Despite a rough night from three-point range, the Italian side was able to get the win
Reyer hopes home victory over Neptunas will get its season rolling
Game Report
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 3 of 18
Regular Season
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Umana Reyer VeniceURV
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Neptunas KlaipedaNEP
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Overview
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Both Umana Reyer Venice and Neptunas Klaipeda came into Wednesday night’s game at the Palasport Teliercio without a win to their name. In the end it was Reyer which was able to correct that, putting on a professional display to defeat the Lithuanian visitors 89-69 and commanding the pace of play throughout.
The Venetians dominated the first quarter, limiting Neptunas to just 10 points in the opening period. Neptunas struggled mightily on the offensive end, despite some solid play execution. Reyer hurt the visitors in transition at every opportunity, even though they couldn’t buy a basket from downtown. At the break, the hosts led 51-26.
Neptunas came out aggressively at the restart, led by Zane Waterman, but ultimately struggled to put a significant dent in the deficit. Though its offense slowed down, Reyer tightened its grip down the stretch, keeping its opponents at bay to secure the 20-point W.
The home team scored as a unit throughout, with 10 different players making their mark in the scoring column. Chris Horton played the starring role, recording an 11-point, 11-rebound double-double and finishing the game with a PIR of 22. Elsewhere, Stefan Nikolic, Kyle Wiltjer, Carl Wheatle and RJ Cole also reached double figures in scoring.
Without a doubt, Reyer’s EuroCup campaign hasn’t started as planned, but Horton hopes this much-improved display can mark a turn in fortunes for his team.
“I feel good. It feels good to finally get a win in EuroCup. We’ve had a rough start, but that’s basketball,” Horton said. “I’m glad that we improved on the mistakes we made in the first two games and really happy we were able to get our first win out here, in front of our fans.
“Every win brings you together, you get better with every win and you learn more. This right here is just a stepping stone to where we want to go to. The most important thing is you get better every day, so hopefully we improve even more in the next game.”
Reyer head coach Neven Spahija shares a similarly optimistic outlook but still expects much more from is team, especially from beyond the arc, where Reyer hit just 17% of their shots.
“I think we did a really good job,” Spahija expressed. “We still have to shoot the ball better, because scoring this many points, 89 points without shooting well from outside is usually very difficult.”
Sometimes a win can release the pressure valve during a difficult period. Spahija sensed some frustration in the camp and hopes that they can use Wednesday night’s win as a springboard.
“We are practicing hard and doing well during the week. Lately we’ve felt a lot of pressure and we need such wins to approach our next Italian championship game and to play with more confidence, of course to a full gym!”
Neptunas fell to 0-3 with the defeat, but not for want of trying. Head coach Gediminas Petrauskas was quick to shoulder the blame for the loss, shifting the responsibility away from his players after the game.
“It’s entirely my fault,” Petrauskas claimed. “I didn’t prepare the team the right way, with the right mentality.”
Coach Petrauskas's men have a chance to bounce back next week as they face Veolia Hamburg Towers on Tuesday, while Reyer will hope to build on Wednesday night's performance when it meets U-BT Cluj-Napoca in a week's time.
