Post game from the final of Euroleague Women 2013

Last year, the Euroleague final 8 took place in Ekaterinburg, Russia. The two teams that qualified for the final were the host team UMMC Ekaterinburg and Fenerbahce from Turkey. It was the first time that a Turkish team succeeds this achievement. The final was a performance only for one, Ekaterinburg . As the website of fiba refers: “Overwhelming favourites throughout the season, the star-laden roster of UMMC Ekaterinburg finally delivered against expectation, crucially settling any early nerves with a blistering start to leave the hopes of their Turkish opponent hanging by a thread within a matter of minutes.”

The most interesting thing from this final is the effort of both teams to transfer the ball at the low post, while most of the set plays also ended with the isolation of the big player inside the basket.

If someone watches the game(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8nyVu7FxCg) the crucial point of the game was the offensive transition and the defense of the host team which took advantage from the early minutes. On the other hand Fenerbahce chose to defend with hedge-out on the pick-roll Russian team’s offense and tried to change the rhythm and the momentum of the game using match-up zone defense and full court pressure.

I present two set plays, one of each team that the coaches used for having a post game from the beginning of the game. I must notice the fact that the Russian team defended very well when the ball entered the low post or the paint with double team from the weak side. Finally, I show a baseline out of bounds that Ekaterinburg used, for understanding that the effort for post game was constant, even after baseline or sideline out of bounds.

The first play that used the Russian team for an easy post game is the following:

The point guard (2) after the post up sets a screen for the center (5)

The Turkish team used a more complicated way to pass the ball inside, using a flex at the end of this play:

Finally, the hosts had a baseline out of bound with Diana Taurasi at the position 2 who after the throw-in set a screen for the center.

I am looking forward to your views, ideas, objections, considerations via my email: kitsoleris@hotmail.com or at twitter @Gkitsoleris. And since 2014 at Facebook: George Kitsoleris