ZARAGOZA (Spain) - ZVVZ USK Praha rode a roller-coaster to collect their second EuroLeague Women title as they saw off CIMSA CBK Mersin 66-53 at the first ever Final Six in Zaragoza. The Czech club added to the title they won on their home floor in 2015, while also handing retiring head coach Natalia Hejkova a sixth EuroLeague Women title in the perfect ending to her amazing career.
Turning point
Having not scored for almost eight minutes in the third quarter, Praha were stone cold and saw their 17-point advantage at 37-20 wiped out completely. Mersin were riding the crest of a wave and sensing a famous comeback victory at 42-42, but Praha scored the last 7 points of the period and it settled their nerves and got them back on track. That included a huge shot-clock beating triple from Tereza Vyoralova.
Game heroes
Brionna Jones was immense. A towering centerpiece of the win as she finished with a performance efficiency valuation of 30 as she finished the contest with 24 points and 11 rebounds.
There were others too - including Valeriane Ayayi who scored 11 point in a row and gave Praha the confidence to believe early with 14 points in the first quarter. While Vyoralova made two incredible triples when her team needed them most.
Stats don't lie
Mersin had a lot of firepower from the wings heading into this one with the likes of Marine Johannes, Bridget Carleton and Karlie Samuelson. But as a team, they could only manage to sink 6 of 24 attempts. That cost them and 53 points is rarely ever going to be enough to win a major title.
Bottom line
Having dug out the win against Schio in the Quarter-Finals, Praha then produced a near perfect game against Fenerbahce Opet for a huge upset. Playing some classic and simple basketball they did a phenomenal job. But could they make it three wins at Final Six? They got hot and stormed 17-points ahead. When that amazing work was erased by Mersin and they were in the middle of a terrible drought, they could have crumbled.
But they re-grouped and got the job done. Everyone played their part - the lead performers and the supporting cast. But perhaps most of all, the sensational Hollywood ending for Coach Hejkova. Many people thought that the extra star power of Mersin would see them make history. But they came up short after having to expend so much to get back on level terms having fallen 17 points behind. They showed great strength to do that, but you just can't have a roster like they have and only score 53 points in such a huge game. But the positive is that they have now made the Final two times in three seasons, so they are knocking on the door.
They said
“I think I am still a little in shock. Coming out in first half we got the lead early coming into half-time, they threw their punch in the third quarter and tied it up. But we took care of little things to pull out the game. I was emotional and with two minutes left, I was holding back tears.” ZVVZ USK Praha center and MVP Brionna Jones
“It was nice how we started. There was problem in second half. Mersin started to play very aggressive and we didn’t score for eight minutes. But it was also great that they didn’t score too much. But in the last quarter it was back to how it had been for us in the whole tournament. I am am proud of this team. It was really emotional," ZVVZ USK Praha head coach Natalia Hejkova
“Give credit to Prague they did a very good job. We turned the ball over a lot. We fought to the end and we didn’t give up. This is a learning point for our team. Everyone did their job their whole season and I am proud of what I have done for this club and for this team.” CIMSA CBK Mersin forward Natasha Howard
“Firstly I want to congratulate Praha. They deserved to be champions. They have had an advantage of playing many years together. We started very badly, but came back in the third quarter. I want to congratulate my players too. They gave everything on the court.” CIMSA CBK Mersin head coach Ahmet Kandemir
FIBA