Kolín and Timisoara continue without a loss, Vienna helped themselves at home
KK Dubrava – BC GEOSAN Kolín 79:81 (21:14, 32:17, 13:21, 13:29)
Scorers – Dubrava: Ročak 17, Kos 15, Vidović 11, Karahodžić 10, Paponja 6, Kuzmanović and Rajaofera each 7, Jurić, Kalajžić and Matić each 2, Rimac 0
Scorers – Kolín: Redparth 21, Novotný 16, Smith 11, Halada and Petráš each 9, Číz 8, Štegbauer 7, Goga, Husták, Novák and Štepáň 0
It was a game with two halves in which Dubrava dominated in the first half, and at the beginning of the third quarter, they had +26 (57:31). Kolín stopped the attack of Dubrava with zone defense, who hit 1/15 three-pointers in the second half. With a 21:9 series by the end of the third quarter, Kolín reduced the deficit and took the lead for the first time three minutes before the end when Filip Novotný scored his third three-pointer and then his fourth for a 77:73 lead. In the very end, the hosts missed an opportunity, and Adam Číz set the final score.
Post-game quotes:
Jeronimo Šarin, coach of Dubrava: “The first half looked very good, as did the beginning of the third quarter. That zone got us into trouble after we missed three or four open shots, then throws, and nervousness crept in, which ended up with a bad three-point shot. The biggest problem was that we stopped playing defense and allowed Kolín to get back into the game. It’s hard to talk after a defeat like this because I think we beat ourselves because it’s simply inexplicable to me how the same team can shoot so differently in the first and second half. In the end, it looked like we got scared by the victory, and this young team has to understand that it has to win games regardless of the fact that we don’t have great players like last season.”
Mateo Vidović, player of Dubrava: ”Congratulations to the guests on their victory. We played two opposite halfs in terms of performance. The first half was excellent in attack and aggressive defense, and we made them make a lot of mistakes. It was our best half since the start of the season. In the second half, they set up a zone to which we reacted poorly and, for some reason, stopped being aggressive in defense. In the end, their experience and knowledge prevailed. A difficult match from which we must come out smarter.”
Predrag Benáček, coach of Kolín: ”I didn’t believe we could win the game after a big deficit at the beginning of the third quarter. A strange match with two different halfs In the second half, we changed our defense out of desperation to a their defense. That turned out to be a good thing because we managed to confuse Dubrava, and with a lot of luck, we won. And if Dubrava had won, it would have been deserved. I like the young Dubrava team that lost this game due to inexperience. You could see the fear in shooting and free throws, and it’s nice to see a young team without strangers. They will certainly grow from game to game.”
Filip Novotný, player of Kolín: “We played a bad first half, but with focus, better energy, and luck, we managed to win.”
BC Vienna – KK Ilirija 113:102 (33:26, 26:25, 27:35, 27:16)
Referees: Margala, Ribakovs, Stopka (all Slowakia)
Attendance: 100
Scorers – Vienna: Konjević 39, Stuckey 20, Bajo 19, Rados 13, Sirišević 12, Vujošević 10, Zadeh and Zdravkovic 0,
Scorers – Ilirija: Mačura 24, Kures 17, Ščekić 15, Mikuš 14, Padjen 13, Orel 9, Ferme and Barišić each 5, Strnad, Gorisek and Gustin 0.
Konjevic opened the game with a floater for Vienna and shortly afterwards made a successful 3-point shot. Ilirija didn’t wait long, and the open exchange of blows in the first quarter picked up speed. Konjevic scored 4 three-pointers in the first 5 minutes for his team. Nevertheless, the guests managed to equalize to 20:20, 4 minutes before the end of the first quarter. Although the first quarter ended 33:26 for Vienna. The guests started with the first points in this quarter and put more pressure on the game. Vienna tried to keep the upper hand through quick counterattacks. The team fouls are now significantly higher and have proven to be positive for Vienna. After the guests’ first timeout phase, you could feel significantly more energy on the field. Two quick three-pointers from Konjevic and Sirisevic forced Ilirija to take a second timeout. Thanks to a good three-point rate, Vienna still made it into the halftime break with a lead of +8 – 59:51.
With new energy, we go back to a very even opening phase in which both teams had problems scoring points. Vienna managed to constantly convert rebounds to disrupt the guests’ quick counterattacks. Konjevic continued to convert 3-point shots. A three-pointer from Macura brought the guests back before the end of the third period; the even score stayed until the end of the quarter – 86:86. In the first few minutes, the hit rate of both teams was very modest, but the desire to win is now much more noticeable. Konjevic forced the guests to take a timeout with a big 3-pointer. Same face with Iljiria: strong pressure forced Vienna to act because the guests managed to take the lead with a double blow against Vienna. Halfway through the last quarter, Vienna responded with 4 points. The end of the game is now full of energy, and we are now experiencing a new upswing in the ranks of Vienna. The game ended with an 11-point lead for Vienna – 113:102.
Post-game quotes:
Mustafa Zadeh, player of Vienna: “A really tough game; both sides didn’t play that well. The offense was good, but in defense, we have to make a step forward. 102 points from the opponents is too much, but at least we got the win.”
Davor Konjević, player of Vienna: “To be honest, we didn’t put the energy on defense we should. So the game was equal until the last two minutes. At the end, we showed mentality and that we were the better team and won.”
Stipe Modrić, coach of Ilirija: “Deserved win for the home team—they were the better team, I would say more experienced than us. We made so many mistakes that, in the end, there were too many points. Congratulations to Vienna and good luck.”
Mark Padjen, player of Ilirija: “It was a fast and hard game. I think they deserved the win, but we will try again next time. Congratulations to the other team, and let’s hope for the better in the next game.”
SCM winsed.swiss Mozzart Bet Timisoara – BK REDSTONE Olomoucko 85:76 (23:24, 20:19, 22:16, 20:17)
Referees: Stanković, Barišić, Matec (all Croatia)
Attendance: 400
Scorers – Timișoara: Dimitrijević 21, Mirković 16, Kesar 13, Scott-Grayson 11, Mitrović 10, Nasturescu 8, Lazar 6, Gajić, Schipor and Legoșin 0
Scorers – Olomoucko: Bailey 25, Adamu 14, Shawer and Feštr each 10, Škranc 6, Klepáč 5, McBrayer 4, Žákk 2, Tkadlec, Hemphill and Jankins 0
Olomoucko started the game well and took the lead, going five points clear at one time. Timisoara recovered from the handicap, and the team from the Czech Republic won the first quarter by a minimal advantage. After a second quarter that was still under the sign of balance and won by one point this time by the hosts, at the break the score was equal: 43-43.
The last two periods of the game belonged to Timisoara, which gradually distanced itself and finally prevailed with a difference of nine points.
Post-game quotes:
Dragan Petricevic, coach of Timisoara: “It was a difficult game, I was expecting to be like that because I saw enough footage of this team. The way they play is quite uncomfortable for us. They have a small formation and make the opponent uncomfortable, especially in a situation where today we couldn’t play Gajic more, an important piece of our team both in attack and in defense. In addition to this, Gajic can play three positions, and we needed such a player profile. Unfortunately, we are again paying the price of injuries. Tomorrow we will see the medical situation of the players Gajic and Petrescu, it remains to be determined if we will be able to count on them in the next match. This time it was more demanding than in the first game of this season in the Alpe Adria Cup. This team has six American players; it also has some very good Czech players. At the level of national teams, Czech basketball is better than ours. The Czech Republic is present almost all the time at important European and world competitions.”
Djorde Dimitrijević, player of Timisoara: “It was a good win for us. I want to congratulate Olomoucko for a great game. We were in trouble in the first half because we didn’t defend well. In the second half, we took it to another level. We showed up more on defense and scored on offense. This is what gave us the win today. For me, it is great to be back on the court. I was out for almost a month. Hopefully, we will get into the rhythm and win more games. It is always great to start with two wins. Now that we have an early advantage, we hope to keep winning.”
Andrew Jay Hipsher, coach of Olomoucko: “I think my players were competitive, as were the players of coach Dragan Petricevic. They made a couple more plays than us in the end. We have to learn from this on the way home and move forward. It was a good game, and we enjoyed our time here in Timișoara. We wish them all the best until we meet again. I think we ran out of gas a little bit. At the same time, we got some quality shots, but we didn’t finish. I think it was a pretty close game. Every time we play, we want to perform at our maximum potential. We try to win every time.”
Adrio Ramone Bailey, player of Olomoucko: “It was a hard-fought game. They are a great team, and they know how to utilize all of their players. I felt we could have played better at some points of the game. We always want to win; we don’t want to lose, but sometimes it doesn’t go our way. It is a more physical competition than I thought, but I’m ready for these games.”