17.08.2010

Big Men Give Poland Edge Over Georgia

Poland gained sweet revenge for being routed on the opening day of the campaign in Georgia by completing a pivotal 67-58 victory in Lodz and making sure it's a case of 'three's a crowd' at the top of Group C of Eurobasket Qualifying Round.

Poland, Georgia and Bulgaria all share the same 3-2 record heading into the last three games and with Belgium having played one game less while holding a 3-1 record, there is a congested but thrilling feel about what is now in store heading down the tournament stretch.

In a strange first quarter, both respective offences spluttered badly and couldn't find any real sense of rhythm as Poland almost reluctantly crawled into a 12-8 lead heading into the second period.

The home team then began to find their range and started moving through the gears, with a score by Adam Hrycaniuk putting them 27-17 in front for their first double digit lead of the game - something they still held at 35-25 heading to the locker rooms.

Having only mustered 25 points in 20 minutes of action, it seemed inevitable that Georgia would click more effectively in the second half but unfortunately for them, there was no slacking from Poland.

They kept pace with Georgia to nullify any notion of a comeback by the visitors and in the end, the win was more comfortable than the final score line suggested.

Once again it was the combination inside of Marcin Gortat and Maciek Lampe that did the damage. The former claimed 17 points and eight rebounds while the latter registered 14 points and nine rebounds.

Manuchar Markoishvili was the lone bright spot for Georgia with 19 points and five rebounds.

 

18.08.2010

Quotes Poland vs. Georgia

Georgia coach Igor Kokoskov:
"Congratulations to Poland and coach Igor. It was good basketball, Poland played well tonight, we played not well on offence. On defence, I cannot find much to complain, we played well. But on offence we must do better. Poland was better on fastbreaks and we committed too many turnovers. We must go further as every game is like a new chapter for us."

Georgia forward Manuchar Markoishvili:
"Poland were better today, they played more aggressively. I think I can talk about two good things today. First, we played until the end, we never gave up and came back to the game and that's a good sign to the future. Second, Zaza Pachulia played today after two hard days struggling with an injury. We must do better to advance to the final round."

Poland coach Igor Griszczuk:
"We believed in ourselves today after our good game against Belgium and again we played good basketball. We knew that we had lost in Georgia by 19 points and the plan was to be patient and act step by step [to cover that difference]. It was not successful, we had a 16-point advantage but then we risked too much with shots from outside. We shot poorly today for three but the result was good so I am happy."

Poland forward Filip Dylewicz:
"We are happy because we knew it was one of the key games in this round. These two games we played in Lodz showed that we found our rhythm. We are satisfied with our team defence. I can be a little disappointed because we couldn't win by 19, but we are winners today so we can hold our heads high. We showed that we can win against every team in this group."