home. They have been victorious in 11 of their last 13 European games in Antakya and have only lost once in those 13 games to a non-Turkish club. That was by a single basket against Enisey Krasnoyarsk. On paper at least, this track record gives them a potential mental advantage over their Italian opponents. Especially with Leilani Mitchell pulling the strings and Courtney Paris down low!
FIBA
