SCM winsed.swiss Mozzart Bet Timisoara – OSC Capital Bulls 94:92 (29:27, 31:29, 17:13, 17:23)
Referees: Špendl, Krajnć, Mohorić (all Slovenia)
Attendance: 1000
Scorers – Timisoara: Mitrović 29, Scott-Grayson 20, Kesar 18, Mirković 14, Simmons 5, Petrescu 4, Gajić and Lazar each 2, Nasturescu 0
Scorers – Bulls: King 27, Sow and Williams each 18, Baumann 17, Krstić 10, Voestch 2, Schrittwieser and Zapf 0
A sold-out Sporthalle Walfersam watched the second semifinal game of the Final Four from the first minute in a great atmosphere. The Bulls and Timisoara quickly got up to speed offensively, with Timisoara leading early on. For the Bulls, King and Williams took it into their own hands and the result was a narrow lead for their opponents. Already the first quarter brought a large number of points, great individual performances that could not bore the fans. The teams had a high shooting success rate, Timisoara won the first quarter 29:27 after a better finish. This continued in the next minutes, although the team from Romania managed to win slightly, but the Bulls were still close. Thus, the second semifinal game also promised a great basketball spectacle with a plot, as nobody could stop the other for a longer period of time. Thus, individual qualities and skills were the deciding factors, and they ultimately helped Timisoara. Mitrović adjusted the score to 60:56 just before the last second.
The Romanian team helped itself with a better start to the second half, resulting in the biggest lead of the game – 68:58. The spectators could enjoy some nice actions and moments, but the Bulls were offensively stalled, which was a problem. Luckily for them, Timisoara had a similar phase and so there was still hope for success. Baumann was a significant contributor, but it was 77:69 for the home team going into the last quarter. It helped the Bulls that they pulled something off the point difference, even with the massive support of the spectators, they were even able to tie the game at 81:81 in 5 minutes of the fourth quarter. Suddenly Timisoara lost momentum and the Final Four organizer smelled a chance to participate in the finals. The spectators were once again treated to a great and dramatic ending where every ball was decided. It was 90:87 for Timisoara going into the last minute. Williams took the responsibility for the Bulls, with a three to tie the game at 92:92 with 8 seconds left. But Grayson finally decided with less than a second left that Timisoara would play in the final.
Post-game quotes:
Dragan Petričević, coach of Timisoara: „A very close and tough match. Great semifinal. I think from the first minutes we went for it and had a chance to win. We were in the lead most of the time. We’re in the final, so we have to put this game behind us. Congratulations to my players, I’m proud of them.“
Tyreek Myjewel Scott-Grayson, player of Timisoara: „Nice feeling to convert a winning shot. My team fought hard for the whole 40 minutes, we handled the tough moments and adversity. We won, which is very nice. Coach prepared me for this position during the last possession and I converted it. Thanks to him for that. We can enjoy the celebrations a little bit, but from the morning we have to think about Dabrowa Górnicza, who we want to beat.“
Antonio Herrera, coach of Bulls: „This is basketball. We deserved to win, but so did Timisoara. I’m proud of my squad, the staff, the whole club and the organisation. We have to keep fighting to play more games like this.“
