Will Iniguez still produce some magic after switching to Sopron?
SOPRON (EuroLeague Women ) – We shine a spotlight on EuroLeague Women side Sopron Basket who have shaped a new-look roster for the 2017-18 campaign, including respected playcaller Roberto Iniguez.
SOPRON (EuroLeague Women ) – We shine a spotlight on EuroLeague Women side Sopron Basket who have shaped a new-look roster for the 2017-18 campaign, including highly respected playcaller Roberto Iniguez.
History: Since the millennium, Sopron have been an ever-present club in this tournament and through the highs and lows of their respective campaigns, have shown EuroLeague Women great respect as a competition by always looking to remain in it. They have reached the Final Four once previously and want to get back to being a regular challenger for the Play-Offs.
Major arrivals: Roberto Iniguez, Jelena Milovanovic, Angela Salvadores, Crystal Langhorne, Tina Jovanovic.
Major departures: Shenise Johnson, Tijana Ajdukovic, Sara Krnjic.
Players to watch: Serbia national team captain Jelena Milovanovic will run the show in her second spell with the club and will be a big scoring force, while her compatriot and rising star Aleksandra Crvendakic continues to become more and more influential as she matures. The addition of Crystal Langhorne takes the presence in the post to a new level and the veteran presence of Zsofia Fegyverneky on and off the court remains significant.
Flashback: Sopron fans will never forget 2009 when the club had a brilliant young team that made a run all the way to the Final Four in Salamanca – including Milovanovic.
Outlook: With an expert EuroLeague Women navigator like Coach Iniguez now at the helm, it would be foolish to write off Sopron as his track record is outstanding in the competition. They have a very good blend of emerging young players and not only Crvendakic and Salvadores, but also some excellent Hungarian players such as Debora Dubei.
They have firepower to trouble their opponents although it could all boil down to whether the players buy into the disciplined and hard-edged and well-drilled defensive requirements of Iniguez. After some challenging campaigns of late, the main task is to bring back the days when Sopron would always push hard to make the last eight. The UMMC Cup success was a nice sign in pre-season and good things look to be lying in wait.
FIBA