Game won on our home court as “guests”

PINKK-PÉCSI 424 - SOPRON BASKET 63-86 (12-27, 25-26, 17-17, 9-16)
Sopron

PINKK-Pécsi 424: Benke 7/3, Cukic 7/3, Gémes-Sarok 5/3, Slaughter 21/6, Cheslek 8 Sub.: Ruják 6/3, Sánta 4, Kovalcsik 3, Jakovina 2, Zsilinszky -

Sopron Basket: Fegyverneky 4, Weninger 3/3, Salvadores 6, Page 10, Jovanovic 14 Sub.: Határ 16, Dubei 14/6, Milovanovic 8/3, Turner 7/3, Czukor 4

Stats

FGS: 23/52 44% ill. 34/64 53%

3-PTS: 6/13 46% ill. 5/16 31%

FTS: 11/14 79% ill. 13/15 87%

Rebounds: 27 (Ruják, Slaughter 5-5) ill. 31 (Jovanovic 9)

Assists: 12 (Ruják 4) ill. 25 (Turner 5)

Steals: 4 ill. 8 (Turner 4)

Turnovers: 14 ill. 9

Blocks: 2 ill 3

Faults: 19 ill. 17

We started the game better and faster, and we got the early lead with a 9-2 run based on the performances of Virág, Tina, Danielle and Angela. Five minutes into the game the difference reached double digits for the first time after Danielle put four free throws in a row (5th minute 6-17). We didn't let PINKK score for three minutes, but our shots kept finding the way into the basket, and when Debi buried a double we were already ahead by fifteen points. In the last period of the quarter baskets were falling at both ends of the court, and the difference remained as it was (10th minute 12-27).


Kovalcsik began the second period with a double, and after a few exchanges of baskets coach Roberto Iniguez called a time-out, because PINNK were getting closer to us (13th minute 18-31). Benke converted a double after the break, to which Jeca and Zsófi answered back with five points in a row, that led to a Pécs time-out (15th minute 20-36). After that the teams were advancing head-to-head for a while, and then Yvonne hit one from behind the arc to give us the biggest lead in the game so far. In the remaining time in the period neither team was able to significantly change the pace of the game, and after Yvonne made a double at the buzzer, the first quarter ended with a comfortable Sopron Basket lead (20th minute 37-53).


Cukic and Slaughter hit one from inside the three-point line to set off the second half. Led by Ivy Slaughter PINKK have started a comeback effort, and four minutes into the quarter they were close to coming back down to a single-digit deficit, but Betti's successful double came just at the right moment. She and Debi were the key figures in our efforts in the remainder of the quarter to restore the margin we had at half time by the end of this period (30th minute 54-70).


Slaughter opened the final stage of the game with a triple, to which we responded by performing a 7-0 run causing Miklós Laczka to call a time-out and try to stop us. His words proved to have been effective, because PINKK came up with a 6-2 run as an answer. Although we had the final say in the game, Tina, Betti and Dalma closed out the game with a double each to secure a comfortable and valuable win in the Hungarian championship (40th minute 63-86).

Angela Salvadores got an anaphylactic shock during the game and her cheeks started to swell up, and she got an injection in the arena. On the way to the hospital she dropped on the floor, and after that she was transferred to the hospital by ambulance. Fortunately, there was no bigger problem, she is in the hospital for observation, but she is okay now.

Roberto Iniguez: The first half was very good, but I am really upset about the second. Even if only one person comes to the game we have to give our best, or else we fail them. I am upset about myself, too, for not being able to motivate my players well enough, because unfortunately, this is not the first case when we play like this against smaller teams. This is the coach's fault, and when I am upset, I make bad decisions, but I would like to add, that whatever I do, I do it from my heart. I am not perfect, but this is also Roberto Iniguez.

Dalma Czukor: We were playing after a fantastic win, but with fatigue. We tried to fight that, and I think we managed to do so. We had our ups and downs, we tried to provide our key players some rest, so us younger players got more chances today. I myself couldn't really make use of this chance, but I think there were more of us who performed well.

Miklós Laczka:We started weakly, and we tried to come back from that, but against a team like Sopron it is hard to do. We managed to improve on defense for the second half, but we still had some bad moments, of which Sopron took advantage. Congratulations to them for the win. We have a lot of work to do ahead of ourselves!

Tijana Cukic: It was a very hard game! We started badly, and then we improved after the half-time break. I am glad we showed that we can play well, but we have made a lot of mistakes on defense, of which Sopron took advantage. From now on we have to get ready for a very important game against Vasas.