By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
A solid display leads Poland to the convincing and key win, 85-76, versus Israel Monday.
Slated to battle for a spot in the next round, the players guided by Igor Milicic are actively seeking a respectable seed in Group D of the 2022 EuroBasket preliminary round, eyeing second place. Paving the way for the second win in Prague’s O2 Arena was A. J. Slaughter. The veteran shooting guard, a former player of Western Kentucky, poured a game-high 24 points in the Gameday 3 contest.
The Eagles led for nearly the entire 40 minutes and were in cruise control through the second half. As a result, they matched Israel at 2-1 securing the tiebreaker advantage as well.
Largely a three-point shootout, Slaughter connecting six times from beyond the arc was a major difference separating the opponents. Limiting Deni Avdija of the Washington Wizards to 1/6 field goals and three points over 27 minutes helped in earning the victory.
“Players like Deni Avdija, you can’t stop them, but only limit their stats,” noted experienced forward Aaron Cel, who contributed 13 points to the win, “Obviously, today he was in a bad day offensively.”
“We definitely turned the energy around from the last game a couple of days ago,” commented Milicic referring to the loss against Finland Saturday, “We were sprinting back. Most of the time, we were containing the fast pace of Israel and that was one the keys.”
Young center and Slaughter’s Gran Canaria teammate at the club level, Olek Balcerowski threw in 17 points adding to his impressive showings in the Czech Republic. UnaHotels Reggio Emilia newcomer Mateusz Ponitka ended up with 11 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, one steal, and one block.
“Mateusz and I think the EuroLeague teams are going to regret their decision or change their decision quick,” Milicic replied to a question about Ponitka lacking offers to extend his successful career in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, “Even today, with a lot of hockey assists and only two turnovers at the end of the game. Almost perfect game. This team is growing and each player is improving on his shoulders.”
Yovel Zoosman packing 18 points and Yam Madar with 17 points stood out among the scorers for the team coached by Guy Goodes.
“I think we were one step behind the whole game,” noted Zoosman, “When we tried to come back, they made some quick buckets and we went down again. We lost the momentum and possibly our energy, and our positivity I would say.”
Photo Credit: FIBA.BASKETBALL