

A team which racks up a total of 40 rebounds would be expected to come out on top in a basketball game, but for Buducnost VOLI Podgorica, that tally wasn’t nearly enough as Dolomiti Energia Trento collected a staggering 53 boards in a 79-76 home win on Tuesday.
Crucially, the Italian side had 23 offensive boards against Buducnost’s 14, resulting in a barrage of second-chance points which contributed to a 51-28 lead early in the third quarter.
Buducnost, who also shot 0-of-10 from three-point range in the first half, improved after the break but eventually came up short in a thrilling final. Trae Bell-Haynes excelled in the second half and finished the game on 24 points while Erick Green chipped in with 18, but the supporting cast misfired as the visitors ended up shooting 5-of-21 from beyond the arc.
Trento was 7-of-23 from deep after shooting 5-of-12 in the first half, as its offense declined dramatically after the interval, with the home team allowing Buducnost to turn the tide in the fourth quarter, 68-69.
However, the hosts showed great determination in the last few minutes to claw out a win which alive kept its hopes of reaching the playoffs, although it only managed 22-of-52 shots from two-point range, with Buducnost hitting 22-of-43.
In the end, the game was decided by superior rebounding, as summed up by Buducnost head coach Vlada Jovanovic: “We had a much better approach in the second half; we found and made open shots, played much tougher defense, with a lot of contact. However, throughout the game we had a huge problem with [Trento’s] offensive rebounds and we didn’t resolve that until the end.”