Here are five players we recommend you consider for your EuroCup Fantasy Challenge teams this week.
Fantasy tips: And then there were four!
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3 Mins read
The 7DAYS EuroCup Playoffs have been as exciting as ever - if not more - with upsets, big wins, strong individual performances and wild game nights that some fans will never forget. Two weeks ago, 16 teams stood tall in the race for the EuroCup title. Only four teams are left and I bet not many had these four names in mind when the playoffs began.
Frutti Extra Bursaspor was the only team to get back-to-back road wins to reach the semifinals; it defeated Partizan NIS Belgrade and Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana in front of massive sellout crowds to stay alive in the competition. It faces Andorra, which knocked out the top-seeded team, Gran Canaria, with a fourth-quarter comeback last week. On the other side of the bracket, Valencia Basket and Virtus Segafredo Bologna won both of their home games to reach the semifinals and battle for a championship game spot at La Fonteta.
As for the EuroCup Fantasy Challenge, only players from these four teams are available. Let's avoid each team's star - Andrew Andrews of Bursaspor, Codi Miller-McIntyre of Andorra, Bojan Dubljevic of Valencia and Milos Teodosic of Virtus - and look for cheaper options that can give you an edge in the race for the playoffs and finals prize. Here is one suggestion per team.
Onuralp Bitim, Frutti Extra Bursaspor (9.3 credits) - Andrews may get most of the attention, but Bitim has been outstanding since Bursaspor started to use a new rotation. Bitim had 14 points and 6 rebounds in the quarterfinals against Cedevita and was even better (20 points, 10 rebounds) in the eighthfinals against Partizan.
Oriol Pauli, MoraBanc Andorra (9.1 credits) - Pauli made it to the EuroCup Finals with Gran Canaria in 2015 and wants to return with Andorra seven years later. He played really well in the eighthfinals against Buducnost VOLI Pogdorica with 8 points, 7 rebounds and a PIR of 13. Andorra needs his versatility, character and experience on this stage.
Sam Van Rossom, Valencia Basket (9.5 credits) - Speaking of EuroCup experience, few have more than Van Rossom, a two-time champion with Valencia. Fully healthy now, Van Rossom had a season-high PIR of 20 - 15 points, 6 assists - against Virtus in Bologna earlier this season. When the game is on the line, Van Rossom should be running his team's offense.
Marco Belinelli, Virtis Segafredo Bologna (10.8 credits) - He has been quiet lately, but everyone who follows European basketball knows that Belinelli always steps up in big games. Belinelli and Virtus lost in the EuroCup Semifinals against UNICS Kazan last season and he will do his best to avoid that feeling again.