Montepaschi Siena edge past GS Medical Park 67-63: Euroleague Basketball (Part 2)
Unfortunately for GS Medical Park, the combined performance of the top scorers was overshadowed by Andersen brilliance in the end.
But it was their own fault too.
Oktay Mahmuti agreed later that his team made lethal errors in the game and those mistakes against an experienced team was the prime reason Park lost in the end. He added
"Tonight, I think everybody understands that what kind of thing experience is when you compare the way Montepaschi Siena played. Experience is a kind of thing, just a word, but meaning a lot if you take tonight’s game as an example. We made critical mistakes in the critical moments of the game. We played with emotion instead of discipline. And gave the opportunity to win the game to our opponent”
He has a point as Park got many chances to turn the game to their side but they failed almost on every instance.
Furkan Aldemir and Jamon- Alfred Lucas struck in the first three minutes to get Park off to a 4-0 start, however in next few minutes; Siena initiated a 9-0 surge to get ahead, 9-4. Park replied, but Siena still managed to stay slightly ahead of them throughout. Two free throws by David Moss in the final minute made it 19-16 in the favour of Siena; however Luksa drilled a jumper in the final few seconds to end the frame with his team only behind a point 19-18.
The Second quarter was the most exciting of all.
Both teams displayed excellent offense and the momentum kept on shifting from one side to the other. The trend continued and by the end of first half game was evenly poised with Park just ahead by 1 point 33-32.
An opening 8-0 Park surge in the third frame propelled the team into a commanding position at 41-32 but it was only short lived, as Siena responded with a 10-0 run to not only slash the lead but get ahead by 42-41.
Park again got ahead 43-42 by striking twice from the charity stripe in the next minute; however Siena finished the frame with a magnificent 8-0 run to ensure they enter the deciding frame with a psychological edge - a lead of 7 points 50-43.
Park needed to bounce back in the fourth quarter and did so by starting the frame with a 12-3 burst to get ahead by 55-53.
The next few minutes saw an intense battle and the lead kept on shifting regularly. With just two minutes remaining, there was nothing much to differentiate between both sides as Park were only ahead by one point, 58-57. However what followed was a game winning 10-5 spurt, led by David Andersen, which spoiled the night for Park.
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