Valencia Basket starts the semifinals round of the EuroLeague Women play-in by beating a powerful CIMSA CBK Mersin in the first leg at the Fonteta (Wednesday 19, 19:15, Fonteta, À Punt). In this two-legged tie, the orange team will try to give their best performance with the support of the fans, facing a team full of international stars, to try to secure an advantage for the second and decisive match in Turkish lands next week.
Rubén Burgos analyzes the match
“We arrive with maximum excitement and desire in a tie that I believe will be very demanding for our third participation in the competition. We face a team that has already had many Final Four appearances, but we arrive with a lot of desire, thinking that it will be an 80-minute game that we have these first 40 at home in front of our fans and try to give our best. We know it will be demanding but the prize of that direct pass to the semis is well worth it. Cukurova is clearly a very powerful team due to their trajectory because they are having a spectacular EuroLeague. They have changed coach now, but the win record is very high, they have a very strong roster on the outside. It’s a very scoring line that has threats on all lines and the interior game even more reinforced. We are aware of their potential, also of ours and along those lines, we are working to take care of some tactical detail that helps us minimize that high scoring they do every game and also to enhance our virtues and talents that we have to compete at the highest level and play our chances”.
Ouviña out for the match, and Carrera could debut
Valencia Basket will have the usual absence of Cristina Ouviña. Raquel Carrera, who received medical clearance last week from the anterior cruciate ligament injury she suffered in March, could debut at the Fonteta after several training sessions with the team. The rest of the players are available for Rubén Burgos. To complete the squad, the young player Alicia Flórez joins.
Precedents
This will be the first time Valencia Basket faces CIMSA CBK Mersin, as they have never met in either Eurocup Women or EuroLeague Women. It will be the third Turkish team that Rubén Burgos’ team has faced. The first was Orman Genclik from Ankara in the 2021/22 Eurocup round of 16 with a record of 1-1. The second is Fenerbahce, which they have faced on several occasions with a 6-0 record for the Turkish team.
Second EuroLeague Women elimination round
This will be the second elimination round of the top European competition that Valencia Basket will play in their third participation. In the first year, they secured a spot for the quarterfinals, in which they fell to Schio. Last year, the team came close to that spot, but it’s this season when they have raised the stakes in this new format. The orange team finished second in their group and avoided a first elimination round, qualifying directly for the play-in semifinals.
The Final 6 on the horizon
With their presence in the play-in semifinals, Valencia Basket has secured a spot for the Final Six, but it remains to be decided whether it will be from the quarterfinals or semifinals. If they lose in the play-in semifinal, the orange team will face the winner of the play-in quarterfinals between Bourges and Zaragoza in the Final Six quarterfinals on April 9th.
The semifinals and final will be held on Friday, 11th and Sunday, 13th.
Europcar sponsors the match
In this game, we will have the support of Europcar as the official sponsor of the match. Personalized brand clappers will be distributed to keep the arena lively. Also, during a timeout, there will be a «Dance Cam» sponsored by Europcar on the scoreboard and a 360 platform will be placed in the arena. Finally, the Europcar logo will appear on the usual advertising supports and this brand will be considered the official sponsor of the match in all publications on the Club’s official Social Networks.
The opponent: CIMSA CBK Mersin
CIMSA CBK Mersin is one of the giants of the competition alongside Fenerbahce, both Turkish, in terms of roster and budget. However, it is a team with a short history as it was created just 10 years ago. In a few years, they have emerged as one of the contenders to win it all, although for now they only hold Turkish titles in the Super Cup and the Cup, as the almighty Fenerbahce remains one step ahead. In EuroLeague Women, they reached the final once in the 22-23 season, where they lost to Fenerbahce. They have made it to the Final Four for two consecutive seasons. In this new format and in this campaign, they finished first in their group with an 11-1 record, despite their various coaching changes, with only one loss at Schio’s home.
Their extensive roster filled with stars allows them to once again be one of the title contenders with players like Yvonne Anderson, former Spar Girona player Regan Margarity, or French internationals Marine Fathoux, Iliana Rupert, and Marine Johannes. Some of them have contracts in the WNBA. For this round of the EuroLeague Women, they come with some changes such as the absences of Karlie Samuelson and Natasha Howard, currently in the United States. Instead of the shooting guard, they brought in Canadian Bridget Carleton and for the center position, they recently signed Christelle Diallo, a former player of Casademont Zaragoza.
So far, the standout player was Howard, but in the current roster, the most outstanding player is the center Rupert, who is averaging 16.5 points, 8 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.7 blocks, and a 21.6 efficiency rating. She is the fourth highest scorer, second best rebounder, best shot blocker, and second best rated player in the competition. La base Fathoux és la tercera millor triplista amb un percentatge d’encert de 45,7% i cinquena en assistències amb 5,4 juntament amb Anderson que és la quarta millor de la competició amb 5,5 passes de canastra per partit. Can you please rephrase this sentence? Please rewrite the following sentence:
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