MKS Dąbrowa Górnicza – Spišskí Rytieri 93:85 (20:18, 21:25, 22:23, 30:19)
Referees: Ivor Matejek, Lukas Kapana, Jiri Jedlicka (all CZE)
Attendence: 500
Venue: HWS „Centrum” (Dąbrowa Górnicza, POL)
Scorers – MKS Dąbrowa Górnicza: Lewis II 20, Brenk 16, Moore 13, Sobin 10, Mijović 10, Piechowicz 7, Czujkowski 7, Nowakowski 5, Rajewicz 5, Motylewski 0
Scorers – Spišskí Rytieri: Gavrilović 17, Dressler 16, Lužaić 16, Dennis 14, Stevanović 10, Baťka 10, Hlivák 2, Židzik
Spišskí Rytieri started the match better. The first points in the match were scored by Milan Luzaic, a player from the visiting team. After 3 minutes of play, the visitors were leading 7:2 and were able to keep the lead for a long time. 2:40 minutes to the end of the first quarter, Michał Nowakowski gave the signal to catch up, and MKS recorded a series of 7: 0, thanks to which he won the first quarter by 20:18.
The second quarter was very close from the very beginning. During the first 4:30 minutes of the game, the lead changed 7 times! With the score of 29:28 for MKS, Grant Dressler recorded a very good minutes, scoring 7 points in a row for Spišskí Rytieri, which put the team into a five-point lead, which was not completely lost by half.
The hosts started the second half with a 7:0 run, to which the team from Slovakia responded with exactly the same. A good moment of the game in attack was stoped by Marcin Piechowicz with a throw for 3 points, but after him the team from Dąbrowa Górnicza had a problem with hitting the basket and did not score for 2:30 minutes. During this time, the visitors again scored 7 points in a row and achieved their highest eight-point lead in this match. The signal for the attack was given to the players by Nic Moore, who hit from a distance, and Adam Brenk — the author of 5 points — came to his aid. The last word in the third quarter belonged to the MKS. Milivoje Mijović hit the basket, thanks to which Spišskí Rytieri was only 66:63 leading after three parts of the game.
The last quarter of the match started the same as the previous one, Milivoje Mijović scored two points and started the 13:2 run for MKS Dąbrowa Górnicza, during which Adam Brenk scored as many as 7 points. The rushing hosts were stopped for a moment by David Dennis, who picked up the guests to fight, scoring 4 points. However, it was not enough, and the team from Dąbrowa had a 9-point advantage for the next few minutes, and after an accurate free throw by Nic Moore, MKS achieved the highest and only double-digit advantage in this match (88:78). Spišskí Rytieri tried to scare MKS in the last minutes and reduced the advantage to five points, but Mike Lewis II was again reliable in the end, who ended the meeting with two well-aimed shots.
Post-game quotes:
Jacek Winnicki, coach of Dabrowa Górnicza: “I am very happy with the win. Congratulations to the players, players from Slovakia team set difficult conditions. It was a good game. The game in the first half was very close, with a small advantage for the team from Slovakia. In the third quarter they even gained an 8-point advantage, but a good defense in key moments allowed us to take the lead and we controlled the game to the end.”
Adam Brenk, player of Dabrowa Górnicza: “We are happy with the first win in European cups and the first victory in front of our fans. We have waited a long time for this moment to finally show up to our fans. The game was difficult. The opponents scored a good three points in the first half, that we couldn’t stop, but we improved the team play in the second half. The key to winning was aggressive defense and attack, which translated into victory.”
Stefan Svitek, coach of Spišskí Rytieri: “I think it was a good game. We couldn’t manage with such a good team like the home team was. A long time in a game was equal, but in the end high quality and some individual play decided.”
David Dennis, player of Spišskí Rytieri: “It was a hard fight game. Our opponent played very well and very team basketball. They played hard, made tough shots, especially on the pick&roll, pull-ups of the screen. It was really hard to guard them. A couple of role players played very well. Another learning experience for us to get ready for the season. We want this win, but we´re just happy to be here and compete.”