Prokom Trefl Sopot registered its second consecutive win in Group B in spectacular fashion on the road, taking a huge 71-92 decision over Armani Jeans in Milano, Italy on Thursday. Prokom's first road win raised its Group B record to 2-1 as it shares second place Maccabi and Winthertur FCB. Armani Jeans fell to 1-2. Goran Jagodnik led Prokom with an amazing shooting performance, 25 points on 7 of 9 three-pointer. Adam Wojcik added 21 points, Christian Dalmau had 14 while Tomas Masiulis bagged 10 to go with 9 rebounds. Massimo Bulleri led the hosts with 16 points. Sven Schultze added 12 while Diego Fajardo, Giacomo Galanda and Dante Calabria chipped in 10 apiece for Milano. Dalmau and Jagodnik combined for 23 points in the first quarter to give Prokom a 17-30 lead, but after Bulleri and Schultze helped Milano cut the difference, it all came down to the final period. In that one, Jagodnik nailed 2 triples, Wojcik had 9 points and Prokom's defense did the rest to seal the win.
Dalmau opened the scoring with a jumper and Mario Gigena answered from downtown for the first Milano lead, 3-2. Jagodnik gotgoing with back-to-back triples and Masiulis converted an offensive rebound as the guests went ahead, 5-10. Galanda slashed for a basket, but it was Dalmau's turn for consecutive three-pointers as Prokom zoomed ahead 7-19. After a Milano timeout, Dalmau made it 8 straight points Jagodnik downed free throws to push the score to 7-23. Bulleri finally woke up Armani with a shot from long distance followed by a steal and fastbreak layup that came with a foul. His free throw cut the margin to 11-23. It was just a breath, however, as Jagodnik launched again from the arc to make it 12-30 margin. It was all that Bulleri and Diego Fajardo could do to lower the difference to 17-30 by the end of the first quarter.
Wojcik opened the second quarter with a jump hook in the paint, while Fajardo sparked Milano by scoring from mid range and playing good defense. Masiulis and Bullleri exchanged baskets before Dusan Vukcevic hit afree throws that narrowed the gap to 23-34. Armani had probelms to contain Prokom's slashers, but finally saw Calabria's first baskets from long distance and another triple by Sven Schultze in a 13-2 run that reduce the cushion to 32-36. Prokom reacted with a 2-8 blast ended by Istvan Nemeth's triple for another double-digit lead, 34-44. Fajardo's 4 pour points in a row and a three-pointer by Schultze kept Milano close at 41-44, but the experienced Wojcick stepped in with his first triple to recharge the guests. Schultze's third downtown strike of the quarter left a 44-47 score in Prokom's favor at halftime.
Preston Shumpert and Calabria opened fire as Milano took its first lead, 48-47, after halftime. Michael Andersen soon tied 50-50 for Prokom with free throws, but even when Jagodnik scored from beyond the arc, Galanda answered inside to put again Milano up 55-53. Andersen and Jogodnik comined for 4 points as the defenses took over and players battled for loose balls all over the court. A pair of scoreless minutes ended with Jagodnik and Galanda trading three-pointers, and the leading kept changing hands until Wojcik slammed for a Prokom edge to Dalmau added an acrobatic shot for a 64-67 scoreboard after 30 minutes.
Jagodnik sent a signal with his sixth three-pointer to start the final quarter, and after Prokom's defense forced a 24-second violation on Milano, he proved whose night it was going to be with a seventh triple that made it 64-73. Tomas Pacesas shot over Milano's big men to push Prokom's lead into double digits again, and the blowout was started. Galanda tried to ignite Milano from the arc, but Wojcick scored 2 layups and an additional free throw for 67-80. Prokom was relentless on defense and Wojcik boosted the difference to 69-84 with under 5 minutes left. An amazing dunk by Wojcick then left no doubt that Prokom deserved the victory that the visitors ended up winning by 21 points, their biggest ever on the road in the Euroleague.
Thursday, November 17, 2005
Romano Petitti, Milan