The first day of the EuroLeague Women Final Four is in the books and for our money we got plenty of great basketball including an overtime thriller between Bourges and hosts Brno.

In the great tradition of the Faurie Files here are some news and notes from the semi-finals.

Gambrinus Brno coach Jan Bobrovsky and his players lived to fight another day after a stunning overtime victory against Bourges in Friday's second game at the EuroLeague Women Final Four.

The Czech giants won 90-81 and are now just one victory away from a second European title in three years, but they will have to overcome defending champions Spartak Moscow Region on Sunday.

Lauren Jackson erupted for 35 points and Tina Thompson weighed in with 24 as Spartak Moscow Region beat fellow Russian heavyweights UMMC Ekaterinburg in the opening game of the EuroLeague Women Final Four on Friday in Brno.

Jackson, the Australia international superstar, also had 12 rebounds as the defending champions won 78-68 but she played the last several minutes in discomfort after injuring her foot.

The big day is coming! Who will take Spartak's Euroleague crown? Will it be a Spartak repeat or will Ekaterinburg, Brno or Bourges take home the title? In the last three seasons, the club who organized the Final Four kept the cup: Samara in 2005, Brno in 2006, and Spartak in 2007.

We asked some of our experts what they thought about this Czech spring. Before the quarter final round, Sandra Valuzyte (TEO Vilnius), Kathy Wambe (Villeneuve d'Ascq) and Nicole Ohlde (Valenciennes) gave relevant analysis.

When the basketball gods sat in the heavens and considered how to make the perfect player, they must have had Lauren Jackson in mind.

Tall, slim, and full of power, Jackson is the complete package on the basketball court.