Almost halfway!

Last week was one of the better weeks because we had two games versus two quality opponents. Because the league only scheduled a 22 game regular season, we typically only have one game per week, usually on Saturday or Sunday. However, this week we had a Polish Cup game against Turow on Tuesday evening followed by a game on Sunday against Asseco Prokom. Any time we can have extra games to break the monotony of a full weeks practice, I’m all for it!

Tuesday night was a fun game as we faced off at home against the second place team in the league – Turow. We had previously lost to them on the road only two weeks prior so we were anxious to have another shot at them. The gym wasn’t as full as it typically is but the Polpharma fans are always loud and rowdy so it made for a great atmosphere. Our newly acquired Serbian big man, Uros, decided not to play as to let his ankle heal in preparation for our upcoming league match so I played more minutes in his spot at the power forward position. After a terrible start (I think we were down 30-10) we got rolling as I was able to make a couple of mid range jump shots and a pair of three point shots as well. We really got on a roll as we played great defense and were able to capitalize in transition on the offensive end. One play that stood out was a fast break in which Kamil Chanas passed ahead to me and I threw down a reverse dunk in the open court. This capped off a big run by our team and forced Turow to call a timeout.

At the end of the second quarter we were only down two points after trailing by as many as twenty points! We were determined to play harder in the second half without any mental lapses. Turow would not go down without a fight as the third and fourth quarter featured a back and forth battle. However, down the stretch Mike Hicks came to life and hit two characteristic deep three point shots that buried our opponents.

This was a fun game, especially for me as it was undoubtedly my best game of the year although I failed to score in the second half. I finished the game with fourteen points and felt that I was a big part of what helped our team come to life in the second quarter and fight back into the game. Unfortunately in the second half I was hit in the face as I drove to the basket and ended up breaking my nose on the play. And NO foul was called!! I was pretty mad at the time but the break isn’t too bad and I was able to get back into action soon after.

Tuesdays win was also a special one for me as it was the first time in my career I was able to beat Turow’s starting point guard Torey Thomas. Torey played at my biggest college rival, Holy Cross. I was never able to beat Holy Cross in the two seasons Torey lead their team although we lost several of the games by only one or two points. I was 0-6 previously playing against Torey but now can claim that I have one win to my name! It was good to catch up with Torey and he is having a strong campaign this year and I wish him all the luck until we face him again. He might be one of the quickest point guards in the game and is really fun pass-first point guard to watch. He has a great website with updates on his season. Check it out at here.

Sundays match was the most anticipated one of the year for me. We were facing the Polish champions from the last 8 or 9 years. Asseco Prokom has been atop the Polish league for the past decade and has proven to be one of the stronger teams all throughout Europe in the past years. This years squad features an extremely talented roster with several players with previous NBA experience. Most notably Daniel Ewing who was a super star in college at Duke University. Other players include Mike Wilks, JR Giddens, and Ratko Varda. Prokom’s talent does not end there as they have filled out their roster with some of the best Polish players.

Prokom’s gym was beautiful and I was excited immediately after entering the arena. Once again we had a great following of fans and they were cheering from the moment entering the gym. Prokom jumped out on us after grabbing consecutive offensive rebounds and muscling their way in for easy layups. However, even after a slow start, we fought back with two Deonta Vaughn three pointers, a Mike Hicks old fashioned three point play, and a couple jump shots from our captain Thomas Cielebak. While we didn’t play great defense in the first half, allowing too many easy shots and offensive rebounds, we continued our fight and executed on offense and found ourselves leading at half 47-43.

Prokom opened the second half with a different lineup featuring Ratko Varda at the center position. I have seen him play on TV but was still astonished by his size in person. Each time he received the ball in the post it looked effortless as he backed his way in for lay up after lay up. He scored 7 points in his first three minutes of the second half and put Prokom back in the lead. The second half would continue in this fashion as Prokom out muscled us for the remainder of the half. We would hang around though keeping the margin between 4-10 points but whenever we would cut the lead to 4 or 5 points Prokom would make a couple big plays and stretch the lead again.

We ended up losing 89-82 but I believe Coach and our supporters were pleased with our fight against the returning champs. I felt that we could have played better as we made some mental mistakes on defense and were out hustled by Prokom on the glass but overall we showed that we can hang with the best in the league and should not be taken lightly. Be sure to check out the photo galleries from the game here and here. The box score can be found here.

This is a big week for us as we prepare for our last regular season game marking the halfway point. We face Zastal who is currently in third position at 6-4. Zastal features Chris Burgess and Walter Hodge, from Duke/Utah and Florida. This team started out the year on fire with a 5-0 start but has posted a record of 1-4 since. This is an extremely important game for us as it would leave us with a 5-6 record and winning 5 out of the last 7 games since our coaching change. It would also leave us in a good position in the middle of the 12 team league as many teams are currently lodged at the 4-6 win position.

The snow has really been coming down lately – probably because in my last post I wished it would all melt.. just my luck. While it is really nice to look at, I still hate it and hope it will melt but I am losing hope quickly. Hopefully this doesn’t deter from our fans coming out in support for our game Saturday. It’s a huge game for us and we will need all the support we can get and hope for a loud and hostile environment! Hope to see you there!

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