Lotos PKO BP Gdynia had high hopes of adding another prominent American to their roster and those were realized this week when the club signed two-time Olympic gold-medal winner Tamika Catchings of the United States.

Catchings, one of the USA's best players at the Beijing Games, was due to turn out for Lotos PKO BP last season but while playing for the Indiana Fever in September (2007), she suffered an Achilles injury and that prevented her from joining up with the Polish side.

Elena Tornikidou is 43 years young.

And that is very good news for Ros Casares, the team she is playing vital minutes for again this season.

UMMC Ekaterinburg have finally confirmed they have parted with Kristi Harrower and replaced her at point guard with Cappie Pondexter.

Harrower helped Ekaterinburg reach the EuroLeague Final Four but the club wanted to make a change at the position and have lured Pondexter, an all-star at Fenerbahce the past two seasons, to Russia.

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.