Opener Bean extends Yorkshire stay until 2028 — and more

Yorkshire opener Finlay Bean signs a two-year extension to stay at Headingley until 2028.

The EuroLeague Women play-ins concluded this week with a pair of deciding games, officially setting the stage for next month’s Final Six.

With Galatasaray Çağdaş Faktoring and Umana Reyer Venezia winning their respective best-of-three play-in series, the bracket for the Final Six is complete, though we’ll have to wait until April 15 for the action to resume.

On Tuesday, we saw a dominant performance from Galatasaray, who crushed Basket Landes on the boards and in the paint in a convincing win. Meanwhile, Venezia defeated fellow Italian club Beretta Famila Schio, earning their first-ever Final Six appearance and eliminating Schio from the competition.

Now that the field for the Final Six is set, let’s recap what happened in the final play-in games and how Galatasaray and Venezia advanced.

Galatasaray Çağdaş Faktoring pounds Basket Landes on the boards to advance to the semifinals 

Landes has made a name for themselves this season by exceeding expectations and making some improbable comebacks, and there was no better example of that than in the first game of their play-in series against Galatasaray. Galatasaray led by 19 points in the fourth quarter, yet Landes stormed back, forcing overtime before eventually falling in the final period. They then handled Galatasaray somewhat easily in the second game, forcing this week’s decider in Istanbul.

Simply put, Galatasaray was not about to suffer another letdown. The Turkish club got out to an early lead and extended it to as many as 25 points in the second half, and this time, Landes had no hope of coming back. Galatasaray took full advantage of its size in the frontcourt, pulling down a whopping 59 rebounds (21 offensive) and outscoring Landes in the paint 36-18. As usual, the play of Awak Kuier (17 points) and Dorka Juhász (nine rebounds and three blocks) stood out, though it was veteran guard Teja Oblak who stood out the most, recording an efficient 16 points, five rebounds and four assists.

Galatasaray’s 67-51 victory will send them to the Final Six semifinals, where they’ll face the winner of Landes and Casademont Zaragoza. While it’s entirely possible Landes comes out on top in that game and we get a rematch of this series, they’ll have to be more consistent offensively; shooting 28.1 percent from the field as they did in this game will obviously not get it done, especially against the tournament hosts.

Umana Reyer Venezia clinches Final Six berth with win over Beretta Famila Schio

Tuesday’s other game between Venezia and Schio was played under a bit more pressure. Being the deciding game of a quarterfinal play-in series, it was quite literally win-or-go-home. Whereas Landes can take solace in the fact that they’ll still be participating in the Final Six, the loser of this game would be eliminated from the competition entirely.

As it turned out, Venezia was the club that met the moment—again. After a strong performance last week to even the series at a game apiece, Venezia once again outplayed their Italian rivals. It was far from an offensive showcase, with both teams shooting under 34 percent from the field, but Venezia won on several margins, making eight 3-pointers to Schio’s four and taking significantly better care of the basketball (13 turnovers) than their opponents (20 turnovers).

No, it wasn’t the prettiest game ever played, but in a do-or-die matchup, only the final result matters. As tepid as the 62-51 final score may seem, Venezia was clearly the better team, leading Schio for over 31 minutes. And while Schio held a slight edge in rebounding (40-36), only Jessica Shepard reached double-figure scoring; the selfless, efficient offense that had made Schio a sleeper pick for a Final Six run went cold at the worst possible time, and it cost them a trip to the playoffs.

Venezia, meanwhile, will advance to the first round (quarterfinals) of the Final Six, where they’ll face Spar Girona. Girona lost their play-in series to Fenerbahçe Opet two games to none, though they’re still a dangerous team, as evidenced by their 8-4 record in group play.

Former Sweden international midfielder Anders Limpar, has been admiring the impact that his fellow countryman Benjamin Nygren is making in his first season at Celtic…

Benjamin Nygren scores the winner. Aberdeen v Celtic, Scottish Premiership. Wednesday 4th March 2026. Photograph by Vagelis Georgariou

Last night Nygren scored his 15th goal in the Scottish Premiership to give Celtic the three points in a hard-fought 2-1 win away to Aberdeen. That result means that Celtic move above the Rangers into second place in the table as the Champions close the gap on current leaders Hearts.

Benjamin Nygren celebrates. Aberdeen v Celtic, Scottish Premiership. Wednesday 4th March 2026. Photograph by Vagelis Georgariou

And Limpar has revealed that in his opinion Celtic haven’t see the best of the Swedish goalscorer just yet. Speaking via bettingsidor.se, the former Arsenal and Everton midfielder is clearly a big Benjamin Nygren fan and believes that his performances and goal-scoring exploits for Celtic can help force him into the Sweden starting XI on a regular basis.

Like many Celtic supporters, Limpar is somewhat unsure of Nygren’s best position, noting that for Sweden his is playing up-front while at Celtic he’s been used as an attacking midfielder.

Benjamin Nygren celebrates. Aberdeen v Celtic, Scottish Premiership. Wednesday 4th March 2026. Photograph by Vagelis Georgariou

“Obviously, Nygren moved from FC Nordsjaelland to Celtic and he has done so well scoring a lot of goals,” Limpar said. “I have seen him play many times for Sweden as well and he is fantastic.

“He is not as good as Isak or Gyokeres to play up front, and he is not as good as Forsberg, Elanga or Kulusewski to be in the starting eleven, but he is a hell of a player. When he plays, he is always creating so many chances and when he plays for Sweden he plays up front.

Benjamin Nygren at Ibrox. theRangers 2 Celtic 2. Sunday 1st March 2026. Photograph by Vagelis Georgariou

“Playing for Celtic he is playing a different position, but he is so usable in many positions,”the former Sweden international noted. “He is good at set pieces and I don’t even think we have seen the best from him yet. He is a hell of a prospect but it is a shame for him he is playing in a golden generation for the Swedish national team, because he is not among the best eleven, but on the other hand with his performances for Celtic it will be tough to keep him out.”

“He can play so many different positions and is very usable.”

22.02.2026 Celtic v Hibernian, Scottish Premiership. Benjamin Nygren’s goal celebration Photo Kenny Ramsay IMAGO

Benjamin Nygren can also divide opinions among the Celtic support but for all his faults his goals are the single biggest factor in Celtic still being involved in the title race. All he needs now is a goal, preferably a winning goal, against the Rangers and this Sunday would be the perfect time for that.

Here’s how Benjamin Nyrgen came off the bench last night at Pittodrie to score the winner for Celtic against Aberdeen, and don’t miss Sandman’s unique take on watching Celtic with his Definitive Ratings, with the link below.

READ THIS…Aberdeen 1-2 Celtic – Time for Sandman’s Definitive Ratings

Celtic in the Thirties by Matt Corr. Click on image to order

More Stories / Latest News

Sweden legend hails Celtic’s ‘fantastic player’, saying the best is yet to come

Mar 5 2026, 10:47

Aberdeen 1-2 Celtic – Time for Some Definitive Ratings

Mar 5 2026, 10:06

Aberdeen 1-2 Celtic – Forget the performance, those are three precious points

Mar 5 2026, 8:17