OCS Capital Bulls vs MKS Dabrowa Górnicza 74:95 (19:25, 12:25, 23:20, 20:25)
Referees: Ženiš, Uhrin, Izák (all Slovakia)
Attendance: 100
Scorers – Bulls: Baumann 28, Williams 22, Zapf 16, Krstic 6, Vötsch 2
Scorers – Górnicza: Horne and Persons each 18, Carvacho 15, Cabbil 14, Wilczek 12, Garcia 8, Slupinski 7, Kurowski 2
The game starts with a lot of speed, and the Bulls take the lead. The guests also find their way into the game, immediately catch up with the Bulls, and can take the lead. After a good start, the opponents can really challenge the Bulls in the first quarter and take the lead with 10 points – the opponents are particularly successful in their shots from the three-point line. At the first quarter break, the Bulls get important points again, and the score is 19:25. In the second quarter, the Bulls mainly use the young players. The guests continue to make it difficult for the Bulls to score points, especially with their strong defense, and the guests have also increased their pace. The lead is also progressing accordingly: after five minutes, it is plus 12 for Dabrowa. This area clearly belongs to the guests: the Bulls don’t hit the shots as they should, and they barely manage to slow down the guests. So it’s 31:50 at halftime.
Things continue to improve for the guests in the third quarter, and they can take the lead with over 20 points. The Bulls are often too relaxed, especially in defense, and their strong opponents get easy points. Towards the end of the third quarter, things are going better again for the Bulls. Rudi Williams and Noah Baumann score points. We go into the last quarter with a score of 54:70. The Bulls picked up momentum again in the fourth quarter, but the guests continued to maintain their pace, especially on offense. The Bulls managed to reduce the deficit a little, but Dabrowa also impressed in the final section with stronger team performance and speed. After an intense 40 minutes, the Bulls ultimately had to admit defeat, 74:95.
Post-game quotes:
Nemanja Krstic, player of Bulls: “We had a tough opponent today, a very good team. I’m especially proud of our young players who showed up today and that we fought through this intense game together.”
Boris Balibrea, coach of Górnicza: “Congratulations to Kapfenberg, they fought through the whole game with missing players! We started good, lost focus then a bit, but overall a good win.”
