As expected, Gmunden ended up in the basketball semi-finals of the qualification for the Champions League. The OCS Swans clearly lost 65:83 (26:45) to the 20-time Danish champion Bakken Bears in Belgrade.
After a lightning start (7:4/3.), Anton Mirolybov’s protégés remained without a basket for exactly eight minutes. The favorites mercilessly capitalized on this weak phase and pulled away with a 20:0 run. “It’s a different world, you have to recognize that,” said managing director Richard Poiger, who praised his team’s morale. The third quarter clearly went to the Upper Austrians (20:10). A respectable success that also pleased Harald Stelzer. “We tried everything, but the Bears are in a different league physically, they’re a force in the air. We’ve already had a match (82-80 against Pärnu, note) in our legs,” explained the CFO.
For the Gmunden team, where Toni Blazan was the top scorer yesterday with 13 points, it’s back home today. The national championship will open on Thursday with the Supercup in Vienna against BC Vienna.
On the international stage, the Swans will be back in action from October 12 – then in the group phase of the Europe Cup. To date, only one opponent has been determined with the Turkish representative Gaziantep. If the Bakken Bears lose the final of the qualifying tournament in Serbia, they will once again be in the same boat as the Swans. “Honestly? We don’t need them again,” Stelzer admitted. (Alex)
Source: Nachrichten
