Spisski Rytieri holds off Klosterneuburg in the end

Spisski Rytieri holds off Klosterneuburg in the end

Spišskí Rytieri – BKIMMOunited Klosterneuburg 80:77 (26:23, 15:19, 19:18, 20:17)

Referees: Robert Mordal, Tomasz Tybor, Michal Kuziek (all PL)

Attendance: 100

Venue: Mestská Športová Hala Spišská Nová Ves

Scorers – Spišskí Rytieri: Gavrilović 27, Baťka and Stevanović each 13, Dennis, Dressler and Hlivák each 7, Židzik 5, Antoni 1, Krajňák 0

Scorers – Klosterneuburg: Oikonomopoulos 20, Boyles 17, Bavčić 11, Alper 10, Jakubowski 6, Burgmeister and Moschik each 5, Koenig 3, Leydolf 0

Spišská entered the match with a lax approach, particularly in defense, which really good-playing guests took advantage of and, until the end of the match, thoroughly embarrassed the home side’s path to victory. DUKES dominated on the perimeter, the Knights dominated in the space under the basket, so we witnessed an interesting duel.

Post-game quotes:

Erich Korfanta, assistant coach of Spišskí Rytieri: „It´s difficult to assess the match, because from the start we played without the energy and commitment, and it was like that for the rest of the match. Our defense was really weak, with the exception maybe for four minutes in the final quarter, and we had a disastrous shooting success from free throws. Shooting from the perimeter is also a problem, we have been struggling with this for a long time, but we believe that the boys will shoot from that distance, as well. Nevertheless, we won, which is positive, but we still have a lot to do.“

David Dennis, player of Spišskí Rytieri: „I think we played a good match, however, we missed a lot of free throws. We received several points, but we tuned in well and made it to the winning end. We played hard and I’m happy we won.“

Christopher O´Shea, coach of Klosterneuburg: „After a very long journey, we came in here well tuned and ready to fight. Except for a few little mistakes both in offense and defense, I think we played a very good game. I´m proud of the team. We can learn a lot from this match. The biggest problem was the physical game of Spišská and the points from under the basket, which were differential.“