Will the Blue Tide provide the inspiration for Perfumerias Avenida?
SALAMANCA (EuroLeague Women ) – If Perfumerias Avenida are to realize their ambitions by reaching the post-season and challenging for a place at the Final Four, their fans have a role to play.
SALAMANCA (EuroLeague Women ) – If Perfumerias Avenida are to realize their ambitions by reaching the post-season and then challenging for a place at the EuroLeague Women Final Four, it might just be the passionate home fans in Salamanca that make the difference.
History: Crowned champions in 2011 for the first time, Avenida are the leading Spanish club having competed in EuroLeague Women for more than a decade without a break.
Their tradition also stretches back beyond that with multiple campaigns in the old Ronchetti Cup.
Major arrivals: Laura Nicholls, Farhiya Abdi, Angelica Robinson, Maria Asurmendi, D'Andra Moss.
Major departures: Gabriela Marginean, Jelena Milovanovic, Angela Salvadores.
Players to watch: Avenida have strengthened their options under the basket in a big way with the arrival of both Laura Nicholls and former favorite Angelica Robinson, who played some of the best basketball of her career in her first spell. Nicholls will chase down everything and her work-rate alone is a huge bonus.
Perhaps the added athleticism and versatility of Swedish forward Farhiya Abdi will be most interesting and effective if she can find some form and there's great competition now for Adaora Elonu, who was terrific last season.
Flashback: It was at the DIVS Arena in Ekaterinburg when Perfumerias Avenida landed their maiden title under the watchful eye of Lucas Mondelo, the current champion coach [at Dynamo Kursk]. Avenida stunned Sparta&K M.R. Vidnoje 68-59.
Outlook: With Pabellon Wurzburg one of the most partisan venues in the competition and the famous 'Blue Tide' Avenida fans able to make their home floor a fortress, it is not just the coaches and talent on the hardwood that have a role to play. Predictions on the likely success for Avenida this season seems to vary considerably, although there is little doubt that having so many Spanish national team players gives them a good base and the leadership of Silvia Dominguez is particularly important as a captain who leads by example.
Some question marks have been thrown up around D'Andra Moss after struggling for Ukraine at FIBA EuroBasket Women 2017, but with a strong and hard-nosed frontcourt, it looks like the main damage is going to be done down low. Erika Souza is still going strong as her MVP of the Spanish SuperCup will testify. In tandem with Robinson and Nicholls, there is a formidable physical presence and not the type of opposing frontcourt that many will relish going up against.
FIBA