Czech champions Gambrinus Sika Brno and the team that is trying to knock them off the throne, ZVVZ USK Prague, have raced out to 2-0 starts in the Czech women's top flight, the ZBL.

Lotos PKO BP Gdynia coach Jacek Winnicki expects some very hard games this season in the EuroLeague Women.

The Polish club landed in Group C with Spanish champions Ros Casares, Russian powerhouses UMMC Ekaterinburg, Czech giants ZVVZ USK Prague, French outfit Union Hainaut Basket and Croatians Jolly Sibenik.

The new-look team that added Spanish internationals Amaya Valdemoro and Anna Montañana, and Czech national team players Jana Vesela and Ivana Vecerova to their already star-studded squad, achieved its first aim on Thursday by winning the Supercopa Femenina in Valencia.

Australia international Kristi Harrower is on the way out at Russian giants UMMC Ekaterinburg but the point guard has firmly declared her interest in playing in Europe again this season.

The 33-year-old, fresh off her silver-medal winning performance at the Olympics with the Opals, was told by Ekaterinburg that she was surplus to requirements two weeks ago.

Kristi Harrower played a vital role for UMMC Ekaterinburg in their run to the 2008 EuroLeague Women Final Four and is still under contract with the club, but the point guard looks set to leave in order to return home to Australia.

The 33-year-old playmaker has confirmed she is in negotiations with the Russian giants about a release and is likely to play for her hometown club of Bendigo.

Basketball is on a high in Slovakia after the national team's successful qualifying campaign for next year's EuroBasket Women, and the city of Kosice in particular is buzzing with excitement.

Kosice hosted two of the team's games that Slovakia won to earn a place in the Final Round in Riga, Latvia.

A new-look USK Prague won the 24th Krasznai Ferenc International Women Basketball Tournament in Hungary at the weekend.

Hosts MKB Euroleasing Sopron finished runners-up, Maxima Broker Kosice third and MiZo-Pécs 2010 fourth.