BC Prievidza – Nutrisport Ilirija 85:83 (21:15, 26:24, 18:19, 20:25)
Referees: Kurz, Zatloukal, Hartig (all Czech Republic)
Attendance: 0
Venue: Niké aréna Prievidza (Prievidza, SVK)
Scorers – Prievidza: McFolley 20, Oshita 18, Walker 14, Jašš 13, Magdolen and Thomas each 7, Kincel 4, Matuška 2, Lukáč 0
Scorers – Škrljevo: Duščak 20, Jurković 15, Ciani 11, Cerkvenik and Pavliha each 10, Bačvić, Kraljević and Kures each 4, Kruzynski 3, Mikus 2
The first point of this game was scored at the free throw line. Duščak was fouled and managed to open the score. After two minutes and 30 seconds, Ilirija´s Kruzynski threw down the hammer poster dunk and one. The home team answered with 3-pointer from Oshita. McFolley quickly hit two 3-point shots. Prievidza took the lead for the first time and did not let it go for the rest of the opening quarter – 21:15. Prievidza´s captain Jašš was able to bank in his second three, althought Ilirija was still close. The home team could rely on their 3-point shooting, but also very active defense. Oshita stole the ball and dunked it in on fast break. Prievidza won the second quarter and closed the first half with an 8-point lead – 47:39.
The home team continued to control the gap. Alonzo Walker was one of the most important players for Prievidza. His rebounding and aggressive defense were key to the chances of his team. Walker was a threat on the offensive end as well, and one and then a big dunk a few moments afterwards. Ilirija refused to give up and still remained at striking distance – 65:58. Prievidza wanted to keep the lead, but Ilirija wasn´t far behind. The deficit was less than 10 points. Jurković had a chance to score an easy two points and so he did without any hesitation. Pavliha scored a layup on the fast break that was followed by another dunk from Jurković. Few plays and Ilirija was one basket away, 70:68 only five minutes before the end of regulation. Three minutes to go and the score was 75:71. Ilirija took timeout, but Slovenian team couldn´t finish the play under time pressure. Dramatic end. Jašš hit a very important three, but Ilirija´s Ciani responded with the sucessfull free throws. Ilirija called their final timeout 15 seconds before the last horn. It was not over just yet. Kures hit the big three and the pressure was on young Matuška. Matuška scored both free throws and Prievidza kept the lead in dramatic game. First AAC win for the home team, but Ilirija still managed to take over group D.
Post-game quotes:
Maroš Helmccy, coach of Prievidza: “I am glad we managed to win our last game in Alpe Adria Cup against the leader of our group. It was all about our energy. We were able to put the energy into defense and offense as well. We got the lead which we kept. In the second half we made several unnecessary mistakes, which we could have avoided. I hope we will take a lesson from this, but I am really happy that we got our first victory against a really strong opponent. Now we can do the same in our league. We have to sit together, analyze this game and put the same energy into every game, even though our schedule is really hard. When we put this kind of energy into defense and offense, we are able to get those wins in the league as well.”
Marek Jašš, player of Prievidza: “We are happy that we finally broke the negative streak. I hope that this win will motivate us for Saturday, which will be our most important game for now. We will give it everything. I think we showed today how we´ve worked on some stuff that did not go our way. But there is still a lot of hard work to do, we will get ready for Saturday and let´s get the win in league as well.”
Saša Dončić, coach of Ilirija: “What should I say, this result doesn´t really matter to us, but it was a chance for our players. Anyway, congratulations to Prievidza for winning, they deserve to win.”
Dan Duščak, player of Ilirija: “Congrats to Prievidza, they played a good game and deserved to win. We were strong at the end of the game. Now we need to work harder and we will stay confident, still winning games.“