FC Porto defeated at Dragão Caixa by Alba Fehervar (92-96), in one of the matches for Group F of the FIBA competition
Victory seemed like a reality, but escaped in extra time, preventing FC Porto from starting with the right hand in the 2018/19 FIBA Europe Cup. This Wednesday night, at Dragão Caixa, the Dragons lost to Alba Fehervar, from Hungary, by 92-96, in a match where they were in the lead for longer, with Sasa Borovnjak (24 points) and Toni Prostan (21) taking the role of top scorers for the blue and whites.
In the first-half, especially in the first ten minutes, both teams matched each other, missing plenty of shots, wasting several attacks, with the scoreboard showing several changes in terms of lead. Six points was the biggest difference registered, for the team that ended third last season in Hungary, but truth is that the team led by Moncho López reached the break in the lead (41-39).
FC Porto went in better for the second-half, started growing in the match, took the lead and went to the fourth period winning by six points. But the truth is that they allowed the opponent to react, reach the tie and for the extra time. And that’s when Alba sent in their five North-American players and unbalanced the match to their favour, preventing the Dragons from getting what seemed to be a certain victory on their debut.
“It’s hard to lose a match like this when you have an extraordinary 3-points percentage, with 37%, a good percentage in offensive rebounds, few turnovers for the number of ball possessions each team had. But there were moments when the match wasn’t good, especially in the last period, when, by need, as some players asked to rest, we had to rotate the team and lost our dynamic, allowing Alba to recover. We started extra time with two turnovers and that’s where we lost the match”, Moncho López stated, at the end of the match.
The Europe Cup returns next week, with a trip to the North of Italy (Wednesday, 19h30, mainland Portugal time), to face Varese, who beat Rilski Sportist, from Bulgaria (95-76), and is in the lead of Group F, along with Alba. Before that, on Saturday, at 18h30 (Porto Canal), the Dragons face Terceira Basket at home, for matchday three of the regular stage of the Portuguese League.
MATCH REPORT
FC PORTO- ALBA FEHERVAR, 92-96 (extra time)
FIBA Europe Cup, Group F, matchday 1
October 17, 2018
Dragão Caixa
Referees: Harris Bijedic (Bosnia), Chirs Dodds (United Kingdom) and James Kerry Dominique (Gibraltar)
FC PORTO: Toni Prostran (21), Ferrán Ventura (1), João Soares, Boris Barac (10) and Sasa Borovnjak (24)
Substitutes: Vladyslav Voytso, Pedro Pinto, António Monteiro (11), Miguel Queiroz (5), Keven Gomes, Pedro Bastos (3) and Will Sheehey (17)
Coach: Moncho López
ALBA FEHERVAR: Jacobi Boykins (18), Kyron Cartwright (2), Marko Filipovity (9), Jordan Heath (9) and Peter Lorant (7)
Substitutes: Rodney Bullock (29), Peter Toth, Ivan Keller (1), Mate Varga, Balazs Peringer, Norbert Lukacs and Allerik Freeman (21)
Coach: Branislav Dzunic
At halftime: 41-39
Partials: 14-13, 27-26, 22-18, 19-25, 10-14
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