RSV Lahn-Dill will be hosting in March 2014
After 2005 and 2009 Wetzlar will be hosting a European competition for the third time in the coming year. The IWBF Europe has assigned the tournaments for EuroLeague 1 and has accepted the bids of Toulouse, Guilianova and RSV Lahn-Dill. At the three cities 15 club-teams will be fighting to get into the Champions Cup final round, which will be taking place from the 2nd until the 4th of May 2014 in the Spanish capital Madrid.
Wetzlar will be hosting for the two Italian top-teams Padua Millenium Baskets and GSD Anmic Sassari, the French Hyeres Handiclub as well as Sporting Club Rhinos from Great Britain on the 7th and 8th of March. The two top-teams of this round-robin will then qualify for the Champions Cup Final in Madrid, whilst team number three will be going to André-Vergauwen-Cup in Getafe, Spain, one week earlier.
The reputation of the club RSV Lahn-Dill and the region of Middle Hesse becomes clear once again, after winning the bid for Wetzlar. It was the third time the club bid for hosting an event, and for the third time they won it. So after the Champions Cup 2005 and the 2009 now the EuroLeague, which was only introduced in four years ago, will take place in Wetzlar. The team surrounding captain Micheal Paye is planning on booking their tickets to the final round that weekend, which the team wants to take place in for the eleventh time in a row since 2004.
The EuroLeague means a reunion with old mates for Joe Bestwick, who came over last summer from Rhinos in Wolverhampton after winning the national double with them in 2011. Their best-known player is national-player John Hall, who moved back to England from Santo Stefano. The Millenium Baskets will come with the Italian national-player Ahmed Raourahi, one of the best 1.5-players in Europe. The team has also been reinforced by Spanish national-players Jordi Ruiz and Agustin Alejos. The games against Rhinos and Padua will be RSV’s first EuroCup games against these teams. Old acquaintances though are the six-fold Italian champions GSD Anmic Sassari from Sardinia. In 2004 in Madrid and 2006 in Istanbul both teams were fighting in the Champions Cup Final, both times RSV won. The Wetzlar team also have played French team Hyeres HC, playing with US-centre Joshua Turek, three times and won each game against them.
EuroLeague 1, Group A in Wetzlar: GSD Anmic Sassari (ITA) Hyéres Handiclub (FRA) Padua Millenium Baskets (ITA) Wolverhampton Rhinos (GBR) RSV Lahn-Dill.
EuroLeague 1, Group B in Giulianova (ITA): Besiktas Istanbul (TUR) CS Meaux (FRA) GSD Porto Torres (ITA) RSC-Rollis Zwickau (GER) Amicacci Giulianove (ITA).
EuroLeague 1, Group C in Toulouse (FRA): Beit Halochem Tel Aviv (ISR) BSR Ace Gran Canaria (ESP) SSD Santa Lucia Rom (ITA) Unipol Briantea ´84 Cantu (ITA) Toulouse IC (FRA).