KAYSERI (EuroLeague Women) – Greece national team veteran Styliani Kaltsidou is relieved at having helped Agu Spor Kulubu to re-ignite their EuroLeague Women play-off hopes.

The Turkish club claimed a historical first Final Eight berth during their rookie campaign last year, but after four losses in their first five games this time around, things looked bleak when they headed to Orenburg earlier this week.

However, they breathed life into their hopes of making the post-season after claiming a hard-fought 53-49 success at Nadezhda, with Kaltsidou making two huge threes during crunch time.

"The game was very important for us and we wanted to win so much," said the 31-year-old.

"We played very good defence on both sides of the court and I believe we deserved the victory."

It was hard to watch for Nadezhda head coach George Dikeoulakos, the Greece national team play-caller who will utilise the skills and experience of Kaltsidou at EuroBasket Women Final Round in Hungary and Romania next year.

He said, "In the days before the game, I kept telling my team that the position Agu Spor stood in the rankings was not a real state of things and not a real picture of their team.

"However, the result was not a result of how the opponent played, but was all about how we played.

"We were not a team and we were too nervous and that decided the game."

It meant Nadezhda lost ground at the top of Group B and now share third spot with Bourges, who responded to last week’s crumbling at Fenerbahce with a 72-54 home success against Energa Torun.

CB Avenida and Fenerbahce both marched to comfortable wins, with Avenida romping to an 88-55 at Brno and Fenerbahce producing a late barrage of points to triumph 75-59 at Beretta Famila Schio.

There was no celebration in Group A for Eva Viteckova, who set a new record for EuroLeague Women appearances at a magnificent 244 games.

The ZVVZ USK Prague veteran passed Ann Wauters in the all-time list, but wasn’t able to mark the occasion with a win as her team gave up a 15 point lead at Dynamo Kursk to eventually fall to a 70-65 defeat.

Another veteran legend in Diana Taurasi turned on the style for UMMC with 16 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists as the Russian juggernaut waltzed past Good Angels Kosice 71-51 inside the Steel Arena.

Finally, there was a day to remember for 2012 Olympian Jenna O’Hea, as she finally found top gear for Basket Lattes Montpellier Agglomeration to help them secure a precious 72-62 triumph against Wisla Can-Pack.

The Opals’ star had struggled during the first few games of her maiden EuroLeague Women season, but reminded everyone of her ability with a 16-point haul.

FIBA