Valériane Ayayi contributed 16 points and nine rebounds to the victory. Captain Teja Oblaková (14) and Emese Hofová (12) also scored double-digit points. Iliana Rupert’s 15 points did not prevent the defeat of the Italian team, which is fighting for the quarter-finals.
USK basketball players won the basic group in the European League after ten years. “We appreciate it a lot. We can’t say that we have one or the other star, but the team won it. That’s rare,” said Hejková, who had to miss the previous duel in France due to a virus, where the nine-game winning streak of the Prague girls ended.
Cecilia Zandalasini’s opening basket was answered by the home players with an eight-point streak capped by three-pointers from Maite Cazorla and Oblak. The Prague team soon gained a 14:6 lead, but in a point-rich first quarter, Bologna pulled back the loss. Mainly thanks to Zandalasini, who scored 12 points, she turned the score to 26:24. “It’s a team that has a shot. It wasn’t until we tired them out a bit that they stopped giving, and it was fine from our side,” said Hejková.
At the turn of the first and second quarters, however, thanks to an 11-0 run, USK gained a 35-26 lead. Bologna came close to a five-point difference, but by halftime, after free throws by Oblaková and baskets by Hofová and Ayayiová, the home basketball players escaped to 43:32.
After the break, Rupertová started with a triple, but then the lead of the home favorites was growing. Just like in the second quarter, they dominated and it was a 20 point lead. Bologna did not give up and came close twice in the final quarter, even with a difference of six points, but USK did not let go of the victory.
“They took some chances and made some threes, but they didn’t get close enough that there was any big drama. I think we controlled the game in the last four or five minutes. Even though it wasn’t very nice and we had chances to play maybe more simply into the basket, but it was tactically disadvantageous,” said Hejková.
For the first time since December 13, Nyara Sabally started in the Euroleague. “It’s positive, but it’s not the same yet. She needs to train and be at least 80 percent healthy. That’s not the case yet. In the second half, we also missed Voráčková, who was out due to injury. It showed a little in the rotation.” added Hejková.
