Bahcesehir College Istanbul would have secured a Quarterfinals berth with a victory
Slask snaps 8-game losing skid with 80-82 win over Bahcesehir
Rungtynių ataskaitos
3 Minutė skaityti
Regular Season
Round 17 of 18
Regular Season
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Bahcesehir College IstanbulBKS
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Slask WroclawWKS
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Overview
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Slask Wroclaw finally found a way to finish a game with a win in snapping an eight-game losing streak dating back to November. Unfortunately for Bahcesehir College Istanbul, the loss means a missed opportunity to secure a top-two spot in Group A.
Slask nearly gave away the game in the final minute but held on for an 80-82 victory as it won its first game since beating Bahcesehir 99-91 at home in Round 8.
“Of course, everyone is happy to win against such a talented team - one of the top teams in the Turkish League. And we can be proud of ourselves,” said Slask head coach Ainars Bagatskis, whose team improved to 5-12 on the season.
Slask’s eight-game losing streak included four losses by 6 points or fewer. And the veteran head coach is happy the team finally closed a game.
“We have lost five or six games like this. We know how to play, but because of our lack of experience, we don’t know how to win. I hope this win puts us to the next level. We are happy but it’s just one game.”
Kadre Gray led the way with 19 points and 10 assists while Stefan Djordjevic scored 17 points and Noah Kirkwood scored 13 points in Slack’s first road win of the season.
“We just had fun. We went out there and just kept believing even when the game was getting tight. All things are possible. I’m just really happy with the victory,” said Gray. “I’m really happy our guys are starting to lock into their roles. It looks beautiful. We are starting to play much better basketball.”
Slask nearly gave the game away. The Polish side played tight in the first quarter thanks to 6 points from Dordevic and actually led 18-20 after 10 points.
The Slask run spanning the quarters was 2-11. Bahcesehir reclaimed the lead only to see the visitors reel off 12 straight points for a 27-38 advantage. The cushion was 35-42 at the break.
Slask came out strong in the second half and built a 40-51 advantage. The hosts mounted an 11-2 spurt to pull within 2 points. Slask was up to the challenge and led 57-60 after 30 minutes.
Bahcesehir’s defense kept Slask scoreless for nearly 4 minutes as it went ahead 63-60. Slask reclaimed the lead and worked hard to go up 72-80 with only 46 seconds to play.
Slask committed 3 turnovers down the stretch, including failing to inbound the ball with 2.4 seconds left. Malachi Flynn’s game-winning three-point attempt drew iron but did not go in and Slask grabbed the win.
Bahcesehir wasted an opportunity to lock up a top-two spot in the group with one game to go in falling to 11-6. Malachi Flynn top-scored for the team with 16 points and Trevion Williams totaled 11 points and 10 rebounds in the defeat.
“We missed a chance today. Now we need to take a harder road. We are paying the price of the tough schedule we have right now. We didn’t have our legs to make open shots,” Bahcesehir head coach Marko Barac said. “This was an important game for us and I feel very sorry for everybody that we didn’t deliver the victory.”
