Alba Fehervar, Proximus Spirou, Tsmoki-Minsk and Bnei Herzliya reaching for the stars in Group F

MUNICH (FIBA Europe Cup) - Among the most evenly-matched groups in the FIBA Europe Cup Regular Season, Group F is a wide open race between all four of the teams involved.

Alba Fehervar, Tsmoki-Minsk, Proximus Spirou and Bnei Rav-Bariach Herzliya all bring serious intentions to the upcoming campaign after reaching at least the Second Round in the competition last year.

Two of the teams, Tsmoki and Herzliya, already met last season and shared one win each. One thing is a given in Group F – there will be plenty of close-fought battles in this corner of the FIBA Europe Cup.

ALBA FEHERVAR

Hungarian champions and cup-winners Alba Fehervar were just one step away from making the Basketball Champions League but a narrow loss to Pinar Karsiyaka in Qualification Round 3 meant they will return for another go-around in the FIBA Europe Cup.

Last season, the Branislav Dzunic-coached side got one Elie Okobo three-pointer away from reaching the Round of 16, but had to settle for a Second Round finish instead, paced by the unstoppable play of Justin Edwards.

Edwards is no longer with the team and neither are the other American players from last season, but Alba kept a thread of continuity by bringing back their domestic core headlined by big men Peter Lorant and Akos Keller.

The Fehervar club have invested their trust in five new American players – Derrick Fenner, Alandise Harris, Kasey Hill, Elijah Macon and Trevis Simpson, who are expected to play leading roles on the team.

Peter Lorant averaged 14.4 points and 6.5 rebounds per game in the FIBA Europe Cup last season

Star Player: Peter Lorant
Top Prospect: Marko Filipovity
Path to the Regular Season: Defeated Kalev Cramo in the BCL QR2 (+6); lost to Pinar Karsiyaka in BCL QR3 (-7)
European Record in 2016-17: 8-4 in the FIBA Europe Cup, Second Round
Domestic Performance in 2016-17: Hungarian Basketball Division A champions – 1st in the Regular Season; defeated Falco Vulcano in the Finals 3-2 – and Cup winners

TSMOKI-MINSK

A FIBA Europe Cup campaign without Tsmoki-Minsk would not feel the same, but the Belarusian side are indeed returning to the competition for the third year in a row after the lights-out game in Nanterre stopped their march to the Basketball Champions League right at the Regular Season doorstep.

Inscribing their ninth consecutive domestic championship title in Belarus was once again just a formality for the country's perennial champions, with no real opposition to challenge them last year as well.

Tsmoki-Minsk have stuck to the same formula of getting together the best available local players and adding some talent from abroad for the upcoming campaigns in the FIBA Europe Cup and the VTB League.

Chris Czerapowicz from Morabanc Andorra is probably the highest profile incoming player, but early evidence from the Basketball Champions League Qualification Rounds seems to suggest David Kravish and Filip Adamovic will also be heavily featured assets.

Filip Adamovic arrived to Minsk from U-BT Cluj-Napoca; ex-Tsmoki Justin Gray made the reverse journey

Star Player: Chris Czerapowicz
Top Prospects: Yauheni Beliankou; Maksim Salash
Path to the Regular Season: Defeated Sigal Prishtina in the BCL QR1 (+22); defeated Budivelnyk in BCL QR2 (+12); lost to Nanterre 92 in BCL QR3 (-5)
European Record in 2016-17: 8-4 in the FIBA Europe Cup, Second Round
Domestic Performance in 2016-17: Belarusian Premier League champions – defeated Grodno 93 3-0 in the Finals; 12th place in the VTB League Regular Season

PROXIMUS SPIROU

Having joined the FIBA Europe Cup for the Round of 16 from the Basketball Champions League last year, Proximus Spirou are going to take part in the competition right from the start this time around.

Coming off a forgettable season domestically, the Charleroi side showed no mercy in the FIBA Europe Cup Qualification Round 2 match-up against BK Pardubice from Czech Republic, registering the largest aggregate margin of victory out of all teams.

The team's new head coach Brian Lynch has brought to the club a new cast of players to match his basketball philosophy, namely the versatile duo of Scott Thomas and Seth Tuttle from his last work station in Hubo Limburg United.  Another summer signing Rasko Katic -- out with an ankle injury -- may not be available for another couple of months, which will translate into more opportunities for Amaury Gorgemans and Michael Fusek at the center spot.

Amidst a lot of roster turnaround, some influential names have remained on the squad from last year – Alexandre Libert, Ioann Iarochevitch and Niels Marnegrave have all enjoyed plenty of opportunities under the new playcaller.

Scott Thomas has played for coach Brian Lynch in the past

Star Player: Seth Tuttle
Top Prospects: Michael Fusek; Sigfredo Casero Ortiz
Path to the Regular Season: Defeated BK Pardubice in the FIBA Europe Cup QR2 (+39)
European Record in 2016-17: 6-8 in the Basketball Champions League, Regular Season; 1-1 in the FIBA Europe Cup, Round of 16
Domestic Performance in 2016-17: 5th place in the Belgian EuroMillions Basketball League – lost to Oostende 3-0 in the Semi-Finals

Bnei Rav-Bariach Herzliya

One of the tree lucky losers to qualify from the Qualification Round 2, Bnei Rav-Bariach Herzliya lost to FC Porto by a single point on aggregate but were never really in danger of missing the Regular Season, even passing up a chance to play a potentially risky overtime with an intentionally missed free-throw.

Head coach Mickey Gorka had a moderately successful run in the FIBA Europe Cup last season right until their wheels fell off in the Second Round where they picked up just one victory.

In addition to keeping coach Gorka as the man in charge, Bnei Herzliya retained two of their double-digit scorers from last year in Jeff Adrien and Taurean Green as well as an important role player in Halil Kanacevic. They did, however, have to bid farewell to all-round superstar Karam Mashour who took up an offer from the Israeli powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv.

On the bright side, the Herzliya side brought in an exciting 23-year-old Israeli national team swingman Shawn Dawson, who should be equally fun to watch on the court, especially playing alongside fellow newcomer Xavier Thames, a former pick by the Toronto Raptors in the 2014 NBA Draft.

Israel international Shawn Dawson will have a chance to shine

Star Player: Shawn Dawson
Top Prospects: Orr Leumi; Noam Avivi
Path to the Regular Season:
European Record in 2016-17: 5-7 in the FIBA Europe Cup, Second Round
Domestic Performance in 2016-17: 5th place in the Israeli Basketball Super League – lost to Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Quarter-Finals

FIBA