Banská Bystrica easily won, KAŽL entered the fight for the second place

KAŽL Split – ŽKD Maribor 94:68 (30:14, 21:12, 20:22 23:20)

Referees: Hajduk, Pepur, Koharević (all Croatia)

Attendance: 100

Scorers – KAŽL: Buckner 27, Pirjak 18, Rimarčuk 14, Langhi 13, Božan 10, Mayara 6, Sokanović 4, Bilić 2, Pavić, Dominović, Turčinov and Pogorelić 0

Scorers – Maribor: Brečelj 18, Tomšić 12, Meglić Steharnik and Stojko each 9, Petrović and Dedić 7, Grujić 3, Vilfan 2, Kavčić, Trantura, Čvar and Setor 0

KAŽL had a strong opening to the game, and the scoreboard was showing 6:0 after 2 minutes of playtime, which forced Maribor coach Alen Ploj to call a time-out. This did not slow down the hosts, as they extended their lead to 18:0 with 5:34 left in the first quarter. ŽKD Maribor started playing more aggressively in the second half of the quarter, which led to some easy baskets for them. The score at the end of the first quarter was 30:14 for KAŽL. In the second quarter, we had a much more balanced game, with no team making a significant run. The score was 38:21 halfway through the second quarter. However, KAŽL managed to make a run in the last minutes and took a 25-point lead to the break. The score at halftime was 51-26 for KAŽL.

KAŽL started the second half the same way they started the game, with a 12-0 run, but Maribor responded with a 13-0 run of their own to cut the lead to 63:39. This was an up-and-down quarter which ended with a 71-48 score for the host team. In the fourth quarter, KAŽL used to maintain their comfortable lead, which they were pretty successful in doing. KAŽL’s scored five 3-pointers in the last period kept Maribor’s hopes of a comeback at bay. well-deserved win to open the tournament by the hosts. They calmly finished the game with a 94-68 score.

Post-game quotes:

Vjekoslav Lokica, coach of KAŽL: „Despite some problems with our roster, we played an excellent game and practically won the game in the first half. I want to congratulate both teams on a fair fight. I hope we will have time to recuperate before tomorrow’s game, and we will do everything to win tomorrow as well.“

Dynnah Buckner, player of KAŽL: „Firstly, as a team, we came into the game knowing that we have to play together and that defense is the most important part of the game, and as you know, we came out with an 18-0 run to start the game. This happened because we worked as a team on defense and shared the ball on offense.“

Alen Ploj, coach of Maribor: „Today we didn’t play as we could, we were not good in the first half. I would like to congratulate KAŽL on the win, and we hope we will play better tomorrow.“

Spela Brečelj, player of Maribor: „We started the game poorly, defense was not good, and we scored our first points late in the first quarter. We tried to come closer and show that we knew how to play. I congratulate our opponents; they deserve to win, and we need to show more fight in the upcoming games.“

Slávia Banská Bystrica – BK Duchess Klosterneuburg 100:39 (31:16, 23:10, 22:10, 24:3)

Referees: Mjeda, Strikić, Pepur (all Croatia)

Attendance: 50

Scorers – Banská Bystrica: Brabencová 15, Bogičević 13, Pulliam 12, Striešová, Martišková and Mujović each 11, Holíková 10, Bura 8, Da Cruz 5, Neuschlová 4

Scorers – Klosterneuburg: L. Zderadicka 17, Schicher 10, P. Zderadicka 6, Hoellerl 4, Vamvaka 2, A. Zderadicka, Binder, Polygalova, Winkler and Matzka 0

Slávia came out strong playing hard defense and lighting it up from the perimeter. After first five minutes of the game the score was 14-3. Experienced Eurocup team that they are, they never stop playing which is why the score was 31-16 at the end of the first quarter. The Dutchess are fighting for every basket, but Slávia’s bench brought new energy on the floor in the second quarter and they are keeping Duchess at a safe 15-points distance with 6 minutes left in the first half. Slávia hit 7 three pointers in the first 20 minutes to finish the first half with a score 54-26 for the Slovak team.

A sleepy third quarter by both teams was used by Duchess to cut the Slávia lead to 57-34 midway through the third quarter. But after an intense time-out by head coach Žirková, Slávia once again reminded us of their Eurocup quality. They finished the third quarter with a 19-2 run for a 76-36 lead before the final 10 minutes. Slávia transferred their energy from the end of third quarter to the last period and this proved to be too much for the Duchess. The game was a one way street from the start. Duchess were fighting the entire game, but the final score shows that tonight it was not their night. Final score 100-39 for Slávia Banska Bystrica, one of the favorites to win this competition.

Post-game quotes:

Zuzana Žirková, coach of Banská Bystrica: „It was a good game for us because we had a Eurocup games a few days ago. It was really hard to play against this kind of team because they are running well. We handled that well and I want to congratulate my team. Now we need to focus on tomorrow’s game.“

Kristýna Brabencová, player of Banská Bystrica: „I think we did a good job, we did everything we wanted and everything the coach wanted from us in this game. We need to rest tonight and get ready for tomorrow.“

Franz Zderadicka, coach of Klosterneuburg: „This was a big experience for us because our opponent today is playing on another level. I appreciate to have the chance to play in Alpe Adria Cup to play against teams like Slávia. Tomorrow we hope to have a better chance against the home team.“

Lisa Zderadicka, player of Klosterneuburg: „We knew it would be a physical game because they are a professional team and a very good team. We had our small runs where we could hold up to the pressure but overall they showed their quality. We learned a lot today and we hope to play better tomorrow.“