NEWCASTLE (Paul Nilsen's Women's Basketball Worldwide) - It was one of the most fascinating EuroCup Women Regular Seasons for a long time and yet more evidence that Europe’s second tier competition is going from strength to strength.

A is for Amel Bouderra who has been brilliant for the unbeaten Flammes Carolo Basket. The Rio Olympian has handed out 10.4 assists per game so far!

B is for Basketball Nymburk who are in that difficult second season and I want to shine the spotlight on a club whose achievements in reaching the Round of 16 have probably went under the radar, yet really shouldn’t.

C is for CEKK VBW Cegled and Cavigal Nice Basket who were both newcomers to the tournament but have stormed into the second phase and been very impressive.

D is for distance and the 7,500 kilometers separating the most westerly and easterly participants in Uniao Sportiva of the Azores and Russian side, Enisey Krasnoyarsk.

E is for exit door and those who crashed out during the first phase – including some relatively big guns such as Basket Landes, Olympiacos and Nantes Reze.

F is for favorite players and mine have been Amel Bouderra and Dora Medgyessy.

G is for Good Angels Kosice who are rising again after ending their long association with EuroLeague Women. They got out of a group including Yakin Dogu Universitesi and Olympiacos which was impressive.

H is for history and there was plenty of it as several clubs collected their first ever wins in the competition, including the likes of Lithuanian side Hoptrans-Sirenos who have been eliminated but did get a win on the board.

I is for Italian clubs and while Reyer Venezia flew the flag again, it was nice to see a new club in Eirene Virtus Ragusa have a successful start to their first season.

J is for just basketball as the importance of the sport and results was put firmly into perspective with the shock death of Samsun’s head coach Mehmet Can Ozturk.

K is for Kim Mestdagh who I think deserves credit for a fantastic season with Flammes Carolo Basket. Overshadowed understandably by her team-mate Amel Bouderra, the Belgian has been terrific too.

L is for love the #EuroCupWomen postcards that some players take on their travels around the Continent in the competition.

M is for Moriah Jefferson who I saw play at youth level for USA and has been doing the business with Galatasaray in her first season overseas.

N is for no losses so far for a total of five clubs – Spar CityLift Girona, Yakin Dogu Universitesi, Galatasaray, Bellona Agu and Flammes Carolo Basket.

O is for Olympiacos who invested major resources in putting together an experienced roster that looked capable of making a deep run in the competition. Instead they didn’t make it out of the opening group phase. A major disappointment.

P is for points and Galatasaray are the chart toppers with a fine 80.8 per game.

Q is for Queralt Casas who was set to be one of the biggest stars again this season but succumbed to a serious injury and Basket Landes subsequently fell at the first hurdle.

R is for Rutronik Stars Keltern whose first foray in EuroCup Women has been terrific, with the German side punching their ticket for the Round of 16!

S is for Swiss basketball who should be proud of Elfic Fribourg. While they didn’t manage to qualify for the Round of 16, they took a fabulous win double against Basket Landes.

T is for Turkey who look like the nation that could provide the likely winner this year as Galatasaray, Yakin Dogu Universitesi and Bellona Agu are looking very strong at a combined 18-0! Will one of them lose for the first time in the Round of 16?

U is for underdogs and so many times this season, the underdogs have come up with the goods.

V is for Victoria Jarosz of Hoptrans-Sirenos who was one of just two players to block five shots in a single game.

W is for when was the last time there were no Russian teams whatsoever in the Round of 16? A real surprise for sure!

X is for 'X-Factor' and EuroCup Women has it because as great as the Regular Season has been, we still have four EuroLeague Women sides who will parachute into the competition and that needs to be factored in by those clubs eyeing up the coveted silverware.

Y is for Yakin Dogu Universitesi who are flawless and have the capacity to challenge for silverware and could even be a EuroLeague Women side in waiting if that's their ambition.

Z is for Zenta Melnika who has been the most efficient player of the Regular Season. The Latvian center has played very well for Udominate Basket, although won’t be featuring any more after the Swedish side missed the cut.

Paul Nilsen

FIBA

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