BC “Prometey” – BC “Joventut Badalona” (Spain) – 94:80 (27:27, 20:26, 11:18, 36:9).
February 7. BKT EuroCup. Round 18. Riga (Latvia). Arena Riga.
BC “Prometey”: Agada (14 + 7 assists), Clavell (24), Odiase (4), March (19 + 8 rebounds), Bobrov (0) – starting five; Balvin (6 + 12 rebounds), lypovyy (4), Kennedy (0), Sanon (23), Sydorov, captain (0), Gray (0).
BC “Joventut Badalona”: Evans (17 + 6 assists), Feliz (4), Ruzic (11), Cook (9 + 6 rebounds), Busquets (10 + 6 rebounds + 2 steals) – starting five; Kraag (2), Tomic (7), Vives (4), Ribas (12), Brodziansky (4).
“Prometey” and Spanish “Joventut” capped their game programme of the BKT EuroCup regular season with the match at Arena Riga. Last season, following the results of the first stage, the teams occupied the first two lines in the tournament standings of their group. This season they had to settle for fight for the fourth place, which gives an advantage of home arena at the first stage of the playoffs.
The opponents started the match briskly, showing very high-quality basketball. The teams took the lead in turns; in addition, the players of the Spanish club hit three (!) three-pointers at once within the first two minutes. As for “Prometey”, Gian Clavell demonstrated simply insane efficiency in the starting quarter - 13 points. The “titans” managed a spurt at the beginning of the second half of the quarter, due to which they were in lead up to the siren for the first break, but Pau Ribas, with his ultra-long-range established the tie 27:27.
The effective and exciting game continued in the second ten-minute segment as well. At its beginning, the “titans” shot from the long range just brilliantly (Issuf Sanon and Oleksandr Lypovyy). It allowed Ronen Ginzburg’s squad to be mostly in lead again, however, it was not possible to break away from the rival, who also succeeded in three-point shots (9 successful attempts out of 15 within the first 20 minutes). Moreover, "Joventut" managed to go for a big break in the status of the leader, and with a margin of two possessions (53:47).
The third quarter started with a 6:0 run by the visiting team – it was if not crucial then very unpleasant moment when it was necessary to step up urgently. The productivity of both teams dropped sharply in this quarter, but even in such a sticky game, the guests managed to win the second ten-minute segment in a row.
In the final quarter, the "titans" had to play back 13 points. "Prometey" started it with a 6:0 run (Issuf Sanon scored 4 points). Ronald March supported Issuf and outlines of our comeback became clear. In the 35th minute, incredible Sanon very timely tied the score (76:76). In addition, five points in a row by March has brot the “titans” “+5”. During the entire quarter, Ronen Ginzburg's players showed just fantastic defence: within 10 game minutes, they missed only 9 (!) points. This moment also helped them gather such a needed victory with the needed score - 94:80!
Now, in the first stage of the playoffs, "Prometey" will have the advantage of the home arena.
