PONTA DELGADA (EuroCup Women 2017) – Clube Uniao Sportiva will need all the experience of Portugal national team forward Tamara Milovac if they are to replicate or improve on their impressive rookie EuroCup Women season.

Located more than 1,200km off the coast of mainland Portugal in the Atlantic Ocean, the most westerly team to have ever competed in the competition made a big splash when they they wrote a historical chapter in 2015-16, which witnessed a fabulous four consecutive wins.

In the end, the newcomers missed out on the Quarter-Finals after an epic clash against Angers UFAB 49, with their 6-2 Regular Season record being one the best of those who didn’t make the top eight.

Milovac was one of the cornerstones of an uplifting story for women’s basketball in Portugal, but this time around it might prove a little more difficult.

The surprise factor has gone – and so has the sensational Ashley Bruner, who posted a spectacular double-double in the competition of 20.8 points and 14.9 rebounds.

The club have partly replaced her with Seton Hall graduate Tiffany Jones, who will debut professionally this season and it will prove a tough void to have to fill.

The American is joined by her compatriot and another Seton Hall alumni in Jasmine Crew, who is likely to be the star of the team. That’s because the swingman already knows Portuguese basketball, having spent the last three seasons in Liga Feminina where she has regularly averaged huge scoring returns – including a dazzling 23 points per game last season.

Importantly, the club have also retained Portugal national team playmaker Ines Faustino and alongside Milovac, they will provide a solid backbone for Jones and Crew to work around.

There are also high hopes of continued progress and a breakthrough for 1999-born duo Maryam Chermiti and Susana Carvalheira who have impressed at youth level for their country.

Clube Uniao Sportiva will face Mithra Castors Braine, Spar Citylift Girona and the winner of Enisey Krasnoyarsk Region and VBW Cekk Cegled who will both meet in the EuroCup Women Qualifiers.

FIBA