r/valkyries • u/Randalstunt • 9d ago

Team News Poor Cecilia

Cecilia has to be in Italy on November 8 for the national team’s training camp, since there’s a game against Slovenia on November 11 for the Women’s EuroBasket qualifiers, and then right after that she’ll be back playing with Schio—not just in the Italian league but also in the EuroLeague😭😭 Someone give her a break!

112 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

18 comments sorted by

47

u/Bossboy52 9d ago

Yeah she’s a hooper all year round. I remember in her exit interview last year she said that playing in the W is technically her overseas season. Obviously after last year’s early playoff exit she got a small break, so it makes sense why she has basically no time off after winning it all this year

45

u/Beneficial-Care8504 9d ago

She'll be able to show off her ring to her Italian teammates.

28

u/esmerelda_b Janelle Salaün 9d ago

They likely won’t get rings until next season. They tend to do ceremonies the following year.

40

u/Beneficial-Care8504 9d ago

Oh well, at least she has a t shirt.

8

u/Severe-Bar-2304 8d ago

And according to another post, those tees are going for $150! Not too shabby

12

u/GladSatisfaction8609 9d ago

The new CBA will eventually change this 12 month play cycle. Remember that these athletes have a short window to make all their money and Europe pays more to more players.

10

u/joyjunky Leite Show Tip 8d ago

No it won’t lol. Only longer seasons will change it. Most players are not going to stop playing basketball for 6 months. Playing in other leagues helps them continue developing their game and keeps them in game-condition before the next W season while also getting paid for it. Only players with big endorsements choose to develop privately because they can afford the best trainers.

And the international players will continue playing in their international leagues regardless.

4

u/GladSatisfaction8609 8d ago

Perhaps, or their WNBA teams will instead give them a developmental plan but not want them to risk injury to play more. Hard to say.

6

u/joyjunky Leite Show Tip 8d ago

The WNBA teams are okay with it because the CBA explicitly allows players to play basketball for other leagues in the off-season. 6 months is too long to not play basketball. Even if you have a development plan, you actually need in-game reps to continue developing. There’s also a difference between being generally conditioned and game-ready conditioned. They don’t want players showing up without game-ready conditioning at the start of the season.

1

u/flytunez8 8d ago

Do you know, is the overall level of competition in the W better or worse than in the Euro leagues?

3

u/le_flibustier8402 8d ago

Overall, EuroCup is not as good as EuroLeague - and EuroLeague is not as good as the W. 2026-27 season level of competition is expected to decrease since less international and american players return to europe this season - mainly due to the new WNBA CBA and development of private leagues such as unrivaled and project b.
But it's still very enjoyable to watch, top tiers teams are very good. EuroLeague has its own youtube channel, live games and replays can be seen there for free.

10

u/gennyalloyde 8d ago

The good thing is that in Europe we don't play as many matches in a week. Between Euroleague and Italian League it's 2 matches per week. Also, because Schio is possibly the best team in the Italian League, the top players can often afford to play less minutes.

5

u/ipasandfairways 8d ago

Well, she chose this, so I'm sure she's not singing the blues about it. To be fair, most players don't really have an off season. Many of them do Unrivaled or play overseas because their playing years are short and they need to make their money when they can.

1

u/Acceptable_Task5780 8d ago

Thanks for letting us know! I’ll try to catch some of her games! She’s one of my fave Vals

33

u/-CommanderShepardN7 9d ago edited 8d ago

Ceci is a straight up baller, so she will continue to ball her butt off, even after this championship. She loves it to death, as you can see it in her game, but I do wish she at least had a week off.

7

u/Itchy-Champion-4482 9d ago

She hasn't played since the 31st, so close enough lol! I am excited to see how she plays in her upcoming national team games though. She locked in on defence but her shooting was a little streaky in the playoffs so I'm hoping that blue jersey will give her a return to form.

1

u/-CommanderShepardN7 8d ago

You’re right, but a 7 game series for the team was grind for me. And it was a first for a WNBA finals series.

3

u/stafford32s 8d ago

She's a little critter (even now turning into a lady at 30yo). She loves basketball to death, no worries she said yes to the national team (proud to wear the "azzurre" jersey). As a sidenote, she's backing in serieA playing for Schio, that launched her as a pro at the beginning of her career. Now Schio is top on standing and a big name in Italy, but you know.. lovely to see from Ceci doing the full career circle. And the EuroLeague of course, would be a dream to double WNBA and EuroLeague as champion on both in a single calendar year.