By going to Oostende and proving what a real shootout is, Pivovarna Lasko upset the home crowd in Belgium by taking its first ULEB Cup victory home to Slovenia in the form of a 92-94 road win. The result can be considered quite unpredictable, as the Belgian League champions were thought to be favorites on their home floor. However, Pivovarna Lasko took the victory after a thrilling but exalting ending, which was solved by an offensive board three-point play by Kenyan Weaks. The Pivovarna guard put in both the basket and free throw for the most important three points of his huge 23-point contribution. When Oostende guard Rimantas Kaukenas missed the last three-point attempt it was too late for the hosts. Weaks was hero of the game, but leading scorer was his twin guard Edwin Daniels, who added 24 based on an unbelievable first half of 17 points in 20 minutes, with no misses from the field. Oostende got 20 points each from guard Rimantas Kaukenas and forward Ralph Biggs, but fell to 0-1 on its home court, while Pivovarna seized a 1-0 record and little momentum in Group B.
The game had clearly two faces, as Pivovarna, as said, started it with a real shootout. Not only with guard Edwin Daniels, but also with forward Primoz Kobale, who added 8 with 100% shooting in first half (finishing with 17) and Kenyan Weaks, who contributed 6 points with 100% shooting. Pivovarna surprised everybody by taking big early lead after the first quarter, 19-31, and keeping it with great team play in offence till halftime, closed with hosts that had 7 points to make up (48-55) and guests with a round shaped 65% from the field.
The real struggle began when teams came back: Oostende started playing defence and tried to make points up, succeeding with a 10-0 run in the last 3 minutes of third period. 74-75 was the score, and Oostende's tide was rising higher and higher. The hosts were able to take their first important lead of the game with another 10-0 run that put them ahead 92-86 with with 3 minutes to go. But there Oostende's party ended. It had 6 negative offensive possessions in a row and was not able to score a single point. With 13 seconds to go, Oostende led by 1 (92-91), but Pivovarna¿s Weaks sank the key play of the game to serve the upset, before Kaukenas's last bad shot.
Thursday, October 15, 2020
Eurocupbasketball.com