Group G: Who will triumph among Belfius Mons-Hainaut, Khimik, Demir Insaat and Sigal Prishtina?

MUNICH (FIBA Europe Cup) - Four well-established entities in the FIBA Europe Cup scene will square off in Group G, with Belfius Mons-Hainaut, Khimik, Demir Insaat and Sigal Prishtina vying for the two tickets to the Second Round.

The Ukrainians from Yuzhne were the only ones not to take part last season, enjoying a one-year stint in the Basketball Champions League, while the other three battled hard in the FIBA Europe Cup.

Demir Insaat saw the most success out of the trio, reaching the Round of 16, while Mons-Hainaut and Sigal Prishtina did not get out of the Group Phase, which they will very much want to change this year.

BELFIUS MONS-HAINAUT

Belfius Mons-Hainaut quadrupled their win tally in the FIBA Europe Cup comparing to last year in the Qualification Rounds alone, with the Belgian side managing only a single win in last year's campaign.

The team was only one of two teams to qualify for the Regular Season with a 4-0 mark, registering double-digit wins in all four games against Icelandic champions KR and Bulgarian runners-up Beroe.

Having taken over the reins of the clubs over the summer, the new head coach Daniel Goethals has benefited from the chemistry already in place between the one-two punch of Tre Demps and Garlon Green, who were both retained with leadership roles in mind.

The arrival of Christopher Jones further strengthened the team's backcourt already featuring the likes of Idris Lasisi and the already mentioned Demps, while newcomers Juvonte Reddic and Matt Tibby should provide the muscle inside the paint.

Tre Demps led the team in scoring in the Qualifiers

Star Player: Garlon Green
Top Prospects: Mathieu Houdart; Zaccharie Mortant
Path to the Regular Season: Defeated KR in the FIBA Europe Cup QR1 (+34); defeated Beroe in the FIBA Europe Cup QR2 (+32)
European Record in 2016-17: 1-3 in the FIBA Europe Cup, Regular Season
Domestic Performance in 2016-17: 7th place in the Belgian EuroMillions Basketball League – lost to Telenet Antwerp Giants 2-0 in the Quarter-Finals

KHIMIK

The only Ukrainian team still representing the country on the international stage this season, Khimik will have not only their own pride to worry about, as they prepare for their FIBA Europe Cup return.

Before their one-year stint in the Basketball Champions League, the team from Yuzhne had put together a very successful season in the competition in the 2015-16 season, going all the way to the Quarter-Finals.

There are still quite a few players from that team on the squad to this day, with Vitalii Malchevskyi, Ilya Sydorov, Oleksandr Antypov, Viacheslav Petrov, Serhii Pavlov and Oleksandr Riabchuck all forming the current core, helped by two American imports – Derrick Colter and Austin Arians.

Although coming away with a road victory in Turkey against the powerful Istanbul BBSK side, they could not qualify for the Regular Season after losing the return leg by a larger margin in Yuzhne, but still made it through as one of the three lucky losers.

Derrick Colter will assume most ball-handling duties in Yuzhne

Star Player: Derrick Colter
Top Prospects: Oleksandr Antypov; Ilya Sydorov; Andrii Voinalovych
Path to the Regular Season: Lost to Istanbul BBSK in the FIBA Europe Cup QR2 (-7)
European Record in 2016-17: 3-11 in the Basketball Champions League, Regular Season
Domestic Performance in 2016-17: Ukrainian SuperLeague runners-up – 2nd place in the Regular Season; lost to Budivelnyk 3-1 in the Finals

DEMIR INSAAT

Demir Insaat are returning FIBA Europe Cup participants, but enter the new season with a brand new roster from top to bottom, save for head coach Ozhan Civgin and 23-year-old forward Burak Yildizli.

The team from Buyukcekmece, a district in the western suburbs of Istanbul, reached the Round of 16 stage last season, where they were eliminated in heart-breaking fashion by Enisey Krasnoyarsk in overtime.

Having reloaded their squad with proven veterans like Bracey Wright, Vlad Moldoveanu and Vojdan Stojanovski, as well as exciting and still-improving talents Erving Walker and Evaldas Kairys, they have every reason to target the Play-Offs this season again.

The newly-built team might still need time to mesh, so there could be some bumps in the road early in the Regular Season, which their Group G opponents will be eager to take advantage of.

Burak Yildizli is the only returning player on the roster for Demir Insaat

Star Player: Bracey Wright
Top Prospect: Ogulcan Baykan
Path to the Regular Season: Defeated BC Dnipro in the FIBA Europe Cup QR1 (+15); defeated Tartu in the FIBA Europe Cup QR2 (+14)
European Record in 2016-17: 10-4 in the FIBA Europe Cup, Round of 16
Domestic Performance in 2016-17: 13th place in the Turkish Basketball Super League Regular Season

SIGAL PRISHTINA

After a ground-breaking summer for the Kosovo national team in the FIBA Basketball World Cup World Cup 2019 European Pre-Qualifiers, a similar Dardan Berisha-led core of players will be trying to get Sigal Prishtina to new heights in the FIBA Europe Cup.

Having participated in both past editions of the competition, the perennial Kosovan champions have never made it past the Regular Season, but the national team captain Berisha will try to change that with fellow internationals Fisnik Rugova, Lis Shoshi, Granit Rugova, Drilon Hajriz and Alban Veseli.

The trio of foreigners -- Maxie Esho, Wayne Martin and Andrew Lawrence -- will need to be at the top of their game for the club's aspirations to come to fruition, given the high level of opposition.

Interestingly enough, Great Britain national team guard Lawerence, who enjoyed a successful FIBA EuroBasket 2017 this summer, was already with the team for the duration of their FIBA Europe Cup campaign last season before leaving to Chalons-Reims in France.

Can Dardan Berisha accomplish something special with Sigal as well?

Star Player: Dardan Berisha
Top Prospect: Muhamedali Janjeva
Path to the Regular Season: Lost to Tsmoki-Minsk in BCL QR1 (-22)
European Record in 2016-17: 1-5 in the FIBA Europe Cup, Regular Season
Domestic Performance in 2016-17: Kosovo Basketball Superleague champions – 1st place in the Regular Season; defeated Bashkimi 3-1 in the Finals – and Kosovo Cup winners

FIBA