By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
A lot has been said about the new format of the 7DAYS EuroCup which has a long regular season and then knock-out elimination phases.
That’s the perfect setup for upsets, as was proven last year by Frutti Extra Bursaspor, which had an 8-10 regular season record yet managed to upset teams all the way to the EuroCup Final.
So which are the teams this season that so far do not have stellar records, but could still make an admirable run? Eurohoops picked four prime candidates for this role of sleeper.
Prometey Slobozhanske (5-4, Group A)
Τhis is an easy pick. Prometey are newcomers in the competition but have veterans like DJ Kennedy, DJ Stephens, Ondrej Balvin, Dustin Hogue, Gian Clavell, and Oleksandr Lypovyy on the roster. Don’t forget also talented Issuf Sanon and head coach Ronen Ginzburg.
The fact that due to the ongoing war in Ukraine they were forced to relocate to Riga, Latvia, can only make them more resilient in difficult situations. We have seen in the past how that works: Partizan went all the way to the EuroLeague trophy in 1992 after relocating to Spain due to the war in Yugoslavia.
Plus Prometey has one of the best scoring averages in the competition so far, and having the ability to score in the modern game can only help you produce results that nobody expects.