USK Praha basketball players will welcome Schio in the opening quarterfinals of EL
Updates: 07.03.2022 13:57
Released: 07.03.2022, 13:55
Prague – Basketball players of USK Prague will enter the elimination fights of the European League on Tuesday, in the opening quarterfinals they will welcome the Italian Schio. Coach Natálie Hejková’s charges were originally to face the Hungarian Sopron, but after the Russian teams were expelled due to the invasion of Ukraine, they moved to second place in Group A and got a new opponent after adjusting the spider. The series is played for two winning matches, the first duel will start in the Královka hall at 18:00.
“We can say that we went from covid to war. Both events of the last season had a big impact on the war. But we take it as it is,” Hejková told ČTK. Her team finished third in the basic part with a balance of ten wins and four defeats, but after eliminating the reigning champions and group winners from Ekaterinburg, she improved by one place. Dynamo Kursk finished again in the “B”, at whose expense Girona advanced.
“We finished second in the end and it was necessary to change the strategy. We were originally preparing Sopron and we had to reorient. But everyone has a similar thing. I do not see it as a big obstacle,” said Slovak coach USK.
Her players appreciated the new lot. “They were aware of the handicap against Sopron, when one of their players is 207 centimeters and the other is almost two meters away. Euroleague winner.
While USK was originally supposed to play the first duel on the opponent’s field, after advancing to the second place, he will start at home. In Prague, after a revenge in the city (March 15), a possible third Sch decisive duel awaited them (March 18). “It will help. It would be deadly to take a bus to Sopron twice, and if it was to be better for Venice for the second match,” said Hejková, who is certainly one of the top three favorites for the overall victory after the exclusion of multiple champion Ekaterinburg.
In addition to the injured Stankovičová beer, USK also has to do without the quarterback Barbora Bálintová, who is not fit due to a sprained ankle. Simona Sklenářová has similar problems. “We handled the injuries decently all season, but now it has accumulated. We only have two little players (Teju) Oblakova and (Tereza) Vyoralova, so we will have to manage it somehow. It is clear that our rotation will be very narrow. We have to cut it sensibly. “Hejková said.”
The Czech champions are striving for the fifth participation in the Euroleague Final Four. The last time they played the final tournament was in 2019. The greatest success in the competition was recorded by the people of Prague seven years ago, when they won the competition. They were scheduled to face Schiem in the quarterfinals last March, but the duels, like the rest of the season, were canceled at the time due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The mainstay of the Italian team is the French pivot Sandrine Gruda, who has an average of 14.2 points and 10 rebounds and a match. American player Diamond DeShields is also doing well, scoring 11.3 points and 6.3 rebounds. “They have seven or eight players who can score. Maybe we can force our style of play on them and they won’t be so strong in their slower game. We have to get up to speed and defend well. When we play our fast game, it should be good, “Added Hejková.