Stelmet Zielona Gora brushed aside Telenet Oostende 85-61 on Wednesday evening in Poland, exacting revenge for its loss last week against the Belgian champ. A huge improvement on shooting was the key for the host's success, on an off night for Oostende. The visiting team had the chance to go through to the Last 16 after Unics Kazan won at home against Panionios, but it wasn't to be and Oostende is now tied with Zielona Gora at 2-2. Walter Hodge and Rob Jones led the winners with 22 and 18 points, respectively. Hodge also dished 6 assists. Oliver Stevic added 16 points and 7 rebounds and Quinton Hosley totaled 11 points, 7 boards and 6 assists. Mario Stojic paced Oostende with 16 points, Matt Lojeski netted 12 and Jamel McLean 10.
Dusan Djordevic opened up the scoring for Telenet Oostende in the opening minute, hitting a two-pointer off a Brent Wright assist. Zielona Gora would have to wait nearly two minutes into the game to get off the mark, when Hodge stole the ball, was fouled and put in his shots from the charity stripe. A positive sign for the host came shortly after, as Kamil Chanas hit the first triple of the game Jones's putback and subsequent three-pointer took the team into a firm 12-4 lead at the midway point of the quarter, and he extended the advantage with another two-point shot after an Oostende timeout. A barren spell of almost four minutes without a basket for the visitor was finally ended when Djordevic hit 2 from the line, but Zielona Gora's early dominance remained. Oostende was only keeping up with the host through a reliable stream of free throws and the first quarter concluded 25-15. Zielona Gora established a 30-15 lead after two minutes of the second quarter. Oostende again had to wait until deep into the quarter to find its first points, off a Dragisa Drobnjak basket. Jones continued to be on fire for the home team and put down another shot from beyond the arc -his third from three attempts. A run of three minutes without a basket for the visitors ended once again from the foul line thanks to Stojic. Hodge and Jones were already well past that as they led their team to a 45-27 advantage at halftime, capped off by a deep Hosley triple on the buzzer.
Oostende rallied with an unanswered run of 6 points to start the second half, but Zielona Gora's nerves were eased when Chanas hit his second triple of the night. Wright pulled back points for Oostende with his first score of the game, but the battle of the big men was being won by Stevic. Another buzzer-beater from Hodge put Zielona Gora 68-47 up heading into the final quarter.
Outscored in a quarter for the first time, Zielona Gora managed to contain Oostende in the fourth period and cruise to the final buzzer. McLean dominated the quarter with dunks and layups, but he was unable to cut the scoreline to less than a comfortable 20-point game. The contest ended 85-61, as Zielona Gora took its second ever Eurocup win.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Eurocupbasketball.com