MKS Dabrowa Górnicza – OSC Capital Bulls 99:73 (30:14, 26:8, 24:30, 19:21)
Referees: Baloun, Scholze, Pazourek (all Czechia)
Attendance: 350
Scorers – Górnicza: Wilczek 30, Slupiński and Konaszuk each 15, Kucharek and Williams each 14, Piechowicz 7, Persons and Carvacho each 2, Kurowski and Wojdala 0
Scorers – Bulls: King 19, Baumann 13, Williams 10, Krstić 9, Zapf, Grgić and Schrittwieser each 6, Voetsch and Okoro each 2, Koka 0
From the very first minutes of the match, the actions of the MKS players showed great commitment combined with freedom and self-confidence, and as we know, this can be a deadly combination in basketball. The element of basketball craftsmanship that largely allowed the team to gain an impressive advantage at halftime – 56:22 – was certainly the three-point shots, which the Dabrowa team shot with deadly effectiveness (they made 13 out of 24 shots for 3 points at the break). The MKS players were also able to impose tough and unyielding defensive conditions, effectively breaking up the actions of the guests from Austrian Kapfenberg, who had serious difficulties scoring points in the first two quarters.
After the change of sides, coach Antonio Herrera’s players showed a much better offensive face (Urald King performed particularly well, scoring 13 points in the third quarter alone), but in comparison to the impressive form of the MKS players, it could not have had a greater impact on the result of the match. Taking into account the continued high lead, coach Balibrea willingly used a wide rotation, entrusting significant minutes to basketball players who usually do not have so many opportunities to present their skills.
Post-game quotes:
Boris Balibrea, coach of Górnicza: “We are very happy. We started the game really well. I think we all knew how important this game was. In the first half, we did almost everything, so the best thing is that we won and are going to the Final Four. It was a big goal for us, and no one was injured so good.”
Maciej Kucharek, player of Górnicza: “Today we did not have a full roster, some players had a break. We wanted to give our best because this win guaranteed us an advance to the Final Four. We are happy that we achieved this.”
Antonio Herrera, coach of Bulls: “First of all, congratulations to Dąbrowa Górnicza. For me, it was a top-level game from the beginning, with a high level of energy. Scoring threes was unbelievable, so I’m very proud of my team because we knew that they were the best team for sure that we were playing against during the whole season. We never give up, so I’m proud, and I say to the guys that we need to learn from that top team to play at this level of contact. At the end, I think that we returned to Austria better than we were in Poland.”
Tobias Schrittwieser, player or Bulls: “We just started this game very slowly. We are not ready for a level like this. It wasn’t enough.”
