Seeley, Salin and Simpson combined for 20 points in the fourth quarter
Cluj backcourt made the difference in the end
Article
3 Mins read
Having won six out of its last seven games in the competition, Umana Reyer Venice came to its game against visiting U-BT Cluj Napoca as one of the hottest teams of the BKT EuroCup right now. So, when it managed to get ahead late in the third quarter, 60-58, after trailing all game, many thought Reyer would extend its winning streak one more time.
But Cluj didn’t step back at that moment and managed to grab a 77-88 win in Venice with a 0-10 run in the last 3 minutes of the game.
“I’m really proud of the way my guys reacted, they were tough,” Cluj head coach Mihai Silvasan celebrated in the press conference. “They were tough in the second half, when Venice came back, evened the game and they even led with one or two points in the third quarter… But we stood tough, we made plays, we focused on each possession, even if we allowed some offensive rebounds.”
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That play creation mentioned by Silvasan was enabled by a fantastic performance of his backcourt, with D.J. Seeley, Zavier Simpson and Sasu Salin playing key roles in that run and also in the entire last period. They were involved - scoring or assisting - in 24 of Cluj's 28 fourth-quarter points, making the difference for their team.
Salin shined in one of the best plays of the game when he dove to the floor to convert a loose ball into an assist for Adam Mokoka’s dunk early in the last quarter and became the go-to guy in the last 3 minutes by drilling a couple of threes in the 0-10 final spark that helped Cluj close the game.
But Salin’s winning shots wouldn’t have been relevant without Simpson's steady performance. The competition's assist leader took the reins when his team needed and delivered 11 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds and 3 fouls drawn in the last 10 minutes. He finished with 25 points, 6 boards, 7 assists and 8-of-8 shooting from the line to record a career-high PIR of 36, completing a game to remember.
“It was good. Obviously, it was a tough atmosphere. The fans were really engaged, so that's always good when playing an away game,” Simpson said after the game. “We played against a good team, but we executed. They made a run in the third quarter... So I'm just happy my team was able to stick together in the tough environment, be able to come with the dub, they trusted me down the line to make plays, not just for myself, but also for others."
This win game also gave Cluj an advantage against Reyer on a potential tie-breaker at the end of the regular season, after the Romanian champs defeated the Reyer twice this season.
“I’m really happy for this win. It was a very important game for us," Silvasan continued. “They won the last five games in both competitions, so they were in pretty good shape... We managed to win, which put us in a good spot before our next game against Turk Telekom. We are enjoying this win but we have three more games and we must stay focused.”