NEWCASTLE (Paul Nilsen's Women's Basketball Worldwide) - As the 2019 edition of the EuroLeague Women Final Four comes into focus, I have been looking back at the last decade of the competition.

Rather neatly, I truly became hooked on the competition 10 years ago and it means I have 40 games to choose from, or in reality, 30 games if we ignore the Third-Place Game - for obvious reasons.

Also taking into account I am only choosing from the Semi-Finals or Final (taking into account when the tournament was briefly a Final Eight for a few years).

1. Sopron Basket v Yakin Dogu Universitesi (2018)

The most fresh in the memory of course, with it only being last year, this was such a pulsating occasion. Surprise package Sopron were at the Final Four for only the second time in their history, with nobody having expected them to make it that far. New Turkish powerhouse Yakin Dogu Universitesi were strongly fancied to beat Sopron in the Semi-Final matchup, but in the intimate atmosphere of a noisy and passionate Novomatic Arena, the locals were treated to a moment that will live long in Sopron folklore.

Serbian ace and big Sopron favorite Jelena Milovanovic sunk a game-winning triple from the corner and the place erupted as a famous 68-65 triumph was sealed.

The photo of the moment captured by Elio Castoria was one of my most favorite basketball photos of all-time, with that same passion reflected by head coach Roberto Iniguez, who came storming over to the media tribune to shove the words of his critics back down their throats. Many had predicted Sopron to lose comfortably. Reaching their first ever Final was momentous and while they fell short of a maiden title, they have arguably recorded an even bigger accomplishment by recently punching their Final Four ticket for 2019.

2. ZVVZ USK Praha v UMMC (2015)

This was such a great game because it was a classic Final of underdog against the favorite. Praha coach Natalia Hejkova had already won the tournament four times, but surely she wouldn't make it title number five? The good news for her and Praha supporters was that UMMC were without Diana Taurasi, but still had a star laden roster and were huge favorites.

I remember that Jana Vesela and Sonja Petrovic helped set the tone and then it was a combination of eventual MVP Kia Vaughn landing her double-double and the injection into the contest of the electric Danielle Robinson in the third quarter, that took Praha to their historic success. There was a bizarre wobble at the end as Praha almost snatched defeat from the jaws of victory as Candace Parker tried her best to salvage the situation for UMMC, but the hosts hung on to win 72-68.

It also served up the most enjoyable post-game media conference I think I have ever been in, with Vaughn being given the largest (MVP) trophy in sporting history and much fun was had on how she would get it home. While Praha had some classy players, this was a fairytale victory and one that I will remember for a long time.

3. Fenerbahce v Rivas Ecopolis (2012)

This was a win-win for me because I have to confess I was a closet Rivas Ecopolis fan as I admired how the newcomers from the suburbs of Madrid had been noisy neighbors to all of the established powerhouses in the competition. They had several top players (Asjha Jones, Anna Cruz, Laura Nicholls) and veterans (Elisa Aguilar, Amaya Valdermoro). If they were to win this game, it was a great story and I would be happy.

Equally, I was also happy if Fenerbahce would make it to a first ever Final, since they had one of my favorite ever players in Birsel Vardarli Demirmen and I had to feel sorry for them that they had lost Opals' star Penny Taylor in the previous game.

As it turned out, it was a super clash and Rivas came out with a nail-biting 74-70 win to make history and reach their first ever Final.

At the helm of Rivas? None other than current UMMC coach, Miguel Mendez, who would eventually get to lift the title - 6 years later with UMMC. Rivas and Mendez lost in the Final to Ros Casares. Coached by? You know who? Roberto Iniguez! Those two are ready to meet again at this year's Final Four!

4. UMMC v Galatasaray (2014)

I remember this Semi-Final game for so many different reasons. Firstly because I watched the first quarter via a birds' eye view from the roof above the court, high up in the DIVS Arena in Ekaterinburg. Secondly because I had spoken with Gala coach Ekrem Memnun (one of my favorite people in the game) ahead of the contest and he had said that UMMC were unbeatable - unless Alba Torrens could just pull out a big performance. That was his one hope.

The background being that Gala had made Torrens their marquee signing and yet she had sustained the most serious injury of her career and at that time, a question mark still hung over her ability to get back to her best.

Well, that question was answered as emphatically as you could ever imagine as Torrens came up with what is probably still the best game of her EuroLeague Women career. She torched UMMC (who she would later join) for 29 points to propel Galatasaray into their first Final.

They would go on to win in the greatest day of their club history when becoming the first Turkish team to top the podium and doing it against bitter rivals, Fenerbahce. This Semi-Final was the key though. And just as important as the scoring power of Torrens, the control and amazing offensive rebounding of the irrepressible Isil Alben.

Paul Nilsen

FIBA

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