The 21st title in the 57-year club history of the OCS Swans Gmunden is a done deal, the mission accomplished. After initial difficulties, the basketball aces from Traunsee lived up to their role as favorites in the cup final in Oberwart and defeated UBSC Graz 73:67 (32:36).
The Upper Austrians, who had cleared Oberwart 81:62 in the round of the last four, lifted the trophy in this competition for the seventh time (for the first time since 2012). The “Schwanen” surpassed the Kapfenberg Bulls and can call themselves the sole record cup winners. “We had confidence in our game, the first 20 minutes weren’t good, we were nervous. I’m super proud of my team, we had to wait eleven years for that. That’s a long time,” said Gmunden coach Anton Mirolybov, from whose ensemble national player Toni Blazan (21 points, nine rebounds, two assists) stood out. “We turned up the intensity and luckily we won. Graz made life difficult for us,” said the 30-year-old, who was named best player.
The still untitled Styrians sold their skin as expensively as possible, at the break the conquerors of the round of 16, the Raiffeisen Flyers Wels, surprisingly led 36:32. The tide turned at the end of the third quarter, however, as Blazan started to score from long-range. After 30 minutes it was 58:51 in favor of the Swans, who couldn’t take the butter off their bread anymore.
The fact that UBSC Graz never gives up became clear on Saturday in the semifinals with a 92:90 win over the dethroned defending champion and Superliga leader BC Vienna. In this curious match, the Viennese negligently gave up a 20-point lead.
Not only ex-Gmunden captain Enis Murati, one of the leading figures at BC Vienna, was served. “I don’t understand why we completely lost the thread. What we did in the second half is unacceptable and must have consequences for all of us. I hope that somehow we can get out of this disappointment, focus on the championship and do everything we can to win it,” said the 34-year-old. Gmunden will object.
Klosterneuburg won the women’s final
In the women’s final, the women from Klosterneuburg left no doubt about their ambitions right from the start. They were 14:0 ahead before Graz scored for the first time after six minutes. Nothing changed in the course of the game. In the end there was a smashing victory for the defending champions, who continued an impressive series in southern Burgenland. Your last defeat in the cup dates back to November 2017. You are now holding five wins in a row in the competition. Unusual, but fact: The result of the cup final is also counted for the championship in the women’s super league (BDSL).
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I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
