Zielona Gora come back from -20 and win in Minsk

Zielona Gora come back from -20 and win in Minsk

Zielona Gora outclassed Tsmoki-Minsk on the road – 80:75 (12:25, 19:23, 29:15, 20:12).

Top scorers
Tsmoki-Minsk: Robert Lowery (14), Derek Cooke (12 + 16 rebounds), Yauheni Beliankou(12), Kris Clyburn (12).
Zielona Gora: Gabriel Lundberg (23 + 7 assists), Rolands Freimanis (16 + 5 rebounds), Kris Richard (12), Janis Berzins (10 + 10 rebounds), Cecil Williams (10), Geoffrey Groselle (3 +11 rebounds).

Story
Win over Nizhny Novgorod in the last round tuned Minsk up. They approached the game in confident mood. The start of the game showed it. While the guests were finding the rhythm Tsmoki were gaining the lead. The main scorers were Yauheni Beliankou and Robert Lowery. They scored 17 points combined ensuring the double-digit – 25:12.

In the second quarter the Poles tried to take over the game using their bigs. Geoffrey Groselle and Rolands Freimanis hit a few shots but it didn’t change the way the game went. Minsk did goof at early offense, and in the end of the quarter Aliaksandr Pustahvar and Aliaksei Trastsinetski hit three long-range bombs. As a result by the end of the first half the score gap was 17 points – 48:31.

In the third quarter it finally was Zielona Gora time. The guests became tougher at defense and the guards did the offensive job headed by Gabriel Lundberg (10 points in a quarter). As a result, after Kris Richard buzzer beater the gap was cut to only one shot – 60:63.

Key moment
The game was decided only in the very end. The key argument was offensive rebounds. In two offensive possessions Zielona Gora players rebounded in the offense 4 times. Via additional possessions with equal score (73:73) they scored 4 points. One more point they scored after a technical foul by Minsk bench. It was enough for Polish win.

Minsk success helped Zielona Gora outpace Khimki in standings. The polish team are now 7th.

Hero
Gabriel Lundberg spent a perfect game. The Dane led the comeback in the third quarter and hit important clutch shots. As a result, the guard became the top scorer of the game – 23 points.

Stat
20 points – the biggest differential that the guests managed to overcome.

Comments
Tsmoki-Minsk head coach Rostislav Vergun:
– Today there were two different halves: 20 minutes we played as we had to to win. The second 20 minutes the opponent did the what we wanted. The key factors are second chance points: 19 by Zielona Gora and 5 by us. We lost the rebound in the end that let the opponent steal our victory.

Zielona Gora head coach Zan Tabak:
– As my UNICS collegue said, we step on the court with the opinion about the opponent that were expressed by our friends, the fans, the media often. But we have to stay professionals. We knew what Tsmoki were capable of. They play aggressively, with dedication and never give up. We knew it because we have watched their game. Our mistake was that we haven’t prepared mentally enough for the game.

Next
Tsmoki-Minsk: January 24 vs Kalev
Zielona Gora: January 23 vs Avtodor

Photo17/01/2021 Tsmoki-Zielona Gora 75:80