Cibona lose to Strasbourg at Rhénus Sport

Cibona lost 70-95 to hosts SIG at Rhénus Sport in Strasbourg on Tuesday, 3 November, in Round 3 of Group B of the Champions League. It was the Wolves’ third game in five days, after the ABA League game against Igokea on Friday and the SuperSport Premier League game in Split on Saturday.

Cibona started the game better and won the first quarter 22-21. The hosts took the second quarter 24-18 and went into the break leading 45-40. In the third quarter Strasbourg stretched its lead (the quarter went 20-13) and entered the final ten minutes ahead 65-53, then won the last quarter 30-17.

Cibona’s top scorer was a superb Mazalin with 19 points, while Difuidi led Strasbourg with 23.

Cibona head coach Ivan Tomas said after the game:

“Maybe the result is a bit ugly, but first of all, big credit to the coach and his team. I think Strasbourg are a very strong and very athletic team, and it’s very hard to play against them. But I’d say we played really well for the first 25 minutes. We were in control, in turnovers and in rebounds. We had a lot of good looks, and I’d say we had everything except maybe finishing. We probably got a really bad result for the first half at the break. I don’t know what to say about the last 15 minutes. The players probably ran out of energy. They looked exhausted, and in the end the result is very bad.”

Lovro Mazalin said:

“I think we had a good start and, overall, played a pretty good first half. Then in the third quarter, when we were down six, we had a few chances to get even closer and we missed them, and the last quarter was terrible for us. There’s nothing more to say. Congratulations to Strasbourg. We got a new coach a few days ago, and I think we’re getting better every day, every game, and we’re also missing our best scorer, Khalif. I think we’ll be better with the new coach and once our injured player comes back. Once again, congratulations to Strasbourg.”

Strasbourg head coach Jānis Gailītis said:

“I’m happy for the players who sacrificed a lot over the last few weeks: far from healthy, far from comfortable, sick, with fevers and so on. I think they showed a good example, good spirit, commitment and attitude. Apart from that, this probably isn’t a game to judge on quality. Both teams came in with a lot of games behind them and some injuries. We tried to do the best we could, more on offense than on defense. I think our guys did the job. Home court made the difference. It wasn’t easy.”

Strasbourg player Neftali Difuidi added:

“It’s great, because some of our players are injured and we still found a way to play our basketball. Sometimes we make mistakes, but we found a way to win, and it matters more to us to collect 25 points in this competition so that we can advance. So I’m happy for my team, and for myself, that we won tonight.”