MUNICH (Germany) - Galatasaray Cagdas Faktoring and Umana Reyer Venezia will be favorites to advance after winning their respective EuroLeague Women Qualifiers first-leg games, as both clubs leaned firmly towards the Regular Season.
In what was the first of five Qualifiers matchups, there are another three games scheduled to take place on Thursday, September 18.
The return games for all ties will then conclude on either Wednesday 24 or Thursday September 25 next week.
Galatasaray fire a warning shot as Juhasz shines
Even if they were still missing some of their big-hitters, Galatasaray proved far too strong for ACS Sepsi-SIC as they came away from Romania with a dominant 81-48 triumph. The ball movement and size of the visitors caused headaches from the tip and once they raced into a 26-11 advantage after the first period, they were out of sight.
Galatasaray sent a strong message that if they advance as expected, they could be ready to make some Regular Season noise. Center Dorka Juhasz terrorized the home defense and finished with a standout contribution of 15 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists, while teammate Awak Kuier excelled with 12 points, 10 boards and 4 blocks
Reyer light it up late in Belgrade
Umana Reyer Venezia were on the ropes early and down by double-digits at KKZ Crvena Zvezda but recovered to take an impressive 79-71 victory in the Serbian capital. The turnaround was completed when they posted a fabulous 27-16 final quarter that has put them in a strong position to finish the job on home soil.
A near double-double of 16 points and 9 boards from Steph Mavunga was key - as was a super smart 15 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists from frontcourt partner Lorela Cubaj. The defeat was tough to take for home star Yvonne Anderson who delivered against expectation with a superb 20 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists.
Thursday September 18
Zabiny Brno vs Casademont Zaragoza Kibirkstis-TOKS vs Tango Bourges Basket KSSSE ENEA AZS AJP Gorzow vs DVTK HUNTHERM
FIBA