The first-year center stepped up in the fourth quarter as his team won its BKT EuroCup season opener.
Jacorey Williams showed up to complete Buducnost’s comeback
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Things were not going to plan for Jacorey Williams on his debut for Buducnost VOLI Podgorica. The American center, who joined his new team this summer, was expected to have a big role against 7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys in Buducnost’s BKT EuroCup home opener, yet he was a peripheral figure through the first two periods.
Buducnost trailed 31-38 at halftime and was down by 14 (35-49) after 24 minutes, with Williams having barely contributed on both ends. He had just 2 points and 1 rebound at that point, while he was also struggling to help his team grab defensive boards.
“We were playing a little bit soft in defense,” Williams said about his side’s first-half performance. “They are a great team, they can move the ball well, they are almost perfect when they are playing sets, so you have kind of play aggressive defense and take them out of rhythm.”
Helping to turn things around
He was on the bench when Buducnost turned up its level of aggression in the third quarter, which led to a 10-1 run before Jacorey returned to the floor with his team trailing 45-50. But as soon as he reentered the game, he started producing. He provided 2 assists and 1 defensive rebound in 2:28 minutes to help the home team complete the comeback and enter the last quarter ahead by 3 points, 53-50.
Then, Williams turned into the best version of himself, fueling his team when it was needed most. A bucket by Gediminas Orelik and a three by Vytenis Lipkevicius seemed to put Lietkabelis back in control, 53-55, early in the fourth period, but it was nothing but an illusion.
A dominant end to the game
Williams came up big from there on, however, as he recorded 11 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block and 1 foul drawn in the last nine minutes of the game to fuel a 23-10 run that enabled Buducnost to get the victory. The 29-year-old was on the court for the whole fourth period and finished the game as his team’s leading scorer and the player with the highest PIR (15).
Beyond the stats, his athleticism and quickness were key factors in changing Buducnost’s display in the second half and helping the home team flip the script.
“First half, they had a lot of rhythm,” Williams admitted in his post-game interview. “In the second half we played better defense and disrupted their offense a little bit and we started scoring in transition a little more.”
Buducnost head coach Petar Mijovic will be hoping that he can start to see the fourth-quarter version of Williams on a consistent basis, which should spell good news for the team in this season’s EuroCup.