In the away game of the 3rd round of the FIBA Europe Cup, Tsmoki-Minsk met with the Bakken Bears club in Denmark. And, unfortunately, they lost 93: 101 (25:28, 25:28, 18:25, 25:20).
Starting fives
Tsmoki-Minsk: Angelo Warner, Yauheni Beliankou, Aliaksei Trastsinetski, Stefan Jankovic, Robert Upshaw.
Bakken Bears: Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson, Darko Jukic, Taylor Ongwae, Ryan Evans, Michel Diouf.
Game scenario
The game started with a three-point hit by Diouf - Upshaw did not believe that Bakken Bears center would score from the distance. Minsk responded with 5 points in a row by Jankovic. When Beliankou followed his example, Tsmoki-Minsk took the lead - 7: 5.
And then there was a shootout. Opponents responded «blow for blow» and attacked with a high percentage. Upshaw hammered the dunk in the last seconds of the opening quarter, but Ongwae managed to add two points to Bakken Bears - 28:25.
The second quarter ended with exactly the same score. Although it’s script was fundamentally different. The home team began to catch the Dragons more often on their own mistakes and with the help of quick counterattacks they earned a double-digit advantage.
Rostislav Vergun brought down the Bears’ offensive impulse with the help of a time-out, and thanks to the changes in the attacking formations, he achieved a turning point in the game. Clark and Warner were actively involved in the shooting «war», thanks to their successful hits Tsmoki-Minsk made an 8: 2 run. When Stubeda, who first entered the court after an injury, won a tough board fight twice in a row, the gap from the hosts was almost completely leveled - 50:54. Unluckily, the last word in the first half was still for Bakken Bears - Evans scored.
Unfortunately, the third quarter did not cheer up our guys, although it began with a bright performance by Upshaw - the center first scored a dunk, and then a three. The gap between the opponents was reduced to two accurate throws - 55:59. Bakken Bears focused on shooting from the perimeter: Jukic, Evans and Diouf have excelled at it. And the Danes took the lead again.
Denouement
Tsmoki-Minsk entered the nervous ending with a slight lag (93:97) thanks to 2 long-range hits by Jankovic and Blizniuk. At the crucial moment, when the Belarusian team attacked and could get close to the opponent, the referees have made a controversial decision in favor of Bakken Bears. Stubeda broke into the paint and the ball was knocked out of his hands, but the judges gave the possession to the hosts. With 23 seconds left, Warner slipped under the rim through an extremely tight defense, but was unable to score. And then he had to foul on Evans. American forward didn’t miss from the free-throw line, depriving Tsmoki-Minsk of the last chance to save.
Notable roles
Tsmoki-Minsk guards Uladzislau Blizniuk and Jason Clark repeatedly returned the intrigue to the game when they successfully attacked from beyond the arc. Uladzislau scored 4-6 threes, Clarc - 3-5.
The number
93 - so many points were scored by Tsmoki, and this is the highest result of our team in the current FIBA Europe Cup. Alas, this achievement was not enough to win.
Rostislav Vergun, head coach of Tsmoki-Minsk:
The guys have to understand: to achieve victory at this level, you need to defend well. The way we started each quarter, even with a successful offensive game, did not allow us to count on a victorious result. I don’t want to talk about the positive aspects in hot pursuit - we will definitely analyze them later. We definitely need to improve our aggression and team defense in order to be able to please our fans in the next games.
Scoring leaders
Tsmoki-Minsk: Jason Clark - 20 PTS + 3 REB + 2 AST, Uladzislau Blizniuk - 17 PTS, Robert Upshaw - 15 PTS + 3 REB + 2 BLK, Angelo Warner - 13 PTS + 5 REB + 5 AST, Stefan Jankovic - 12 PTS + 4 REB + 1 BLK.
Bakken Bears: Ryan Evans - 25 PTS + 4 REB + 4 AST + 2 BLK, Darko Jukic - 20 PTS + 5 REB + 4 AST, Marvelle Harris - 18 PTS, Travis Taylor - 14 PTS + 10 REB + 2 BLK, Michel Diouf - 13 PTS.
Next game
In the 4th round of the FIBA Europe Cup, November 3, Tsmoki-Minsk will play in Greece against the Peristeri. The game will start at 20.00 Belarusian time.