Who will take flight in Group H: Szolnoki Olaj, Nizhny Novgorod, Falco Vulcano or Karposh Sokoli?

MUNICH (FIBA Europe Cup) - The pecking order in Group H of the FIBA Europe Cup remains to be established in a hard-to-predict four-team bloc of Szolnoki Olaj, Nizhny Novgorod, Falco Vulcano and Karposh Sokoli.

There was no lack of storylines to follow even before the start of the season, with three teams featuring ornithological features in their logos - Olaj, Falco and Sokoli - making some heavily-intertwined summer market moves.

By the time the Regular Season gets into full swing, everyone in the competition will have also heard about a clash of a certain avian variety with a Falcon derby between Falco and Sokoli.

SZOLNOKI OLAJ

A large rebuild over the summer did not get in the way of Szolnoki Olaj qualifying for the FIBA Europe Cup after getting past Trabzonspor and Sodertalje Kings in the Qualification Rounds.

The Hungarian club decided to shift things around after a rather disappointing season both in the Basketball Champions League and on the domestic front last year, keeping two of their big-name players in David Vojvoda and Luksa Andric, but surrounding them with a new cast.

Like last season, Szolnok will rely on Hungarian national team star Vojvoda to provide the team with a scoring punch, but a lot of their success will also depend on newcomers Kendrick Perry, Strahinja Milosevic and Quincy Ford, who are all projected to start and play big minutes.

Interestingly, two of the team's summer additions come from their Group H opponents, with starting point guard Perry coming after a season with Sokoli and Hungary international Peter Kovacs arriving from Falco. Meanwhile, Szolnok's big man Milos Borisov ended up in Szombathely. That will surely lead to some interesting homecomings during the Regular Season.

David Vojvoda shone in the FIBA Europe Cup Qualification Rounds

Star Player: David Vojvoda
Top Prospect: Gabor Rudner
Path to the Regular Season: Defeated Trabzonspor in the FIBA Europe Cup QR1 (+1); defeated Sodertalje Kings in the FIBA Europe Cup QR2 (+21)
European Record in 2016-17: 2-12 in the Basketball Champions League, Regular Season
Domestic Performance in 2016-17: Hungarian Cup runners-up; 3rd place in the Hungarian Division A Regular Season – 5th place in the Second Round; lost to ZTE 3-2 in the Quarter-Finals

NIZHNY NOVGOROD

Although their path to the Basketball Champions League ended sooner than expected in the Qualification Rounds, Nizhny Novgorod decided to continue their international journey in the FIBA Europe Cup.

The head coach of the team, Zoran Lukic, stressed the importance of playing in an international competition for the growth of the team's younger players, which are aplenty on this somewhat surprisingly Russian squad.

Other than the sharpshooting big man Stevan Jelovac and former Kormend playmaker Sterling Gibbs, the rest of the team has been put together from domestic players, most of whom are in the 22-26-year-old range with only a couple of minor exceptions.

There were quite a few roster moves over the summer, which have changed the face of Nizhny Novgorod quite drastically, but the club did manage to hold on to the Almaty-born former CSKA Moscow man Ivan Strebkov, who was one of the team's leaders last year and could play an even bigger role this season.

Stevan Jelovac is only one of two foreigners on the team

Star Player: Stevan Jelovac
Top Prospect: Ilia Popov
Path to the Regular Season: Lost to Telenet Antwerp Giants in the BCL QR2 (-7)
European Record in 2016-17: 5-9 in the EuroCup, Top 16
Domestic Performance in 2016-17: 9th place in the VTB League Regular Season

FALCO VULCANO

After a year without FIBA Europe Cup action, Falco Vulcano are making their return to the competition as Hungarian Basketball Division A runners-up and with an intriguing combination of youth and experience on the squad.

Having not made it out of the Regular Season in their 2015-16 campaign, the Srecko Sekulovic-coached Szombathely side will be looking for a happier ending this season behind the one-two punch of Darrin Govens and Zoltan Perl.

Keeping the team's top-scorer Govens on the books for another season and acquiring Perl from Italian side Treviso Basket were the biggest achievements of the summer for the Falcons, with Julian Norfleet and Milos Borisov standing out as important additions as well.

The 22-year-old Perl was an important player for the Hungarian national team at FIBA EuroBasket 2017, averaging 12.0 points against elite competition. In general, the youth movement is strong in Szombathely, with 7 of the 13 registered players on the FIBA Europe Cup squad born in 1995 or after.

Darrin Govens eclipsed 20 points per game last season in Hungary

Star Player: Darrin Govens
Top Prospect: Zoltan Perl
Path to the Regular Season: Defeated Balkan in the FIBA Europe Cup QR2 (+11)
European Record in 2016-17: N/A
Domestic Performance in 2016-17: Hungarian Basketball Division A runners-up – 4th place in the Regular Season; 2nd place in the Second Round; lost to Alba Fehervar 3-2 in the Finals

KARPOSH SOKOLI

Karposh Sokoli have been building towards bigger things for a while now and that moment has finally come, as the club from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia are gearing up for their FIBA Europe Cup debut.

The on-the-rise Falcons celebrated their first trophy of national significance last season, going all the way to the top in the MKD Cup and defeating Feni Industries 80-69 in the Final, while finishing second behind MZT Skopje in the domestic championship.

Dragan Labovic and Darko Sokolov are the only remaining notable members from last year's squad, with Jaylon Brown, Thaddus McFadden, Nenad Delic and MKD international Kiril Nikolovski filling the vacancies that were open after last season.

McFadden, a known three-point specialist in FIBA Europe Cup circles, co-owned the league record with 8 triples made in a single game until last season's three-point bonanza in the Play-Offs, when he was overtaken by Spencer Butterfield and John Roberson.

Thaddus McFadden was arguably the biggest summer acquisition for Sokoli

Star Player: Thaddus McFadden
Top Prospect: Andrej Atanasov
Path to the Regular Season: Lost to Kalev Cramo in the BCL QR1 (-5)
European Record in 2016-17: N/A
Domestic Performance in 2016-17: MKD First League runners-up – 3rd in the Second Stage; lost to MZT Skopje 3-2 in the Finals – and MKD Cup winners; 10th place in the ABA League Regular Season

FIBA