Cup Final – here we come!

Sopron Basket - ALUINVENT-DVTK 72-51 (18-19, 12-8, 19-7, 23-17)
Győr, 400 néző

Sopron Basket: Fegyverneky 5, Dubei 5/3, Crvendakic 10/3, Dupree 14, Határ 4 Sub.: Turner 12/6, Zahui 10, Jovanovic 8, Honti 4, Czukor -

ALUINVENT-DVTK: Medgyessy 7, Walker 8, Skoric 13/6, Mokango 13/3, Putnina 2 Sub.: Kiss A. 6, Szűcs R. 2, Kányási -, Szabó F. -, Zele D. -

Stats

FGS: 23/47 49% ill. 14/41 34%

3-PTS: 4/20 20% ill. 3/11 27%

FTS: 14/17 82% ill. 14/18 78%

Rebounds: 49 (Crvendakic 9) ill. 33 (Mokango 10)

Assists: 15 (Fegyverneky 5) ill. 12 (Walker 4)

Steals: 8 ill. 4

Turnovers: 9 ill. 15

Faults: 18 ill. 21

VAL: 91 (Dupree 18) ill. 46 (Mokango 19)

Mokango got the game going with a double over Betti, to which Candice answered back with a lay-up. Then Medgyessy converted one of two shots from the free throw line, to which Skoric added a triple (3rd minute 2-6). After that Debi hit one from the corner, but she stepped on the line, which made it into a double, and then Betti beat her defender under the basket with a spin move. Putnina and Candice exchanged baskets, and then it was our American post player who scored off an assist by Betti (6th minute 10-8). Then Kata came on court and scored right away from mid-range. After that we were able to pull away a little, but as the end of the quarter came closer DVTK reduced the gap to a single point again (14-13). What's more, our opponents managed to turn the game their way by the end of the first period (10th minute 18-19).


Mokango put two more points on the board for Miskolc to start the second, and for a while that was the only basket made (12th minute 18-21). After that Skoric increased her team's lead even further with a jumper from inside the paint. It took more than three minutes for us to get our first made shot in the quarter, which came from Yvonne (14th minute 20-23). Then Skoric converted two shots from the foul line, to which Candice answered back with a mid-range double off a spin move, and then Betti put it back for two after grabbing an offensive rebound. After that there was a long scoring drought, to which Aleks put an end with a corner three (18th minute 27-25). A few possessions later Kiss made two shots from the line, and Zsófi split the pair at the other end, to which Candice added two more points from the paint to set the half-time score (20th minute 30-27).


Medgyessy began the third quarter with an easy double after an offensive rebound, to which Yvonne answered back likewise. What's more, she also buried a triple to increase our lead even further. Then Medgyessy made two free throws to cut into DVTK's deficit (22nd minute 35-31). The early stages of the quarter were all about Yvonne, she put four more points on the board, to which Zsófi added two from the line, increasing our lead into double digits (41-31). After that Skoric was able to score for Miskolc. A few minutes later Candice made a difficult jumper inside the paint, to which Kata added two more from the free throw line. After that Walker-Kimbrough hit one of two from the line, to which Tina answered back with a double, forcing a time-out by László Cziczás (28th minute 47-34). Following the short break Tina made a double under the rim setting the score for the period (30th minute 49-34).


Aleks opened the final stage of the game with a three-point play, to which Walker-Kimbrough answered back with a jumper from the foul line, and then Mokango made a lay-up (32nd minute 52-38). After that Yvonne drained a three off an assist by Aleks, to which Mokango answered back likewise. Following the assist she handed out to Yvonne, Aleks made a double, to which Skoric answered back with a triple. Then Amanda scored six points in a row to force László Cziczás's next time-out (35th minute 63-44). Coming back from the short break Debi hit a corner three to increase our advantage over twenty points, and then the teams exchanged doubles, to which Mokango added two successful shots from the line and coming back down below twenty points (38th minute 68-49). Mokango kept scoring, she made a lay-up next to Betti, to which Amanda answered back with a buzzer-beating mid-range double, and then it was also her who beat the buzzer again for the final basket (40th minute 72-51).

Roberto Iniguez: I will be honest, as always. I didn't want to participate in this cup. For me the players are still top priority, but ahead of our Euroleague games next week this schedule is gutting them. There are people from FIBA here in Győr because of the cup who asked me how it is possible to prepare the players for one of the most important series of the year that they have been working for all season long? I can't say anything to them. In today's game we got into rhythm after the break. We understood that we have to play our own defense, follow our rules, and not only focus on shooting. That was the key to the game! Congratulations to Miskolc, they fought well. I couldn't use the rotation I wanted today, and it is because of them. They are doing an excellent job! I wish them the best of luck for the remainder of the season! We are facing a very difficult final against Szekszárd. We will see how clear ur heads will be and how well we can focus on the game. We what this game means to Szekszárd, so we will have to play hard!

Debóra Dubei: I am proud of the team! We played better, we fought for 40 minutes, and did everything for the win! We are playing in the final against Szekszárd tomorrow, so we'll keep working!