BC "U-Bank Transylvania Cluj-Napoca" (Romania) - BC "Prometey" - 87:96 (22:28, 24:23, 24:21, 17:24). March 22. 7DAYS EuroCup. Group round. Group A. Tour 17. Cluj-Napoca (Romania). "BT-Arena".
BC "U-Bank Transylvania Cluj-Napoca": Meindl* (9), Shepherd* (6 + 6 assists), Richard* (4), Cate* (17), Bircevic* (11), Guzman (4), Stipanovic (14), Gordic (12), Kuti (0), Jones (10 + 6 rebounds).
BC "Prometey": Kennedy* (15 + 6 rebounds), Balvin* (5 + 6 rebounds), Stephens* (12 + 7 rebounds), Lukashov*, captain (11), Agada* (21), Clavell (12), Sydorov (4), Lypovyy (4), Sanon (2), Dickey (5), Tkachenko (5 + 3 steals).
In the mid-December of the last year, before the first confrontation of “Prometey” and “Cluj-Napoca” this season, both teams had 3 wins in 7 matches each. The opponents’ performances during the following three months turned out to be drastically opposite: “Prometey” made a 9-match winning streak, but the opponent got only two wins. If the brilliant performances of the Ukrainian club made it the Group A sole leader, "Cluj-Napoca" in the last round lost every chance to make it to the first eight. It was hardly worth to compare the tournament motivation of the teams before their second match in the seasonal series. However, “Cluj-Napoca” played in front of their audience today, so could not treat the confrontation as a mere formality.
The audience gave their favourites a lot of support, which did not upset "Prometey" in any way. The match started with an impressive spurt 13:0 (Denys Lukashov, who appeared after a small break, hit the opponents’ hoop twice). This handicap was arranged within first three minutes of the debut. In the middle of the quarter, the hosts of the court started finding their game and it immediately reflected in the game course. In 7th minute, there was just 1 point between the teams (18:19), but "Prometey" managed to leave the quarter for themselves - 28:22.
Events of the second ten-minute segment developed under the similar scenario. At first, the Ukrainian club took back the "10+" handicap, after which "Cluj" in a few minutes got closer to the "red-and-white" again, at a distance of one possession (42:44). In "Prometey” roster, Gian Clavell distinguished by his sniper qualities at the most needed moments (3 successful three-pointers out of 5 attempts in the first 20 minutes). The teams went for the long break with an advantage of our team by 5 points (51:46), which left chances for victory to the hosts of the court.
After the 15-minute break, the match continued to be tense. Both teams were inconsistent, and did not demonstrate a high-quality basketball. At the same time, “Prometey” did not lose lead in the score. However, at the beginning of the final ten-minute segment, “Cluj-Napoca” took the lead for the first time in the match (73:72). Foul-troubles of Stephens and Agada were a significant problem for the team.
To the credit of “Prometey”, the team again demonstrated the skill to overcome obstacles in the course of the game. In 36th minute, Ivan Tkachenko with an accurate three-pointer, took backthe leadership of the team (86:83). “Red and white” were stronger in a clutch and snatched the jubilee tenth victory in a row in the EuroCup.
“Prometey” will finish the 7DAYS EuroCup regular season with a home match against Italian “Reyer Venice” on March 29.
Natural mineral water "Vytautas" is the official hydration partner of BC "Prometey"
