Nymburk dominated the first three quarters, in which they built up a lead of up to 23 points. In the last act, however, the players of the home team USK took over, erased the loss and reduced the difference to a single point a minute and a half before the end.
The end belonged to the Central Bohemians, who bounced back thanks to a quick three-pointer by Evan Gilyard and already secured the lead. Gilyard ended up scoring a total of 14 points, while teammate Eric Lockett added 22 points. 21 points from Patrick Samoura and Shawn Pipes were not enough for USK, nor was David Böhm’s double-double for 12 points and 11 rebounds.
“After the home loss, we had the goal of winning here twice, leaving nothing to chance, and we succeeded,” said Nymburk coach Ladislav Sokolovský. “Now we have only one challenge. To extend the streak and come back here,” USK coach Francesco Tabellini said.
The winner of the regular season Brno was able to keep pace in Opava only in the first quarter. The home team then bounced back with points and maintained their lead mainly thanks to more accurate shooting and dominance on the rebound until the end.
The best scorers of the match were visiting Richard Bálint with 19 and Randy Culpepper with 18 points. Jakub Šiřina scored 16 points for Opava, which will be able to end the series on Monday in Brno.
