By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
ANTWERP– Iberostar Tenerife sharpshooter Lucca Staiger lamented the fact that his team couldn’t complete a turnaround from 18 points down in the Basketball Champions League Final against Virtus Bologna and get a serious chance for winning the match.
“It’s always tough to have a comeback like that,” Staiger told Eurohoops after the Final. ” We managed but at the end it wasn’t enough.”
Staiger and Tenerife erased a large part of the 47 – 29 deficit had fallen behind with three minutes into the second half. With less than two minutes remaining, the Spanish side made it a two-point affair, 65 – 59 but then Mario Chalmers’ jump shot put an end to their comeback dreams.
“They were making lot of tough shots that were giving them confidence,” Staiger said. “On the other side, we missed everything. Sometimes it is like that. In the end it was close… but not enough.”
“We have to give them [Bologna] credit,” Staiger added.