Asia
The first two games of the finals were played in Japan this weekend. The Iris built a lead by halftime to take the opener on Saturday. The Antelopes bounced back to tie the series on Sunday. All of the games take place at the same neutral site where there will be at least two more games next weekend.
The regular season concluded in South Korea after two more games. The S-Birds finished in last place by four games, but did finish a big closing run with a win over Hana Bank on Wednesday. Woori Bank needed a win on Friday to grab the last playoff spot and managed to take care of business against the Blue Minx.
The playoffs continued in China with the quarterfinals complete and semifinals getting started. The series to determine the composition of next season’s groups also finished with Henan joining Hefei, Hebei, and Liaoning with wins. There were some big statlines in those games, including 50 points from Jaime Nared canceling out a 34 point game from Dong Keer. Anneli Maley had 35 and 33 point games while her teammate Kaela Davis had 37 points in the latter and Ana Pocek had 30 points for the opposition. Kai James had the biggest rebounding game by grabbing 21 boards.
Americas
The regular season concluded in Argentina and all of the playoff series had their first games this week.
There were two games in Brazil on Wednesday as Araraquara won at Uninassau and Campinas breezed past Sao Jose. Santo Andre just fended off Mesquita on Thursday. Araraquara had an easy win over Salvador on Friday. Sampaio sailed past Maringa on Saturday. Cerrado’s second half was the difference on Sunday in a win over Santo Andre.
The week in Mexico started with a Thursday-Friday series that was a Cancun sweep over Irapuato. Aguascalientes swept San Luis Potosi in a Friday-Saturday series. The other two series were Saturday-Sunday and both were sweeps. Chihuahua defeated Leon and Monterrey defeated Tamaulipas.
There were only two games in El Salvador this week and both were played on Tuesday as the first round-robin was completed. Ruth Aracena had a 26 point, 21 rebound, 10 assist triple-double in Santa Ana’s win over Ahuachapan. Salvadorenas had a close game, but stayed undefeated with a win over Metapan.
Australia
The holiday weekend meant that not all of the NBL1 conferences played games, but the Central did have a full round. An abbreviated round in the South saw Olivia Pollerd score 45 points in a win for the Bendigo Braves as her teammate Kelly Wilson had an incredible 20 assists. Dallas Loughridge had 30 points in a loss for the Casey Cavaliers. Sami Whitcomb had 42 points in her first game for the Rockingham Flames in the West conference.
Most of the games in North West Tasmania were on Tuesday as Burnie defeated Ulverstone. Bekki Kalaydjiev had a 14 point, 14 rebound, 10 steal triple-double in Devonport’s win over Wynyard. Ellie Collins had 34 points to lead Penguin in a win over Somerset, which got 20 rebounds from Stacey Whiteroad. The last game was on Thursday and Rhonda Price had 25 rebounds, but Smithton lost to Latrobe.
Around Europe
Japreece Dean had 32 points for Kibirkstis to help them secure the Baltic against Riga. Neptunas had an easy win over LCC International University in the bronze medal game. Ulriken Eagles defeated Asker Aliens in the deciding game of the finals in Norway. Zaida Gonzalez had 35 points in the Czech playout. Alexis Whitfield had a 31 point game and Keira Robinson had a 13 point, 11 rebound, 12 assist triple-double to start the playoffs in Switzerland. The start of the playoffs in Israel included 40 points from Kseniya Malashka, a 20 point, 22 rebound, 10 assist triple-double from Jennie Simms, 32 points from Anastasiia Boldyreva, and a 21 point, 12 rebound, and 11 assist triple-double from her teammate Eden Zipel. Ralitsa Kenareva had 15 assists in a game as the playoffs started in Bulgaria.
Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu had 35 points in Serbia’s playoffs. Olga Yatskovets had 35 points in Slovakia’s playoffs. Gabriela Raimundo had 33 points in a loss in Portugal’s playoffs. Jaela Johnson had 44 points in the playoffs in the Netherlands. The playoffs started in Montenegro and Zutorya Cook had games of 36 and 44 points. There were more big performances in Iceland’s playoffs, including 20 rebounds from Asta Grimsdottir, 34 points from Molly Kaiser, 33 points from Amandine Toi, a 17 point, 16 rebound, 10 assist triple-double from Keishana Washington.
Chase for Promotion
Young Antonina Glukhova had 43 points to close the regular season in Ukraine’s second division. Sienna Durr had 38 points in Portugal’s second division. In Lithuania’s second division, Alma Lekeviciute-Kriuniene had a 20 rebound game and Eva Kavaliauskaite had a 31 point game. The regular season ended in Italy’s second division, setting the playoff and playout field. The playoffs to determine who would be in Iceland’s top division next season continued with Leilani Kapinus turning in a 30 point game and Chloe Wilson scoring 40 points in a loss. Germany’s second division included a 32 point game from Neseya Parker-Williams and a 30 point game from Marta Miscenko. The other group had a 39 point game from Delia Moore in an overtime win. Emilie Raynaud had a 34 point game as the regular season finished in France’s second division and the all-important playoffs are set for promotion.
Notable Individual Performances
There were some big statlines in North Macedonia as Milica Jovanovic had 31 points, Dyani Robinson had 34 points, and Lauren Scott had 30 points. Brynn Masikewich had 33 points in the British league. The end of the regular season in Belgium included a 30 point game from Sam Van Buggenhout and a 32 point game from Aliyah Kenny.
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