Valmiera and VEF Riga to face group leaders in FIBA Europe Cup round four

Latvian clubs Valmiera Glass/ViA and VEF Riga play at home tonight, 28 October, in the fourth round of the group stage of the FIBA Europe Cup, a European club basketball competition. Both games start at 7 p.m. Only two teams from each group advance from this opening stage, so every result affects the chances of going through.

Valmiera against Korfez Basket

Valmiera Glass/ViA, coached by Dāvis Čoders, welcome Korfez Basket of the Turkish Super League, currently top of Group F. Valmiera sit fourth with one win and two losses. This is the first of three consecutive home games: Britain's Manchester visit next week, and a week after that Kosovo's Bashkimi, who beat Valmiera in the opening game of the tournament.

Valmiera are without centre Prince Odžo, who has a serious ankle injury, so Verners Kohs has to play a large share of minutes at that position. In last weekend's domestic league game against VEF Riga, this led to a rapid build-up of fouls.

Korfez used to be the club from Manisa. After financial difficulties in 2024, its licence was handed to another organisation, and the team moved to Izmit in Kocaeli province, more than 400 kilometres away. Its roster includes guard Johnny Davis, picked 10th in the 2022 NBA draft, and 211-centimetre Australian centre Oscar Kluf.

VEF Riga against Mykonos

VEF Riga, led by coach Jevgēnijs Kosuškins, are third in Group H with two wins and one loss. In the previous round the team lost by eight points to Romania's Oradea. Opponents Mykonos, a Greek top-flight side from the island of Mykonos, lead the group with three wins. Rihards Aleksandrovs is expected to miss this game too because of an injury.