Graphic: Mārtiņš Zaļūksnis
It`s time for the season`s first game in Poland as Enea Zastal Zielona Gora will face Šiauliai (1-0) on Wednesday, September 27. Tipoff at 18:30 Polish time.
Series history: Zastal Zielona Gora defeated Šiauliai, 78-73, and advanced to the ENBL playoffs on January 25, 2023, at the TalTech Spordihoone in Tallinn, Estonia.
A former UCLA guard Bryce Alford became the fourth player in the ENBL history to score 30 points in a single game.
Key matchup: both teams have impressive centers – Geoffrey Groselle plays for Zielona Gora, while Tomaš Pavelka is a newcomer at Šiauliai.
Groselle scored seven points, grabbed 11 rebounds and forced seven fouls in the Polish league opener against Legia Warszawa.
A former Creighton standout (2012-2016) won the Polish Cup with Zielona Gora in 2021 and was recognized as the PLK Most Valuable Player.
Pavelka stood out in the Šiauliai win over CSO Voluntari as the big man posted a team high 19 points and 14 rebounds.
National championships: Enea Zastal Zielona Gora lost the Orlen PLK opener against Legia Warszawa, 90-72, on September 22 at the Polish capital.
Novak Musič (#8) scored 16 points and dished out seven assists for the visiting team.
Šiauliai improved to 1-1 in the LKL play after defeating Neptūnas Klaipeda, 90-82, on September 24.
Jonathan Davis (#11) led the home team with 22 points.
A former Charlotte 49er has a 2-0 record with the Sun City team.
Know your referees
Crew chief: Tomasz Trawicki (Poland) – a FIBA referee from 2005 and Euroleague referee from 2010.
Umpire 1: Andzej Urbanovic (Lithuania) – a Top 10 referee from Lithuania and a FIBA referee from 2019.
Umpire 2: Tomasz Langowski (Poland) – an Orlen PLK referee from 2017 and a FIBA referee from 2021.
Observer: Oskars Lucis (Latvia) – ENBL head of referees.
ENBL access: follow the game on YouTube live stream https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLOGCBDLKuk .
Format
Four best teams from each group will qualify for the playoffs (A1-B4, A2-B3, A3-B2, A4-B1).
The 2024 playoffs – home and away, best-of-two series – will take place from February 1 until March 20.
The 2024 Final Four will take place on April 9-10.