The Alpe Adria Cup is entering its next era and a new chapter. In January, the first ever women’s version of this competition will take place in Maribor, Slovenia!
The Alpe Adria Cup is currently in its 7th edition and every year it manages to attract more quality teams, improve its image and promotion. The beginning of January will be a test for everyone to see if the management of the competition can start a similar project with women’s teams. Marek Imre, the head of the competition, explains the reasons for the first ever tournament: „Within the national basketball federations, we have been thinking about a female version of the AAC for a long time. Unfortunately, the calendars of national leagues did not allow us to create a full-fledged confrontation between our women’s clubs. However, I am glad that we have found space for at least this winter tournament, which will help the clubs to fine-tune their form before the crucial part of the season. We believe that this tournament is just the first step on the road that will lead to the creation of a women’s version of the AAC, possibly as early as next season.“
On 7 and 8 January 2023, Maribor, Slovenia, will host the first women’s AAC event. Who will we see at the first ever tournament?
The home VBO Maribor once played the Women’s Adriatic League, and will try the European confrontation again after 12 years. „We are very glad to be a participant of first AAC women Tournament. After few years we finally got an interesting regional competition to spread basketball friendships and play basketball with clubs from different countries. This year we are celebrating 75 years of organized playing of basketball in our city. Maribor is Slovenian second biggest university city with the oldest grape in the world, beautiful nature, and sports infrastructure. We are looking forward to seeing you in Maribor,“ said the president of the Maribor club Iztok Puhek
Austrian basketball is currently represented by the second team of the local competition, UBI Graz. Once a participant of the Central European League (CEWL) or the Slovak-Austrian competition (ASWBL), it has long been one of the top teams at home. „The AAC Women’s Tournament is an event and a competition UBI Graz was waiting for. International competitions are important experiences for the development of athletes and sport teams. After the CEWL the Central European Women League shut down 3 years ago due to corona, there was no possibility to compete on an international level for our team. With the Alpe Adria Cup for Women arises a new format which will fill this gap. We welcome this new opportunity and are looking forward to meeting the other teams, making new friends and offering attractive games to the basketball community,“ revealed to us president of Graz Sebastian Eger-Mraulak
ŽKK Medveščak Zagreb, another of the top teams in their country, will arrive from Croatia. The team from the capital is not afraid of European challenges, having played in the Eurocup or Adriatic League in the past.
This quartet is rounded off by KAŽL Split, for whom this will be a premiere in terms of international confrontation. A year ago the club played in the second highest competition, now it belongs to the narrow top in Croatia. “We are happy to have received an invitation to AAC and we are grateful to HKS. We accepted the invitation with pleasure as AAC represents something new for us as a club, going beyond Croatia. It is an opportunity to see how our team can compete with teams from other countries, but also to develop friendships, and it is as an excellent preparation for the continuation of the season. We are looking forward to the competition, we wish all participants and organizers all the best in 2023,” stated coach of Split Vjeko Lokica.
AAC Women’s Winter Tournament, 7-8 January 2023, Maribor/Slovenia:
Saturday 7th January
13.00 h: UBI Graz – KAŽL Split
15.30 h: VBO Maribor – ŽKK Medveščak Zagreb
Sunday 8th January
13.00 h: 3rd place game
15.30 h: Finals
