Puerto Rico
A week of play in Puerto Rico started with Hatillo getting a fantastic debut from McKenzie Forbes in one of the import slots as she had 31 points in their win over Ponce on Monday. Carolina had a tremendous start on Tuesday, but Juana Diaz recovered to leave with the win and then Isabela was the first team to five wins after prevailing against Caguas. Moca won at Hatillo on Wednesday in a battle of teams trying to get the early lead and then Manati climbed out of the last spot with a win over Santurce. There were three games on Thursday as Ponce stayed in last place after a loss to Carolina despite a lineup change. Juana Diaz won at Yauco and then Moca defeated Isabela in a battle of the two teams at the top of the standings.
Friday’s game was between teams looking to steer clear of last place by picking up their third wins and it was Caguas taking case of business at home against Manati. There were three games on Saturday and Carolina was first to finish with a win over Yauco. An absolute barnburner needed overtime to decide, but a 30 point, 20 rebound effort from Imani McGee-Stafford was not enough for Juana Diaz, which lost to Santurce. The last game was much more of a defensive battle, but Moca did grind out a win over Hatillo to stay all alone in first place. There were two games on Sunday as two teams were looking to avoid their fifth losses and Manati defeated Caguas. Ponce avoided getting stranded further at the bottom of the standings, getting 30 points from Talia Von Oelhoffen to recover from a blown lead for the win over Isabela.
El Salvador
It was a double-round week in El Salvador with San Salvador getting 22 rebounds from Anisleidy Galindo in a win over Santa Tecla on Wednesday. Salvadorenas won on both Thursday and Friday, breezing past Capitalinas and then getting 22 rebounds from Silvia Vega in a dominant second half against Santa Ana. A great game on Saturday saw Santa Tecla bounce back with a win thanks to 31 points from Elianis Armenteros as 32 points from Yenifer Jimenez ended up not being enough for Ahuachapan. Jimenez ended up having 30 points on Sunday and Monica Aristondo had 41 points to help Ahuachapan bounce back quickly by doubling up Capitalinas. San Salvador finished the weekend with a win over Santa Ana.
Europe
The first top division league to start play this season was in Belgium, which had a round of games that began on Wednesday. The Super Cup was contested in the Baltic with the semifinals on Friday and the medal games on Saturday. LCC International University defeated TSA, representing Estonia, in the bronze medal game. That result meant that Lithuanian teams would sweep the medals and Kibirkstis edged Neptunas after a second half comeback. A trophy was also awarded in the Netherlands with the Super Cup being played on Saturday and Grasshoppers got the win over Den Helder Suns. Cup play began in Iceland last weekend, but stats have not been available. Some lower division teams also started their cup journey in Germany.
Arab Club Championship
The most prestigious club tournament in the Arab world started on Wednesday with seven teams contesting this year’s championship in Medina, Saudi Arabia. The first game of round-robin play was fantastic with Olivia Epoupa recording 12 steals to help the defending bronze medalists Cosider from Algeria edge Al Hala of Bahrain. Raneem Elgedawy had 30 points and 22 rebounds for Al Fatat from Kuwait to make sure that they started with a win over Al Sharjah from the United Arab Emirates. Al Ula lost in the championship game last year, but were hoping things would turn out different in their home country, getting 33 quick points from Chennedy Carter for the win over Al Qurain of Kuwait, which got 31 points from A’Lexxus Davis.
On Thursday, Rebecca Akl helped Al Sharjah prevail in the opener with 39 points as Yacine Diop’s 32 points were not enough for Al Hala to get closer than a point. The defending champions, Al Fuheis from Jordan, were the last team to make their debut and looked strong in a decisive win over Al Qurain. Chennedy Carter closed the day with 42 points and Al Ula fended off Al Fatat.
There were three more games on Friday before the teams all got a rest day on Saturday. Al Fuheis had another easy win with a fast start against Al Sharjah. Cosider had their bye the day before and picked up their second win against Al Fatat, which was still looking for their first win. Al Hala lost their first two games by close margins and Yacine Diop’s 33 point effort was not enough this time either. Al Ula was the first team to three wins after getting 34 points from Chennedy Carter and 30 points from Queen Egbo.
Action resumed on Sunday for the second half of the round-robin and Cosider picked up their third win in the first game against Al Qurain. Winless teams met next with Al Hala looking ready to finally pick up a victory with another 33 points from Yacine Diop. Al Fatat made a dramatic comeback though after Raneem Elgedawy grabbed 24 rebounds. The day ended with a rematch of last year’s championship game and it was an excellent encounter. Chennedy Carter had 40 points as Al Ula led early, but Al Fuheis fought back in the second half and got the win to match the previous result.
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