ULEB Cup Draw profile: CEZ Nymburk
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No matter what happens in the Last 32 round, Czech Republic champion CEZ Basketball Nymburk can already claim an incredible success in its first ULEB Cup season. Thousands of fans have seen the club this season, a record-breaking crowd of 10,000 against Dynamo Moscow, the biggest ever for a Czech team - club or national - playing before home crowds. Even though it entered the season with a roster almost empty of ULEB experience, Nymburk survived Group F and reached the Last 32. Nymburk opened the season with a consecutive losses, 97-94 in overtime against Red Star and 82-71 against Beghelli in Bologna. Nymburk bounced back with a 75-65 home win against Panellinios behind 17 points and 9 rebounds from Rado Rancik, and then added another 81-75 triumph against Telindus Oostende with 22 points from Ladislav Sokolovsky. Nymburk dropped to 2-3 because of a 94-83 road loss against mighty Dynamo Moscow despite 22 points from Monty Mack but soon sent a big message all around the competition. Nymburk thrashed Red Star 74-96 in Belgrade,  in arguably the biggest win in club history. Rancik paced the winners with 23 points while Arthur Lee added 18 in a historical night for Czech basketball. It was the start of a three-game winning streak, as Nymburk downed Beghelli 82-70 in front of 7,120 fans with 25 points from the ever-present Rancik and soon added a 77-86 road triumph against Panellinios to move up to 5-3 behind 20 points each from Mack and Rancik. Despite getting consecutive losses against Oostende and Dynamo, Nymburk advanced to the Last 32 as one of the best fourth-ranked teams in the competition. Rancik was third in the regular season index ranking (21.6), fourth in scoring (20.5 ppg.), second in steals (2.7 spg.) and eighth in foul drawn (5.1). Expect 10,000 fans to back Nymburk in the Last 32, as a serious organization that has improved with regular, ambitious steps and can now claim to be bringing glory days back to Czech basketball.
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POST-DRAW REACTIONS | CEZ Nymburk general manager, Jiri Zidek:"It's unbelievable that both games will be played in the Czech Republick and also both games will be played far from the home arenas of both teams, so it will be interesting. It is a great chance for our fans and Turow fans to see the games because they will be close to their homes. We are the underdogs here, we come off the fourth seed while Turow is first seed, probably the surprise of the regular season. I think they are a very unpleasant team to play because they play 40 minutes of high pressure defense and they have done a marvelous job in the regular season. But these are the playoffs and we will prepare to try for them the best way we can." |
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