28/01/2020
Long Read
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FIBA Europe Cup Power Rankings: Volume 6
MUNICH (Germany) - With the FIBA Europe Cup Play-Offs fast approaching, we present you with the last edition of the Power Rankings before the Quarter-Finals. There are still two games left in the Second Round and teams still have time to change their fortunes around, but the Play-Offs picture is already starting to take shape.
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Landstede Hammers Zwolle are already eliminated from contention. But they are through to the Semi-Finals of the Dutch Cup and own a 13-2 record in the Dutch League, so they could still end their season with two new pieces of silverware. |
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Speaking of Cups, Spirou Basket made it to the title game in the Belgian Cup! They will have a chance to win their first trophy since 2011, with Antwerp awaiting in the Finals. But international glory will not come around this season, they are already eliminated in FIBA Europe Cup at 0-4. |
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Egis Kormend cannot advance to the knockout phase of the competition, which could be good news, too. Now they can focus on the Hungarian League, to try and hunt down the defending champs Falco Szombathely, who still have their Regular Season obligations in the Basketball Champions League and could let down their guard domestically. |
13
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Six defeats in a row for Enisey Krasnoyarsk. The one at the hands of Leiden hurts the most, because it leaves the door wide open for Bahcesehir and Pinar to escape from the Group of Death here. |
12
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Bad news for Ironi Ness Ziona? They are just 1-5 over their last six games in the Israeli League and the FIBA Europe Cup. Good news for Ironi Ness Ziona? Pick up wins over Oradea and Cluj Napoca, and you could still see the Play-Offs here! (And we could see a 3-3 four-way tie, so please, please, please, make it happen!) |
11
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Let's just keep it at the fact that ZZ Leiden defeated Enisey Krasnoyarsk, okay? Let's not mention that 112-76 defeat to Pinar Karsiyaka. Let's not mention that defeat on aggregate to Zwolle in the Dutch Cup. Let's not mention the fact that Zwolle also defeated them in the domestic league tie, too. |
10
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CSM CSU Oradea are riding a five-game winning streak in all competitions, and are 10-1 over their last 11 games. In other words, maybe it's time for us to declare CSM CSU Oradea the hottest Romanian team around. Or maybe not, because it could all go south as soon as we hit the "publish" button on this. |
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I'm just here to tell you that a certain U-BT Cluj Napoca player is leading the fan poll as the most valuable player of the competition. Check it out here. |
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Bahcesehir College got a monster double-double from Mangok Mathiang last time around. Okay, one more and you are safe*, ready for the next round, set to make some noise because we are talking about a team that's rolling on a three-game winning streak, scorching Besiktas, Enisey and Galatasaray in that run. *Pinar also need to win their game to pull Bahcesehir through this week. |
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Here's the tricky part of Bakken Bears' 2-2 record. They are alive and kicking, no doubt about it. But, a defeat to Spirou Basket plus a Benfica win over Bayreuth could send the Danish juggernauts packing, straight away. Tricky, I warned you. |
6
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Tsmoki-Minsk are a win away from booking their tickets to the next round. And a win is much needed at this moment, because Tsmoki-Minsk are struggling to make a run in the VTB United League. So, give them some European success to forget about the 3-12 record in VTB, okay? Okay. |
5
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Good to see Portuguese basketball rising up...and it's all thanks to Ireland! No, not the nation. Anthony Ireland has been outstanding, his double-double against Bakken Bears could be the thing that sends SL Benfica to the next round. |
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As the last two digits changed from 19 to 20, Ventspils were having a horrible time. Because they ended 2019 and entered 2020 with three straight defeats - for the first time since the Finals of the Latvian League last season. But hey! Ventspils found the panacea for the poison, five straight wins in all competitions keep them in the top four of the Power Rankings here. |
3
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A lot of points happen when guys with medi Bayreuth written on their chest take the floor. They are 5-1 over their last six games in the FIBA Europe Cup and the German Bundesliga, scoring 115, 102, 97, 93, 105 and 86 in that span. How good is that!? Free scoring basketball will take the German side to the elimination phase if they can pick up one more win here. |
2
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BC Kyiv Basket had a busy schedule to start 2020, playing eight games already...which was just a fine opportunity to go and pick up seven wins and become one of two unbeaten teams in the Second Round here. Remember, they were at 2-2 at one point of the First Round, in danger of ending their international season in November. And now they seem like a lock for late April! |
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Pinar Karsiyaka since the start of December: 10-2. Pinar Karsiyaka since the start of January: 4-1. Only defeat? Overtime against Anadolu Efes... In other words, it feels like we should put Pinar Karsiyaka at number one, then nobody at numbers two and three, and then Kyiv at number four. Because it feels like Karsiyaka have been so dominant all season long, not just in this competition. They are already through, so they can even afford to rest some of the guys and relax over the next two FIBA Europe Cup weeks. |
*The power rankings are entirely subjective and is in no way a true, accurate ranking systems. All comments are purely those of the author.
Igor Curkovic
Igor Curkovic is a Croatian freelance writer, Live Blog aficionado and meme expert who watches a lot of basketball and brings both the power and the rankings to the FIBA Europe Cup.
