2003-04Top 16Round 4
March 24, 2004 CET: 20:40
Local time: 20:40 FERNANDO BUESA ARENA

Tau Ceramica set up a showdown in Moscow next week for the Group D title when it dismissed winless Cibona 95-76 at home in Vitoria, Spain on Wednesday. The win raised Tau's record to 3-1, a victory behind undefeated CSKA (4-0). The two teams meet in Moscow next week with Tau needing to win by four points or more to take over first place. On Wednesday against Cibona, Tau put on an offensive and defensive exhibition, led by Andres Nocioni with 22 points in 23 minutes. Sergi Vidal added 19 points for the winners, and doubled up with 10 rebounds. Kornel David and Andrew Betts posted 10 points each. Only Josip Sesar, with 17 points, and Davor Kus, with 16, were able to break into double figures for Cibona, who scored 32 of its points in the final quarter.

Few expected a big battle when Cibona came to Vitoria without scorers Josip Vrankovic and Slaven Rimac, and the first 3 minutes were enough to confirm that assumption. Tau started hot, with Arvydas Macijauskas and Kornel David combining for a 12-0 run that forced the first timeout by Cibona coach Drazen Anzulovic. The margin increased to 14-0 before Cibona managed to score on a shot by Andrea Zizic. Tau coach Dusko Ivanovic, who decided to keep Luis Scola and Andres Nocioni on the bench to begin the game, called on the Argentinean duo midway through the first period as the gap got wider step by step. Josip Sesar hit the first three of the night for a 25-9 score after 9 minutes for the same difference that marked the end of the quarter, 29-11.

Cibona could not get going against Tau's amazing defensive quickness. The hosts took advantage of Cibona's poor shooting and turnovers to reach a 20-point difference after 13 minutes. After a timeout, Cibona tried a zone defense, but even when Tau was not very accurate from the perimeter, both boards were under its control. The problems didn't end for Cibona as Sesar comitted his third foul before heading the bench after 16 minutes an 42-16 on the scoreboard. Nocioni, whose performance had been spotty in recent games, sat down after 19 minutes having collected 15 points and made 7 out of 7 free throws as the first half ended with a 51-26 score.

Pablo Prigioni opened fire after the intermission with a three-pointer, giving Tau its biggest margin yet, 54-26. That started a shooting contest, with both teams attempting from the same distance to get points. Davor Kus and Sergi Vidal hit one apiece until David finished a fastbreak with an alley-oop to increase the margin to 30 points at 61-31 midway through the third period. Andrew Betts headed the bench right after that, receiving a warm welcome by teammates and fans because of his good performance. Although Macijauskas didn't find the way to the basket, but Tau had a good compensation from Vidal, an unexpected scoring force in this quarter, which ended with Tau 29 points ahead, 73-44.

Sesar seemed to be the only guest able to put Tau in some trouble as he got 5 points in a row early in the fourth quarter. But Cibona allowed Jose Manuel Calderon to make a three-pointer and David to score an easy layup in the following play, stopping this timid attempt at a reaction. Although Kus and Sesar kept scoring, nobody else helped, giving Tau a calm end of the game. Even when Cibona managed to reduce the gap to 87-66 after 37 minutes, Nocioni nailed a three with the shot clock expiring, signalling an exchange of baskets that continued to the final 95-76 scoreboard.

Wednesday, March 24, 2004
Natxo Mendaza, Vitoria
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Referees: SUDEK, PETR; PILIPAUSKAS, KESTUTIS; CMIKIEWICZ, MAREK; MARZIN, CHRISTIAN
Attendance: 8200
By Quarter1234
Tau Ceramica29222222
Cibona VIP11151832
End of Quarter1234
Tau Ceramica29517395
Cibona VIP11264476
Tau Ceramica
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
4 SCOLA, LUIS 19:45 6 3/6       2 2 2   6     4 1 -2
5 NOCIONI, ANDRES 23:45 22 6/7 1/4 7/7   2 2 5   2   1 3 4 23
7 MACIJAUSKAS, ARVYDAS 21:45 6 1/3 1/5 1/1 1 2 3 5 1       4 4 9
8 CALDERON, JOSE 19:00 9 0/1 1/3 6/6 1   1 1 1 1     1 3 10
9 VIDAL, SERGI 30:00 19 5/5 2/3 3/4 3 7 10 2 2 2     1 3 31
10 PRIGIONI, PABLO 21:00 6 0/1 2/3   3 1 4 2 2 1     2   9
16 BUESA, JAVIER 4:30                         1   -1
18 DAVID, KORNEL 20:15 10 4/8   2/2 3 3 6 1   1 1   2 3 14
21 SPLITTER, TIAGO 17:45 7 3/6   1/1 2 1 3 1   1 2   2 1 8
51 BETTS, ANDY 22:15 10 4/4   2/8 1 6 7 2         1 6 18
Team             1 1   10           11
Totals 200:00 95 26/41 7/18 22/29 14 25 39 21 16 14 3 1 21 25 130
        63.4% 38.9% 75.9%
Head coach: IVANOVIC, DUSKO
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
Cibona VIP
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
5 KUS, DAVOR 31:30 16 4/7 2/3 2/2   3 3 3   1     1 2 18
7 KRASIC, BARISA 21:00 3 0/1 1/4   1   1   1   1   3   -1
8 ZIZIC, ANDRIJA 25:15 9 3/9   3/4 2 4 6   1 3     3 4 7
9 GOLEMAC, JURICA 23:45 9 0/4 2/2 3/4 1 1 2 4 1 5   1 3 5 7
10 SESAR, JOSIP 27:30 17 2/2 4/8 1/3 1 2 3 1 1 2     4 3 13
11 STIMAC, ANDREJ 11:30   0/1 0/2                   1   -4
12 MANCE, MARIJAN 16:15 7 2/3   3/4 1 4 5 1 1       5 2 9
13 MAMIC, MATEJ 4:45 1     1/2       1 3 1       1 4
15 POLJAK, JOSKO 14:45 7 3/4   1/2           1   1 1 1 3
24 POPOVIC, MARKO 23:45 7 2/4 1/4         3 1 2   1 4 3 2
Team             2 2   5 1         6
Totals 200:00 76 16/35 10/23 14/21 6 16 22 13 14 16 1 3 25 21 64
        45.7% 43.5% 66.7%
Head coach: ANZULOVIC, DRAZEN
This game is not yet played

Head Coaches

IVANOVIC, DUSKO
Tau Ceramica
"We won a game that we had to win in order to turn the next one in Moscow into a die-or-die match. I think our beginning was very good, working hard in defense, just like we planned before the game. We played good the three first quarters, but in the last one we didn't. We had a lot of turnovers, we played bad defense and let them play, so they could show their talent. The thing that worries me the most is that some of our players don't play defense and that is our main problem to face the next decisive games we have to play in the ACB and the Euroleague. Cibona is a talented team but they play better at home than on the road and they also missed some key players tonight, like Vranovic, Rimac or Penn."
ANZULOVIC, DRAZEN
Cibona VIP
"First of all I want to congratulate Tau for this win. I think it has been the worst game for my team this season. We started playing very softly while Tau played very tough in defense, and we found no answer. Tau was in control for the whole game. What was important for my team in this game was that we missed three important players like Sconnie Penn, Slaven Rimav and Vrankovic. For me, Tau is one of the best 5 teams in Europe and I hope they'll have a chance in Moscow against CSKA."

Players

BETTS, ANDY
Tau Ceramica
"We came out strong tonight and I think that the fact they had no opportunity to make it to the Final Four made them lose their motivation to play, although in the second half they played much better. I think they suffered the injuries very much. Rimac is the best player for them and to play without him was difficult for Cibona. I think it would be better a tougher game today because the next game is a do-or-die game for us, we must win by 4 points in Moscow."
SESAR, JOSIP
Cibona VIP
"We had some problems with injuries in this Top 16, and that prevented us from getting better chances to qualify. Today it was quite similar, without Vrankovic, Penn or Rimac. We played very bad today, it's a shame for us because we were under 20 points many times during the game. I agree with my coach that it's the worst game of the year for us. Now we must focus on the next Final Four of Adriatic League and on the Croatian League, because the Top 16 is over for us. I think Tau has chances to make it to the Final Four, I didn't play against CSKA but Tau is a strong team and they will have a chance. We face the next two games with the intention of winning if we find chances against Olympiacos or CSKA."
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