The Spaniards lost a 17-point third-quarter advantage and trailed 70-65 in the last period
Gran Canaria avoided getting egg on its face in Sopot
Article
3 Mins read
“I think both teams could have won this game in the end. We were a little bit luckier,” admitted Dreamland Gran Canaria head coach Jaka Lakovic in the postgame press conference after his team prevailed over Trefl Sopot, 73-76, on Tuesday evening.
It’s true that the game went down to the wire and was decided in the last minute, when Nico Brussino deflected a ball and enabled Andrew Albicy to score twice from the line, but only a few could have expected such a thrilling end midway through the third period, when Gran Canaria boasted a 45-62 lead.
Gran Canaria dominated the game to that point thanks to its smooth offense, which led to 16 assists at halftime, and solid defense. But everything changed 27 minutes into the contest.
“We had some mental mistakes towards the last quarter,” regretted George Conditt at the end of the game. “We mentally relaxed a little bit on defense and we were giving up a lot of easy buckets, turning the ball over too many times. In the first half we had 16 assists and in the second half we didn't do the same. But I'm glad we came out with the win.”
The offensive performance of Gran Canaria dropped dramatically in the second half, going from 50 points in the first 20 minutes to just 26 in the second half. The Spaniard side registered just 4 assists after the intermission, while turning the ball over 10 times. In the first half, Gran Canaria had only committed 3 turnovers.
Coach Lakovic also recognized the value of Trefl’s effort, which led to a 25-3 run bridging the third and the fourth periods that gave the hosts a 70-65 lead with more than six minutes still to play. “They competed very well,” he said. “And in the end, it went down to a couple of possessions and we were, I think, the lucky team.
“I thought we started the game very well, focused defensively, finding the good options on offense. And then I think, starting the third quarter, we just slowed down. We had too many turnovers, we let Trefl get confidence, get some easy points in transition and they came back in the game. It was decided on two possessions; I think we had two good defenses and the game in the end was ours.”