SLUNETA Ústí nad Labem – Spišskí Rytieri 89:82 (23:22, 20:26, 27:11, 19:23)
Referees: Langowski, Marek, Chmielewski (all Poland)
Attendance: 520
Scorers – Ústí nad Labem: Pecka 22, Nichols 21, Dailey 19, Karlovský 8, Rowan, Žikla, Johnson and Autrey each 4, Haiblík 3
Scorers – Rytieri: Reeves 25, Pipkins 12, Fusek 11, Juriček and Antoni each 10, Johnson 8, Hlivak 6, Harris 0
The first half of the match looked like that. Both teams showed a great offensive performance, with the home team relying on the striking duo Dailey and Nichols (13 and 11 points), while the guests dominated on rebounds 14 – 24. The offensive-minded battle continued after the break. At first, the home team was pulling the short end of the stick, but when Ústí improved on rebounding and added some offense, SLUNETA led 60:57 after a three by Nichols and a follow-up basket by Rowen, and the visiting coach had to call a timeout. But even that didn’t help, the home team’s great defense allowed the guests only 11 points in the third quarter, and they scored 27 themselves.
The Rytieri didn’t fold their weapons and returned to the game with a 4:12 streak, helping to stop the offense with zone defense and lightning-fast breaks. The score was 74:71, and SLUNETA had another close game in front of them. The game should have been decided in the last 4 minutes, the visiting Pipkins pulled his team to an equalizer, but when the home team Nichols and Karlovsky put Ústí in the lead again at 83:80, the visiting coach took another timeout. The three-point lead was still held by the home team with 32 seconds left in regulation time, which meant the Rytieri had to stop the clock with fouls and send the home team to the free throw line, but they couldn’t stave off defeat, and SLUNETA made an important step towards advancing to the Final 4.
Post-game quotes:
Jan Šotnar, coach of Ústí nad Labem: “It is an important victory for us, thanks to which we are still in contention for the Final 4 of the Alpe Adria Cup, although we will have a tough fight at the end of the season at Gornica, the fourth team in the Polish league. Our performance wasn’t the best, which was also due to the fact that we needed to give some players some rest after a tough game in Nymburk. This was especially evident in the first half when we were looking for rhythm in attack and we were late everywhere in defense. I’m all the more happy for the victory, which counts.”
Ladislav Pecka, player of Ústí nad Labem: “We knew that we needed to win by a certain margin, and we wanted to fight for it. But after the first half, we said that we wanted to win, first of all for us and our confidence, and secondly for the spectators who deserved it. The first two quarters weren’t to our liking, we weren’t set up properly, which changed after the break. We built an 11-point lead, and although the visitors were able to erase it, we pulled away in the end.”
Teo Hojč, coach of Rytieri: “The game was decided by the home team’s streak at the end of the third quarter, when they jumped out to an eleven-point difference. Although we were able to come back into the game and close the gap, here was the reason why we missed it. Otherwise, it was a pretty good game on our part. We have two new players, one just came in on Monday, so he’s not yet comfortable with us, the other has been here for two weeks, and we definitely expect better performances from him in the future. This is a bonus that we can use next time. Otherwise, I congratulate Ústí on the win and wish them good luck for the season.”
Michael Fusek, player of Rytieri: “We are disappointed with the result because we came here with the aim to win. I think it was a good game for the eye of the beholder, it was even until the last minute. That’s also why it’s a tough loss for us, because unlike our last games, we played pretty good basketball. It’s a pity that we couldn’t confirm it with a win.”
