Two happy teams will meet each other on Sunday and Monday. Kibirkštis MRU and Prometey recently won trophies in domestic cup competitions. The winners of the upcoming quarterfinal battle will book a historic ticket to the Final Four.
Quick facts: teams mutually agred to play both games at Kamianske, few kilometers west of Dnipro city on the mighty Dnipro river. Kamianske is located 400 kilometers southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.
What`s at stake
Kibirkštis MRU return to the Top 8 after a four year break. Vilnius team almost delivered one of the biggest upsets in EWBL history on March 31, 2017. The Sparks led by seven points, 51-44, with 15 minutes left against the eventual champions Good Angels Košice, but the hosts took over thanks to the Euroleague players like Barbora Balintova, Teja Oblak and Zuzana Žirkova.
Vilnius team didn`t made the semifinal back then but will try to do it now. The Sparks, inspired by Kriste Timofejeva and Gabriele Sulske, will need a 100% focus and dedication to beat the impressive newcomers. They finished sixth in 2017 but need to win to improve their best result.
Prometey has a chance to make it to the Final Four already in its maiden season. They have all they need: good management, experienced coaches, several Ukraine national team players and strong American duo. Home advantage may play a role too.
Road to the playoffs
Kibirkštis MRU basically solved the puzzle in 26 hours. Vilnius team won the first two battles against Belarus teams in Minsk, including a memorable 62-58 win at Tsmoki Minsk on January 13. Kriste Timofejeva scored two three-pointers in the last 80 seconds to defeat the Dragons.
The Sparks added a 61-45 success over Olimpia Grodno to seal their ticket to the playoffs for the first time since 2017.
Prometey two times traveled to western Latvia town of Liepāja and won all four games there to top the Group A. The Firestarters defeated their opponents by the double digits every single time and never allowed more than 73 points.
Domestic competitions
Vilnius team prepared for its third season in the Douglas Latvia-Estonia-Lithuania league (11 teams from three countries). Pandemic destroyed those plans and the Sparks ended in the familiar Lithuanian higher division.
Kibirkštis MRU finished the LMKL semifinal series on March 11. They won both games against Šiauliai. Gitautas Kievinas team enter the finals with a perfect 20-0 record and awaits the outcome of the series between Aistes LSMU Kaunas and Neptūnas Klaipeda.
Prometey also hasn`t lost a game in Ukrainian Superleague. The Firestarters have a 24-0 record and scored at least 100 points in 18 games. Exceptions – Kyiv Basket (three out of four games), Berdiansk, Vinnitsa and Ivano Frankivsk.
The best-of-three quarterfinals are set on March 23, 25 and, if necessary, 27. The semifinals will follow on March 29, 31 and, if necessary, April 2. The finals will be played on best-of-five format on April 5-13.
Schedule (local time only)
(A1) Prometey – Kibirkštis MRU (B4)
Sunday, March 14, Kamianske, 15:00
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lr_KJp3ogqU
Monday, March 15, Kamianske, 17:00
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQUEKdV08UE
Semifinal picture
Prometey/Kibirkštis – Young Angels/Horizont
TTT Rīga – Pieštanske Čajky/Nika
Final Four experience
TTT Rīga: 2016-2019, 2021
THE PLAYOFFS 2020
(A1) Žabiny Brno 153-92 SBŠ Ostrava (B4)
(A2) Pieštanske Čajky 155-126 Rostov Don SFEDU (B3)
(A3) Nika Syktyvkar 128-145 Tsmoki Minsk (B2)
(A4) Orange Lions 133-167 Dynamo Novosibirsk (B1)
THE PLAYOFFS 2019
(A1) Tsmoki Minsk 122-107 Pieštanske Čajky (B4)
(A2) A3 Basket 143-159 Žabiny Brno (B3)
(A3) Rostov Don SFEDU 177-166 Lulea Basket (B2)
(A4) Olimpia Grodno 121-188 TTT Rīga (B1)
THE PLAYOFFS 2018
(A1) Good Angels 151-107 Pieštanske Čajky (B4)
(A2) Al Riyadi 123-144 Dynamo Moscow (B3)
(A3) Lulea Basket 172-173 Udominate (B2)
(A4) Liepājas Papīrs 108-179 TTT Rīga (B1)
Final Four history
Rīga 2016: TTT Rīga, Basket 90 Gdynia, Astana Tigers, Tsmoki Minsk
Košice 2017: Good Angels Košice, TTT Rīga, Dynamo Moscow, Basket 90 Gdynia
Rīga 2018: Good Angels Košice, TTT Rīga, Dynamo Moscow, Udominate Basket
Rostov on Don 2019: TTT Rīga, Tsmoki Minsk, Rostov Don SFEDU, Žabiny Brno
Brno 2020: season five cancelled due to pandemic (Žabiny Brno-Tsmoki, Novosibirsk-Pieštany)
FORMAT
Playoffs: March 2-16, 2021; best-of-two
A1 – B4, A2 – B3, B2 – A3, B1 – A4
Final Four: April 2021
Our geography
EWBL member countries so far: Belarus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Ukraine, Turkey.
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#StrongTogether #EWBL #Season6
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