After seven long years of absence, BC Prievidza are finally back on the international stage. Tonight at 19h, we host Hungarian top team Alba Fehérvár in the first leg of FIBA Europe Cup qualifiers. While a packed and raucous Športová hala should create a considerable home court advantage, our opponents bring ample experience and quality. Time to take a closer look at our obstacle on the way to the competition’s group phase.

Identifying Alba’s main Players to Watch is a tough task because there are just too many options. At the point guard position, David Nichols provides exceptional quickness and scoring from all distances. Embarking on his sixth season in Europe, the 28-year-old American has figured among the top scorers in Cyprus, Slovenia, Belgium and the French second division. Last year, he averaged 18.5 points and almost six assists per game for fellow Hungarian team Sopron KC.

He is joined in Alba’s backcourt by Tyler Thomas, one of the more exciting “rookies” to cross the “big pond” to Europe this summer. After averaging more than 20 points per game in NCAA Division I college ball, he earned a spot on the Chicago Bulls’ NBA Summer League team in July.

The forward positions are manned by Marko Filipovity and Jeriah Horne. Filipovity, a regular on the Hungarian National Team, has toured the top leagues in Europe in recent years, with stints in ACB Spain, Serie A Italy and BBL Germany. Horne, another former NBA Summer League participant, spent his first season overseas in Poland. Both are athletic and extremely dangerous from behind the three-point line.

At the center spot, Andrew Smith, an American with a Latvian passport, is known for highflying dunks and the occasional three-pointer. His resume counts no fewer than eleven countries. Furthermore, Alba’s Spanish Head Coach Alejandro Zubillaga can afford the luxury to bring his most household name from the bench on most occasions: 34-year-old David Vojvoda is a big guard who was the heart and soul of Szolnok’s successful Eurocup and Basketball Champions League team and now goes into his fifth year as “face of the franchise” for Fehérvár.

An impressive roster with a plethora of weapons, plenty of experience in European competitions, big ambitions in the domestic league - it is not hard to identify Alba Fehérvár as the clear favorites for this tie. However, basketball thrives on upsets and Cinderella stories. With the backing of the Prievidza faithful and with forty minutes of fight, effort and resilience, there is still a chance to obtain an advantageous result for the second leg in Hungary on Friday. It is a big mountain to conquer, but Saša Jankovič’s troops will be packing the climbing gear.

Photo: Alba Fehervar/@albafehervar