OCS Capital Bulls – SLUNETA Ústi nad Labem 97:79 (28:19, 26:27, 9:17, 24:16)
Referees: Stanković, Copić, Matek
Attendance: 180
Scorers – Bulls: Williams 28, Sow 21, Baumann 15, McCants 9, Zapf 5, Vötsch 4, Grgic 3, Okoro 2
Scorers – Ústí nad Labem: Nichols 26, Pecka 17, Váňa 11, Nábělek 8, Autrey 5, Haiblík and Rowan earh 4, Karlovský and Johnson each 2
The game starts, and the Bulls can take the lead at the beginning. Rudi Williams and Noah Baumann, in particular, scored well as usual in the first few minutes. But the rest of the Bulls team also got going in the first quarter, and the points from the three-point line were there again. The Czech guests have to adjust to this pace – after quarter one, the score is 28:19. The Bulls continued to set the tone in the second quarter, doing great rebounding again and scoring from three-pointers. But the guests don’t let up and are able to reduce the Bulls’ lead, especially from the free throw line. Towards the end of the second quarter, the Bulls made small mistakes, and Sluneta was able to get closer. The Bulls still went into halftime with a 56:46 lead.
When they arrived in the third quarter, the Bulls made mistakes again at the beginning, especially losing the ball, and the guests continued to head for the equalizer. After five minutes, they succeed and can catch up with the Bulls. The third section ends accordingly: we head into the final quarter with a 63:63 equalizer. In the fourth quarter, both teams are now fighting for every point, and things continue to be evenly matched. The Bulls can take the lead again in this quarter thanks to six points from Ali Sow. Two minutes before the end, it’s plus five for the Bulls, Johnny McCants adds two more and the Bulls’ lead remains. The Bulls didn’t let up in the last few minutes and ultimately secured a deserved home win with 87:79.
Post-game quotes:
Nemanja Krstic, player of Bulls: “Good win for us we fought back in the end, and the first half was very well played as a team, so I’m proud of our game tonight.”
Ty Nichols, player of Ústí nad Labem: “Though it was a game, we definitely wanted to come here and win. In the first half, we lacked defense, and in the end, they came back really strong.”
