Unbeaten streak kept alive in Euroleague

Sopron Basket - Beretta Famila Schio 67-58 (21-21, 15-15, 20-12, 11-10)
Sopron

Sopron Basket: Fegyverneky 8/6, Jovanovic 11, Williams 17, Varga A. 2, Határ B. 25 Sub.: Varga S. 4, Gaye -

Beretta Famila Schio: Sottana 4, Mestdagh 8/6, Laksa 17/15, Gruda 12, Collier 4 Sub.: André 6, Dotto 3/3, Verona 2, Crippa 2, Keys -

Statistics

FGS: 24/59 41% ill. 25/65 39%

3-PTSk: 2/17 12% ill. 8/21 38%

FTS: 17/22 77% ill. 0/0 0%

Rebounds: 40 (Határ 12) ill. 38 (Gruda 8)

Assists: 14 (Williams 5) ill. 18 (Sottana 8)

Steals: 9 (Jovanovic 4) ill. 5

Turnovers: 9 ill. 12

Faults: 14 ill. 22

EFF: 84 (Határ 25) ill. 70 (Gruda, Laksa 13-13)

Photo: Zsombor Tóth

The game began with a quick bucket by Alíz, and then after a nice play Gabby gave an assist to Betti, and then the former evern made a lay-up after a steal. After that Collier scored the first basket for the Italians as well, however, following yet another easy basket by Gabby, they had to call a time-out (3rd minute 8-2). Laksa hit a triple after the short pause, while at the other end Gabby made another easy lay-up after a steal. Neca copied Gabby’s actions, and then Mestdagh made a three, and then Laksa answered back to Betti’s double with another outside shot. In the next few minutes Schio came back to a single-point difference, after that Laksa answered back to Neca’s double with a triple tying the game up for the Italians forcing Dávid Gáspár’s first time-out (8th minute 18-18). The guests even took over the lead after the brief talk at the benches with a long shot by Dotto. Betti made one free throw, while Sára converted two, so the game was tied again (10th minute 21-21).


Betti got a steal under her own basket at the beginning of the second period, and then she got the ball back from Gabby at the end of the possession, and made a lay-up. After that Zsófi also served our center a great pass for two more points. Betti seemed to be unstoppable under the rim, she even drew a foul along with another basket forcing Schio’s next time-out (13th minute 27-21). Betti put the and-one in place after the talk, while at the other end gruda made a double, to which Betti answered back likewise, and then, following a great defensive team effort Gabby made a spectacular basket. For the Italians Sottana scored a double, and then so did Gruda, so it was time for Dávid Gáspár to call his second time-out, too (34-29). Sxchio came even closer with a double by André, meaning that with under two minutes left until half-time we were only ahead by three, so Betti’S next bucket came just at the right time. We couldn’t be happy for long, because Laksa hit from behind the arc again, what’s more, after a double by Sottana the game was all tied again (20th minute 36-36).


Betti picked up where she left off after the break, we got ahead again with her basket, and then Gabby also made a difficult lay-up. Mestdagh buried a triple at the other end, and then, thanks to points by Gruda and Collier Schio were already in the lead (23rd minute 40-43). After that came Zsófi’s moments, she gave our team the lead with two unbelievable last-second triples, but then Laksa was also able to hit her fifth shot from behind the arc, so the scoreboard showed a tie game againSéra and Neca both made two free throws, so we managed to pull away from the guests by two possessions’ worth, and then, after a double by Neca the italians called time again (28th minute 52-46). A minute later Betti scored her twentieth point in the game, and then Crippa also made a double. The third period came to an end with two successful free throw attempts by Zsófi (30th minute 56-48).


We needed to wait two minutes for the first made shot in the final stage of the game, which was made by Gruda, and then Dávid Gáspár called a time-out (32nd minute 56-50). There was a tough battle going on on the court, and with four minutes into the quarter Schio kept coming closer with a bucket by Mestdagh, and then Betti scored our first points in the period from behind the free throw line, and then, after a technical foul called on the guests’ coach, Neca also made a foul shot, to which Gabby added a double (60-52). Our French-American player drew a foul on Sottana, fouling her out, and then converted all three awarded free throws, giving us a double-digit lead for the first time in the game, forcing Georgios Dikeioulakos to call his team to the bench to talk things over again (37th minute 65-54). Then came an exchange of buckets between Verona and Betti, and our center who was playing in a great form even came up with a huge block, too, forcing the next Italian time-out (67-65)! André was left open under the basket, and made an easy double, but nobody cared about that tonight, we kept our unbeaten streak alive in Euroleague with a huge victory (40th minute 67-58)!

Dávid Gáspár: I am very happy to be able to coach players who believe in the plan, give their all until the last minute, and never give up! We have some difficulties, however, we are not worrying about them, but working. That is what happened tonight as well. We dealt with the situations well, picked up the fight with the rival's great players. I am very proud of the team! I wish all the best to our opponents, and I am sure that we will get out on the court with the same mentality!

Gabby Williams: I am really proud of how we fought tonight! Schio was a tough opponent, but we worked well for each other as a unit!

Georgios Dikaioulakos: Congratulations to Sopron, but at the same time I am really disappointed because of the officiating of the game, which doesn't take anything away from Sopron's success. We didn't have a single free throw attempt, and our team fouls were adding up very quickly. We had some really good and really bad moments. Bernadett Határ posed a really tough challenge for us, and we had some worse performances as well. We are focusing on our mistakes, and not try to find the reasons for the defeat in the refereeing. We also have to find better solutions on offense.

Giorgia Sottana: Congratulations to Sopron for the win, they played a good game! We are at the beginning of the season, there is still a lot of things for us to work on, and tonight's game showed what these are. We'll keep working!