The Alpe Adria Cup season 2022/2023 has the main part – the playoffs – ahead of it. The top 8 teams from the group stage now go to fight for a place in the Final Four.
The first duel on the schedule for Wednesday 25 January is the Czech-Slovak duel between Pardubice and Spišská Nová Ves (17.30 h). Both teams played in the previous Final Four, so it is now clear that for one the competition will end in the quarter-finals. „In the quarter-finals of the Alpe Adria Cup we will face Pardubice, one of the best teams in the Czech league for a long time. They have several experienced and quality players in their team. They play good, organized and tough basketball. The home players have been there for a few years, so they’re well-matched. We are looking forward to the big challenge ahead of us. We are going to Pardubice to fight for the best possible result to be in the best position before the home game. We are in this competition mainly to play such matches against teams from better competitions. This is for the Final Four of the Alpe Adria Cup, so I expect a great motivation of the home team, we have to be as prepared as possible,” revealed the coach of Spišskí Rytieri Teo Hojć.
At 17.45 h the next match will also be played in the Czech Republic, the newcomer from Kolín will face Vienna. For GEOSAN it is a great debut in this competition, which Filip Rytina realizes: “Making it to the Alpe Adria Cup play-offs was one of our goals for this season. Even if we play Vienna, who won their group and are the clear leader of the Austrian league, we want to succeed and reach the semi-finals! If we build on the performance we gave in the second half in Ostrava, we have a chance to succeed.” Vienna is another participant of the previous Final Four and would like to repeat its participation among the top four once again. “After the important victory in Gmunden, we already have the next important game coming up. With Kolín, a strong team is waiting for us. Our goal is to get to the Final Four, so we will do everything we can to come off the field as winners in the next two games,“ stated Enis Murati.
At 18.00 h Šibenka and Komárno will play each other for the first time in the quarter-finals and play-offs of the Alpe Adria Cup. Both teams are among the pleasant surprises of this year. “Šibenka has a very good team, which is at the top of the Croatian league, has the best defense, is the leader in rebounding and they currently have a 7-0 record at home. They are ambitious, have a young squad and a quality coach. It’s going to be a tough game for us, also because of the long travel and our game schedule. I hope that with our energy we will be able to match them so that we have a chance to succeed. We are really happy that in the new era of basketball in Komárno we managed to be among the top eight in the Alpe Adria Cup. We want to achieve even more, but we’ll see if it’s enough for the Final Four. We will fight and do our best, it’s only the first half, the second half is waiting for us at home,” said coach Zlatko Jovanović.
Wednesday’s programme will conclude with a match between Dabrowa Górnicza and Timisoara (18.00). The Romanian team, as a wild card holder, has only the highest ambitions. “We have the misfortune to meet one of the favourites to win the competition in the quarter-finals, at least according to their roster. Dabrowa started the season slower, but they changed a few players and climbed towards the middle of the ranking, so I expect a very tough match. We don’t know much about the team, but we managed to find enough information. The atmosphere at the games is great, with a full house and a big crowd. We are playing against a team from a country with a tradition and a huge increase in interest in basketball, after Poland played in the European Championship semi-finals last year,” said the coach of Timisoara Dragan Petričević.
Schedule of the 1st matches of the quarter-finals of the Alpe Adria Cup (Wednesday 25 January):
17.30 h: BK KVIS Pardubice – Spišskí Rytieri
17.45 h: BC GEOSAN Kolín – BC GGMT Vienna
18.00 h: GKK Šibenka – BC Komárno
18.00 h: MKS Dabrowa Górnicza – SCM Ohma Mozzart Bet Timisoara
