Slávia Banská Bystrica – ŽKK Triglav 69:60 (18:19, 16:22, 21:10, 14:9)
Referees: Ženiš, Turčin, Kubík (all Slovkia)
Attendance: 100
Scorers – Banská Bystrica: Bura 17, Pulliam 13, Brabencová and Mujović each 11, Bogičević 10, Holíková 5, Da Cruz 2, Malashka and Striešová 0
Scorers – Triglav: Šarić 14, Bubnić and Stavrov each 11, Burgar and Kvrgić each 6, Grebenc and Vrečer each 5, Dragar 2, Hlebec 0
The second semifinal duel started much more offensively, Banská Bystrica pressed Triglav with aggressive defense and led in the beginning. But the guests from Slovenia played with great energy and without fear, Šarič roared to a 6-point lead and a turnaround of the game. The first quarter brought two different approaches, Triglav played with ease, on the other hand Banská Bystrica struggled. The Slovenians won this part in the end 19:18. The similar course continued in the second part, Triglav could play their game and build their lead. Quick counterattacks were a problem for Slávia, but they responded with aggressive defensive pressure. The latter brought a return to the fight for the win, but the end belonged to the opponents. Triglav waited for its moment and won the first half 41:34 after Stavrova’s buzzer beater three.
Banská Bystrica started the second half in a dominant way, first scoring 6 points in a row and then after a three-pointer by Brabencová they took the lead after a long time – 45:44. Triglav didn’t let the pressure get to them and kept playing their game, the game was basically one offense most of the time. Bogičević’s buzzer beater helped Slavia, adjusting to 55:51 before the last 10-minute mark. The end of the third and the beginning of the fourth quarter proved to be decisive, the team from Slovakia built the key lead and defensively stopped Triglav to boot. They held on to a double-digit lead and the Final Four will culminate with the Slovakian final.
Post-game quotes:
Zuzana Žirková, coach of Banská Bystrica: “Tough game. We knew about it, it was confirmed with the Piešťany, who they won against, that it was not a coincidence. They played well, everything was falling for them, whereas in the first half everything fell out for us. It was because we had to break it somehow. Maybe we’ve been used to everything just going our way lately, so we had to bite the bullet. We said in the locker room that we’re going to keep going because they can’t drop that many and we have to start on defense. Then we broke it down.”
Carlota Sofia da Cruz, player of Banská Bystrica: “We knew that we would have a strong opponent against us. We prepared like we do for every game. We wanted to advance to the final. We wanted to fight from the beginning, but we didn’t quite succeed. We didn’t come in with our typical speed and aggression, but then we got into it and fought until the end.”
Robert Matevžić, coach of Triglav: “Tough game. We fought hard, but our opponent had too many offensive rebounds. I think that made the difference. We will try to prepare for Sunday’s game and get the bronze.”
Lara Kozina Bubnić, player of Triglav: “A few bad minutes and offensive rebounds cost us success. We are already concentrating on the next game.”
