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Game of The Week: Will Praha prevent 10 wins in a row for Fenerbahce?
30/01/2023
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Game of The Week: Will Praha prevent 10 wins in a row for Fenerbahce?

PRAGUE (Czech Republic) - The Game of the Week is a heavyweight clash worthy of any Final Four matchup as ZVVZ USK Praha try to slow down Fenerbahce Alagoz Holding and stop them taking a 10th straight win.

It's first against second in Group A and everyone will be hoping for similar entertainment as the first meeting in Istanbul which turned out to be an amazing advert for the competition after going to overtime, Meanwhile, both clubs met in last year's Semi-Finals of the competition, with Fenerbahce booking their spot for the 2022 title game.

Both lineups are packed full of leading stars, with Emma Meesseman, Breanna Stewart and Alina Iagupova in great form for Fenerbahce and making multiple weekly Top Performer lineups recently. As has Alyssa Thomas of Praha, while playmaker Teja Oblak handed out 14 assists last week against Polkowice, which is more than any other player in a game this season.


You can watch the live broadcast of the game between ZVVZ USK Praha and Fenerbahce Alagoz Holding on the EuroLeague Women YouTube channel on Tuesday, January 31 at 19:00 CET.

Form guide: Fenerbahce are top of Group A with a 9-2 record and have not lost since the second game of the Regular Season. In the Turkish league, they have 13 wins and 2 defeats - lying in second place behind CBK Mersin Yenisehir Bld.

ZVVZ USK Praha are second in the group with an 8-3 record, while interestingly, two of their three defeats came on their own floor against BC Polkowice and Valencia Basket Club respectively. Domestically, they remain utterly dominant as they have been for so many years, unbeaten and in top spot.


Last meeting:
The teams served up an overtime treat early last month as Fenerbahce came from behind to claim an exciting 82-72 success in overtime, outscoring their opponents 13-3 during the extra period. Iagupova lit it up with 25 points, while Brionna Jones was unlucky to be on the losing team with 23 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals.

Is Maria Conde ready to shift up a gear for Praha? She has excelled down the season stretch in previous years

Key matchup: There are truly delicious basketball matchups all over the floor, but the Maria Conde and Iagupova one could be a determining factor. Spanish winger Conde has arguably not quite hit the same levels as previous season yet, but is a baller with a nose for the business end of the season and this is a great opportunity to try and compete again with the do-it-all skills of Iagupova. If the 'bigs' cancel each other out, then maybe this clash of two massively talented players could be the key.

'X-factor': Fenerbahce love to punish teams for their errors and score a massive 25.2 points from turnovers, so Praha had better take care of that ball. Meanwhile, with a massive 47 points per game in the paint, Brionna Jones and Temi Fagbenle are going to have to get through a whole lot of work inside and can't afford any foul trouble due to Praha's short rotation. There is also the potential for Courtney Vandersloot to debut after her signing was confirmed by Fenerbahce and that is an intriguing X factor too - if it happens.


Tuesday, January 31