BC “Prometey” – BC ”Hapoel Tel Aviv” (Israel) – 99:89 (29:26, 19:23, 27:18, 23:22). November 14. BKT EuroCup. 7 round. Riga (Latvia). Arena Riga.
BC “Prometey”: Agada* (8 + 7 assists + 6 rebounds), Odiase* (19), Reed* (16), Sanon* (10), Balvin* (3 + 12 rebounds + 2 steals), Sydorov, captain (14 + 6 assists), March (14 + 5 assists + 6 rebounds + 3 steals), Bobrov (2), Lypovyy (12), Tkachenko (0).
BC “Hapoel Tel Aviv”: Munford* (1 + 6 rebounds), Alexander* (13 + 6 rebounds), Timor*(14 + 5 assists + 3 steals), Angola* (18), Hoard* (15 + 7 rebounds), Zalmanson (10), Brown (15), Holland (3), Beni (0).
“Prometey” and Israeli “Hapoel” opened the programme of the BKT EuroCup 7th round in group A with their clash against each other. All EuroCup participants did not make even half of the regular season tournament distance, however today, it was very important confrontation for “Prometey” in terms of the fighting for one of the tickets to the playoffs. In addition, from psychological point, it was extremely needed for the “titans” to see their losing streak come to an end.
In the debut of the match, the teams organised a long-range gunplay, scoring twice each within two first minutes. All through the starting quarter, the opponents quite successfully attacked from the perimeter (55.6% accurate shots by “Prometey” and 40% - by “Hapoel”). Thanks to that, the quarter was a high-scoring one (55 total points). It finished in favour of the “titans” – 29:26.
In the second quarter, the teams’ productivity dropped down. On the one hand, the opponents became more aggressive in defense, on the other hand, they did not score off a lot of easy shots. However, “Prometey” kept the level of three-pointers conversion at a great level. Two three-point shots in a row by Illia Sydorov and Davon Reed in the middle of the quarter allowed the “titans” to create a small handicap by 5 points. Unfortunately the hosts did not manage to develop this local success. Moreover, 35 seconds before the break, Kyle Alexander scored for “Hapoel” lead - 49:48. That was the score of the first half of the game.
Within the first two minutes of the quarter №3, RonenGinzburg’s squad did not manage to hit the rival’s rim. Once again, accurate three-point shots helped the “titans”: two aced triples in a row by Oleksandr Lypovyy and one by Caleb Agada, drove “Prometey” in lead (57:55). Oleksand continued in this quarter his shooter’s performance and his fourth (!) hit from behind the arc brought “Prometey” “+8” advantage, which was recorded before the last break.
Our team played the final ten-minute segment perfectly in terms of controlling the game. There were no sagged segments in the “titans” performance. Finally, our team played reliably in defense not only in this quarter but in the entire match. As a result - a well-deserved win with a score of 98:89.
On November 22, “Prometey” plays another important home match. The rival is the Italian “Reyer Venice”, which as well as the “titans”, had 2 wins in 6 matches before this round.
