The last days of last week in many European countries were under the sign of cup competitions. The winners of the honorary trophy were determined there. In this connection, several opponents of our "Prometey" in the 7DAYS EuroCup were in the centre of attention.
The Italian club "Germani Brescia" became the winner of the Italian Cup despite the fact that the team is currently only in 13th place in the championship of this country and is in the middle of the 7DAYS EuroCup Group A tournament standings. The final part of the tournament was held in the format of the Final Eight. Already at the stage of the quarterfinals, "Brescia" made a real sensation, beating the many-time champion of Italy and the leader of the current championship "Milan" with a score of 75:72. In the semi-finals, the Italian club was stronger than "Pesaro" (74:57). In the decisive match, they played against "Virtus" from Bologna. The club from Bologna, one of the representatives of Italy in the Euroleague, considered the favourite. However, in this match too, "Brescia" became the author of a sensation, beating the opponent with a score of 84:76. Amedeo Della Valle had a great game: 26 points (10 out of 10 free throws) and 6 assists.
Germani Brescia won the Italian Cup for the first time. As a reminder, "Prometey" has already played two matches against this team. In Italy, they conceded with a score of 70:104, and then took revenge in Riga (79:72).
Although they did not win trophies, it was a great week for other “Prometey” rivals - French "Bourg" and Spanish "Joventut". "Bourg", with whom "Prometey" has to play a home match, reached the final of the French Leaders' Cup. This is a mid-season tournament with participating of the current 8 best teams of France. "Bourg" reached the final, and in the quarter-finals, it eliminated the strongest French club "Monaco" - 102:92. In the semi-finals, one of the closest “Prometey” rivals defeated the last winner of the trophy, the club "Dijon" (94:77). For the main prize, "Bourg" fought against "ASVEL Lyon Villeurbanne", the representative of France in the Euroleague. ASVEL confirmed its status as the favourite of the confrontation: the victory of the club from Lyon 84:73.
The Final Eighth of the Cup of Spain, which took place in Badalona, turned out to be exciting and unpredictable. For the first time since 2009, the main trophy did not go to "Real" or "Barcelona". "Unicaja" from Malaga, the last year's opponent of "Prometey" in the Champions League became its owner. This year's European Cup opponent - "Joventut" from Badalona - reached the semi-finals at their home arena. At the quarter-final stage, Carles Duran's team beat the status "Baskonia", a participant of the Euroleague (94:81). One of the highlights of the King's Cup (another name of the tournament) was the semi-final match between "Joventut" and "Lenovo Tenerife", another last year's rival of "Prometey". The winner of this dramatic confrontation was determined only in the last seconds: 73:72 in favour of "Tenerife", which lost one possession to "Unicaja" in the final (80:83).
As a reminder, "Joventut" is the main pursuer of "Prometey" in the EuroCup. The teams exchanged with home victories this season.
