KK Dinamo Zagreb – Spišskí Rytieri 91:86 (22:15, 21:25, 26:23, 22:23)
Referees: Oprčkal, Palčić, Goštisa (all Slovenia)
Attendance: 100
Scorers – Dinamo: Kraljević 22, Vrgoč 15, Nakić-Vojnović 13, Brzoja 12, Garafolić 8, Vučić 7, Majić and Mikšić each 5, Dugandžić 4, Rukavina and Lukić 0
Scorers – Rytieri: Kigab 24, Smith 20, Pipkins 11, Antoni 9, Lopez 8, Fusek 6, Hlivák 5, Reeves 3
The people of Zagreb had the score advantage throughout the match, and three minutes before the end, after six consecutive points by Filip Kraljević, Josip Sesar’s team had the largest +12 (85:73). The persistent guests did not give up, so they made an 11:2 series through the best scorer of the match, Abu Kigab, and reached minus 3 (87:84) entering the last minute. Calm hands from the free throw line were Kraljević and Mislav Brzoja, so the points remained in Zagreb.
Post-game quotes:
Josip Sesar, coach of Dinamo: “I think that after the defeat in the domestic championship, which I can see left its mark on my players, we played a solid game against a strong opponent. On this occasion, I would like to congratulate all the people in the club and the players on the first international victory for our club. The game was tight, and we responded well to their pressure and managed to win in the end. I tried to distribute the minutes in the game considering that we have a very important game on Sunday. Congratulations to the guests once again on a great match.”
Ivan Vrgoč, player of Dinamo: “A very tough and physically demanding match against the Slovakian team. With this victory, there is a chance to finally catch the Alpe Adria Cup play-off. It was a very good match for our team in terms of shooting and energy. We continue on, tomorrow is training, and we are preparing for the next game.”
Teo Hojč, coach of Rytieri: “Congratulations to the Dinamo team for winning, it was a tough, competitive game. We didn’t properly control the fact that we knew Dinamo’s advantage was height, and I think they used that well with Kraljević. I wasn’t happy with how we reacted to some things on the field, so we hurt ourselves. We were in a good rhythm, and then we put ourselves in a not-so-good rhythm. In the end, the game was two-three-balls. Dinamo is an experienced team that punishes all the opponent’s mistakes, and in the end, they punished us and won the game. It is up to us to rest well because we have an important match in our championship on Saturday.”
Abu Kigab, player of Rytieri: “A tough game from start to finish. Dinamo was in a better rhythm than us and deservedly won. We will have another chance when Dinamo visits us, and I am really looking forward to that.”
