Close one for Kolín and an easy one for Timisoara
BC GEOSAN Kolín – BC Vienna 90:88 (30:20, 25:20, 16:30, 19:18)
Referees: Bara, Bartoš, Sirocký (all Slovakia)
Attendance: 508
Scorers – Kolín: Smith 28, Novotný 17, Redparth 14, Petráš 12, Halada 6, Stegbauer 6, Číž 4, Goga 3, Husták and Novák 0
Scorers – Vienna: Stuckey 29, Vujošević 20, Konjević 15, Radoš 14, Bajo 7, Siriščević 3 Stazić and Zdravković 0
Kolín took over the game from the very beginning, as they made nearly every shot they took from behind the arc, they made 12 three-point shots in the first half. Their defense was also superb, and they were crushing them on both ends of the floor. It could seem like the game has already been decided, but that could not be further from the truth. After the halftime break, Vienna started cutting the lead. They speed up their game, and Kolín was not able to catch up. Kolín even missed a couple of easy layups, and all of this caused the difference in points scored at the start of the fourth quarter to be just one point. The last quarter continued in the same manner, but Kolín at least started to play better defence, nevertheless, Vienna was in the lead, even by 7 points, during the quarter. However, Kolín erased their lead in the last two minutes, mainly from the free throw line, because Vienna had already acumulated 5 team fouls around the sixth minute. The most important play for the outcome of the game was the missed tough shot from Adam Číž forced by great defense by Jozo Rados (Vienna) after a missmatch, which bounced to Jamari Smith, and he made a three-point shot in the last second of the shot clock despite the foul by Vujosevic. Jamari Smith also made the free throw, and this sent Kolín into a two-point lead. After a timeout from the Austrian side, Demarkus Stuckey Jr. made a stepback shot for two, and the scoreboard showed 88-88. This was followed by a timeout from Kolín and a tip in the basket from no other than Jamari Smith after a missed layup from Adam Číž. Few seconds remained on the game clock, and after another timout from Vienna, Ivan Siriscevic had the last shot that could bring the game on their side, but he missed a three-point shot a Kolín could celebrate their win.
Post-game quotes:
Predrag Benaček coach of Kolín: „It was a lucky win at the end of the game, we must be satisfied with that. We played great in the first half due to our outstanding three-point shooting, like in our other recent games. Then the second half, or rather the third quarter specifically, started, which has been our weak spot this season, we lost it by 14 points. Afterwards, it was an even game, and we were struggling until the end. As I already said, we were the lucky ones in the end due to our offensive rebounding. We eased off in our defense in the second half, which was our biggest flaw. It was a very lucky win for us, and we are glad for that.“
Jamari Smith player of Kolín: „This is the game we needed. We lost the previous couple of games in the third quarter. We lost this third quarter too, but were able to rally back in the 4th. That was a great match against a great team. We just have to come out and have better energy and focus because, as you can see from the last couple games that came out in the third lousy and lost. So I feel it’s a great way to build back our confidence, and we’ll be ready for the next couple of games.“
Hrvoje Radanović, coach of Vienna: „I congratulate Kolín for their victory. It was a tough match. I think it was very exciting for the fans to see a lot of up and downs in the game. We are not happy with the loss, of course, but we will be ready for the next game when we play home on our court. So one more time, congratulate the coach and his team.“
Ivan Siriščević, player of Vienna: „What to say, we lost by two points. We got that last shot. I missed this last shot, but I think we played really well in the second half. In the first half, we were struggling, but then we stayed together, and I think it was a pretty good game. Congratulations to the team from Kolín. But I think it’s a step forward for us, and we hope we win the next game.“
SCM winsed.swiss Mozzart Bet Timisoara – KK Dubrava 87:69 (22:10, 24:23, 24:22, 17:14)
Referees: Zubák, Šarišský, Karniš (all Slovakia)
Attendance: 500
Scorers – Timisoara: Mitrović 15, Scott-Grayson 14, Gajić 13, Foreman 12, Mirković 10, Petrescu 8, Kesar 7, Lazar 4, Legosin and Schipor each 2, Nasturescu and Stanciu 0
Scorers – Dubrava: Ročak 22, Arnold 19, Kos 10, Vidović 7, Kuzmanović 5, Karahodžić 3, Matić 2, Rajaofera 1, Jurić, Kalajžić and Rimać 0
The young team of KK Dubrava started strongly in the away match with SCM winsed.swiss Mozzart Bet Timișoara. They led 4-0 early in the game, but then the more experienced home team came back and reversed the result. Timișoara won all four quarters of the game and prevailed at the end, 87-69. The biggest difference in favor of the hosts was 20 points. The coaches of both teams used all the players on the official sheet.
Post-game quotes:
Dragan Petričević, coach of Timisoara: “It was harder than the score shows. We controlled the scoreboard from the beginning to the end of the game, but not easily. The Croatian team plays good basketball, with many young players who are on national teams in several age groups. KK Dubrava generally has 80 possessions per game. We tried to reduce this number of possessions. They attacked us many times quickly, we didn’t have time to defend ourselves. At some point, we managed to stop this, and the difference was made by experience and routine.”
Jeronimo Sarin, coach of Dubrava: “It’s a deserved win for Timisoara, they were better than us. We had a criminal first quarter with 11 turnovers, probably a world record for one quarter. Later, when we came back into the game, we approached a couple of times with a difference of 10 points, but Timisoara has a lot of experienced foreign players. They knew how to use their power against our young team. Probably we are the youngest team in the Alpe Adria Cup, so let’s give credit to our players, they are very young and have never played at their level. This is the difference now, but when they come to Zagreb, we will try to change the story. The Alpe Adria Cup is a very helpful competition for us. We have the youngest team in Croatia, with a lot of national team players. For us, this is the best competition at this moment.”