Title contenders in the Eurocup
The EuroCup season started just two weeks ago and many things can change until April, but there are some clear early favourites to win the competition and some top teams that disappointed so far. Hapoel Tel Aviv is the team that is still considered by most people to be the strongest team and the main favourite to win the EuroCup, but the Israeli team does not look that good at the moment. The team coached by Stefanos Dedas suffered a defeat in Round 1 in Badalona against Joventut, while in Round 2 they beat Lithuanian side Wolves Vilnius after trailing by four points in the last quarter. Of course, it’s still early, Hapoel has time to improve the team’s chemistry and they have a very talented roster with the likes of Joe Ragland, Johnathan Motley, Patrick Beverley, Ish Wainwright or Bruno Caboclo.
While Hapoel is struggling a bit, the Spanish teams look great, especially Valencia. Experienced coach Pedro Martinez returned to the bench of Valencia, the team he coached between 2015 and 2017 where he won an ACB title in 2017 and was named EuroCup coach of the year in the same season. The roster also looks great and the ‘’taronges’’ didn’t have any issues winning the first two games in this EuroCup campaign, defeating Hapoel Jerusalem by 16 points and Hamburg by 27. If no major injuries appear during the season or in the playoffs, Valencia has a very good chance of adding a fifth EuroCup trophy and regaining their place in the EuroLeague for next season.
Another Spanish team is undefeated after two rounds and has high expectations for this season. Gran Canaria, the team that won the EuroCup in 2023 is looking to reach the top again. They have a very capable young coach in Jaka Lakovic and a roster that includes Spanish, French, Slovenian or Argentinian national team players along with some solid American players. They did have some struggles against theoretically weaker teams like Buducnost and Trento in the first two rounds but they won both games.
Joventut Badalona is the third Spanish team in the competition and they also have some players with huge EuroLeague experience, something that can be decisive when the playoffs arrive. Turkish team Bahcesehir also looked excellent so far, just like the much-improved Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana.
Imre Halasz
Image credit: EuroLeague
