Home Piešťany and Triglav successful in Group A
ŽKK Triglav – SKN St. Pölten 74:55 (19:14, 19:10, 16:18, 20:12)
Referees: Bara, Višniarová, Stopka (all Slovakia)
Attendance: 100
Scorers – Triglav: Bubnić 20, Šarić 11, Stavrov 10, Kramžar 8, Grebenc and Zlatkov each 7, Dragar 6, Kvrgić 5, Hendrickx and Hlebec 0
Scorers – St. Pölten: M. Kolyandrova 15, Krisper 14, Orehkova 9, A. Kolyandrova 6, Kenens and Wildbacher each 5, Kunz, Mayrhofer and Pavitsits 0
St. Pölten started the first game of the tournament in Piešťany well offensively. Triglav, however, did not let the opening minutes take them by surprise, turning the game on its side with a 14:2 scoring stretch. The turnaround was directed by Bubnić, representing Slovenia, but Kolyandrova had the last word in the first quarter, a buzzer beater adjusted the score to 14:19 for St. Pölten. The Slovenian team opened the second quarter with 9 points in a row and had a high 3-point success rate overall, increasing its lead. St. Pölten was paying for the mistakes and that’s why it was down 24:38 after the first half.
After the change of sides, Triglav’s productivity stuck and the Austrian basketball players felt they still had a chance to win. The game was much more even, with Triglav leading 54:42 before the last 10-minute period. The Slovenian team controlled the fourth quarter and finally entered the Alpe Adria Cup with a victory.
Post-game quotes:
Gašper Sluga, coach of Triglav: “I have to start by saying that I’m not entirely happy with the way we played. We had a very good 25 minutes where we played smart offensively. But the next 10+ minutes we had turnovers, we didn’t attack their defense well. Overall though, congratulations to your team, it’s a young squad. Now it’s their time to take responsibility, as we are missing two important players. They did a good job.”
Lara Bubnić, player of Triglav:“It wasn’t easy, we played our first competitive game of the season. We are happy for the final result and we are looking forward to the next game in the tournament.”
Lana Petrovic, coach of St. Pölten: “We didn’t get our stuff done offensively. We started well, but we stopped defending the way we wanted to. It’s our first official international game, we went into it with a lot of nervousness. We have a lot to take from this game, we’ll see how we do on Sunday. We have a lot to talk about, but we remain positive.”
Nina Krisper, player of St. Pölten: “We started off a little nervous, it stuck with us, which slowed us down. Our opponent outplayed us and we stopped fighting. Congratulations to Triglav and let’s see how we do tomorrow.”
Piešťanské Čajky – KK Trešnjevka 2009 97:55 (28:11, 24:14, 26:12, 19:18)
Referees: Margala, Donovalová, Kubík
Attendance: 200
Scorers – Piešťany: James, Mitrasinović, Mandić each 18, Kraislová 12, Stašová 10, Herminjard 9, Jurčenková 4, Moravčíková 3, Chovaníková a Taušová each 2, Vandlíková 1, Uhlíková 0
Scorers – Trešnjevka: Kokolić 17, Čurić 9, Bilić 8, Arnatuović and Rodek each 5, Valčić and Zlatopek each 4, Čuklin 2, Pavičić 1, Brtan, Jakšić and Maričević 0
The start of the home match of Piešťanský Čajky was clearly in their direction, the scoreboard showed 13:0 in the 4th minute and only then they allowed Trešnejvka to score. The pair of Mandic and James caught on very quickly, with their ease in attack they contributed to the high lead after the first quarter 28:11. The quality of the game on the side of the Slovak champion was evident, gradually the players from the bench were able to get more involved and the lead continued to increase. Occasionally Trešnjevka made her presence felt, but otherwise Piešťany went for a successful entry in the Alpe Adria Cup. They won the first half 52:25.
Čajky entered the third quarter with 5 points in a row and took the lead over the 30-point mark. The tempo dropped slightly, which allowed Trešnjevka to score and reduce the gap. But the home team clearly had it in their hands, as evidenced by the score after 30 minutes – 78:37. The combativeness and intensity increased again, the players from the rotation could already gather valuable international experience at the beginning of the season.
Post-game quotes:
Peter Jankovič, coach of Piešťany: “I’m happy with the way we approached the game from the start. We didn’t know what kind of team it was, what it could do. I have to praise Zagreb, they played very nicely for such a young team, they have a future ahead of them. I’m happy for my team, all the players played well and the minutes were spread out as they should have been. Satisfied with the first game.”
Terézia Kraislová, player of Piešťany: “It was the first so-called test and the first match in the Alpe Adria Cup. We didn’t have much information about the opponent, so we tried not to underestimate it from the first minute. We came out with good energy, which carried throughout the game. There were times when we lost concentration and had less of the game, but the result says it all.”
Tara Kokolić, player of Trešnjevka: “We are a very young team, we lack experience, we still have a lot to learn. Piešťany is a very good team, which is shown by their participation in the Eurocup.”