A 17-39 partial score in the first 11 minutes after the intermission boosted the Montenegrin side to a life-saving win in Italy.
Buducnost used its offensive firepower to destroy Trento
Buducnost VOLI Podgorica came into its Round 17 game against Dolomiti Energia Trento in real need of a win. A loss would have eliminated it from the playoff race, and even a win could become worthless in case it won by less than 3 points in regulation and both Aris Midea Thessaloniki and Turk Telekom Ankara won.
None of those things happened in the end as even though Aris prevailed at ratiopharm Ulm, Turk Telekom lost at home against Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse and, most importantly, Buducnost pulled off an impressive 78-97 victory on the road to end a two-game losing streak that had put the Montenegrin side on the ropes.
“We needed the win and we won,” celebrated Buducnost head coach Andrezj Zakelj right after the final buzzer. “That's the most important [thing]. I think the game was tough for both teams. But I think that in the first quarter and the third quarter, we played at the level I want. And this gave us the win.”
It was not surprising that Zakelj felt so good about the good display of his team in the odd-numbered periods, as his team outscored Trento 31-56 across both the first and the third, in addition to recording a team PIR of 77 against Trento’s 25 during those 20 minutes. Buducnost shot 10-of-13 (76.9%) from the field in the first period, while going for 13-of-17 (76.4%) in the third, including hitting 6 three-pointers out of 7 attempts (85.7%).
One of those who led Buducnost during that time span was Nikola Tanaskovic, who shattered his previous career highs in PIR and points thanks to an all-around performance of 19 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 5 fouls drawn, while missing just one shot in the entire game.
He finished with a PIR of 27 in just 19:24, with most of his production coming during the first and the third periods. He scored 8 points in the first 10 minutes and another 8 in the third quarter, which seems more than a coincidence when it comes to explaining Buducnost’s explosion in those moments.
“I am proud [of my performance], of course," he recognized. “[I have to give] thanks to my guys who assisted me. We did really a great job here. We came with a lot of energy, we went for every rebound, we played team defense and team offense."