It’s almost three months until the debut of BC “Prometey” in the EuroCup. However, the draw has already happened, so the opponents are known. Who is going to be the Ronen Ginzburg's team’s rivals in the first 18 matches of the EuroCup - we offer a review of each of the clubs.
"Litkabelis" (Lithuania)
The author of the biggest sensation in Lithuanian basketball in the last 30 years will be our rival in the match, where "Prometheus" will debut in the EuroCup. A month and a half ago, the legendary "Zhalgiris" for the first time in history did not reach the final of the Lithuanian championship, and it is our first European cup opponent, who did not let Kaunas team in there.
In the 1/8 final of the Eurocup 2021/2022, "Litkabelis" lost by 8 points to the future champion "Virtus". Head coach Nenad Canak remained in Panevezys for the next season as well. And recently, "Litkabelis" has signed a point guard Stefan Peno - MVP of the U16 European Championship, which was hosted by Kyiv in 2013. His Serbian National team won the silver medals then, but Peno was still recognised as the tournament's most valuable player.
"Brescia" (Italy)
"Brescia" returns to the EuroCup after a one season absence. The club has already made a series of movements in the market, inviting four new players so far. In addition, head coach Alessandro Magro plans to stay in Brescia at least until the end of the 2023/24 season. So, there is no doubt that the Italian team has ambitious goals.
"Bursaspor" (Turkey)
It’s a EuroCup 2022 finalist, and that says it all. On the way to the final, Turks defeated such teams as "Partizan" (Belgrade), "Cedevita Olimpia" (Ljubljana) and "MoraBank" (Andorra). In the decisive game, they conceded only three points to "Virtus" from Bologna.
Coach Dushan Alimpievich, who was recognized as the Eurocup 2022 coach of the year, as well as playmaker Derek Needem, known to Ukrainian fans, who once played for Yuzhny "Khimik" remained in "Bursaspor".
"Hoventut" (Spain)
"Hoventut" took first place in the EuroCup group last season, suffering only four defeats. However, in the 1/8 finals, they unexpectedly lost six points to another rival of "Prometey" in the group - "Ratiopharm Ulm".
The 35-year-old Pau Ribas (since 2005 has been playing for the Spanish grands) and Ante Tomic (since 2009 has been playing for the best ASV league teams) cement the game of Hoventuta. However, none of the veterans has yet won a European club trophy. But the Hoventut club is the winner of the EuroCup 2008.
"Cedevita-Olympia" (Slovenia)
In the previous EuroCup season, the Slovenian champion was third in its group. In the quarterfinals, Cedevita lost by only two points to the future finalists Frutti Extra Bursaspor, who, in turn, lost by only three points in the decisive match. So, Slovenians will strive to surpass their achievement, realizing how close they were to the trophy.
"Ratiopharm Ulm" (Germany)
Eighth in Group B, Ulm became one of the biggest sensations of the 2021/22 EuroCup season, knocking out in the 1/8 final the winner of Group A and one of the contenders for the trophy “Hoventut”. In the quarterfinals, the German team lost to the future champion "Virtus".
Before the start of the new season, Ulm, whose head coach Jaka Lakovic has left the team, is expecting for some significant changes. The Slovenian specialist will continue his career in another EuroCup team - Gran Canaria. Former Euroleague player Anton Havel, who was promoted to this position from the club's second team, became the new head coach of Ulm.
"Bourg" (France)
One of the three teams that failed to make it to last year's Eurocup playoffs, finished ninth in Group B. This summer, "Burg" was led by Frederic Foto, who cfinished his work as an assistant to TJ Parker, the head coach of the Euroleague team Asvel. Let us remind you that last season the club owned by Tony Parker became the champion of France for the third time in a row. In addition to the new head coach, seven new players have already joined "Burg".
"Cluj-Napoca" (Romania)
As for Prometey, this is the debut season of the Eurocup for Cluj. It was with this team that Ronen Ginzburg's wards played the last match of the 2021/2022 season. The Romanian league champions retained their top scorer Patric Richard, signed center Emanuel Cate and brought back power forward Eduard Roschnafski - son of club legend Bruno Roschnafski.
"Reyer Venezia" (Italy)
Like "Hoventut", the Italian team stopped in the 1/8 finals. However, it was sixth in the group and did not have much chance of success during the match against Boulogne Metropolitans 92. At the moment, it is known about the signing of five new players, the experienced playmaker Jason Granger is among them.
As you can see, the opponents are quite serious and experienced ones. However, Prometey, as always, will do everything possible to win every single game and perform as successfully as possible in its debut Eurocup season. So, it will be very interesting!
