MUNICH (EuroCup Women 2017) – We continue our preview of the EuroCup Women 2017 Regular Season by checking out the candidates in Group C.

After spending much of their recent past in EuroLeague Women, including the glory of landing a spectacular first title in 2014, it’s back to EuroCup Women for Turkish juggernauts Galatasaray. They are former winners of this competition too, and have thrown the coaching reins to Serbia national team coach Marina Maljkovic as they undertake a significant evolution.

This year’s roster will still be led by the unmistakable point guard skills and leadership of Isil Alben, but there have been many faces move through the summer exit door.

She will be joined in what is turning into something of a revolution by the highly rated WNBA guard Moriah Jefferson, whose explosiveness will excite fans, while Yvonne Anderson showed her scoring touch in Italian basketball with Torino last season.

There’s a Turkish trio on the wings as Cansu Koksal re-signs, Deniz Colakoglu returns for a second spell in her career and Pinar Demirok lands from Agu Spor. The frontcourt will have a new feel to it with Latvian Kristina Vitola, Rio Olympian Maryia Papova of Belarus and a hugely exciting prospect in Bosnia and Herzegovina teenage star Melisa Brcaninovic who lit it up at youth level during the summer.

With Lithuanian forward Giedre Paugaite dropping in from Tsmoki Minsk, the remainder of the roster are all Latvian and include the likes of Liene Priede and Ieva Krastina who played big EuroCup Women minutes last year.

Samsun made history with a first home and first road win in the competition helping them to navigate their way through the EuroCup Women 2017 Qualifiers against a strong Chevakata Volodga side. Their progress was centered around some majestic performances from a reigning EuroCup Women winner in Eshaya Murphy who has been immense. With Croatian national team pair Luca Ivankovic and Antonija Sandric also on the roster, Latvian combo guard Elina Babkina enjoying a renaissance and Viktoriya Mircheva and Naignouma Coulibaly providing added strength under the basket, they have plenty in their locker. However their joy has turned into sorrow with the tragic news that head coach Mehmet Can Ozturk passed away this week.