JWSport Jacek Waszak – Sport journalist
To Klaipeda coach Mike Taylor took 14 basketball players, among whom Michalak, Mathieu Wojciechowski and Daniel Szymkiewicz were missing from the Czechs. With the team are not recovering after the injuries of Przemysław Karnowski and Maciej Lampe, but are still considered.
In the friendly match White-Reds one step away from victory over Lithuania in Klaipeda. Although in the first half the effectiveness of the guests was not good. The most points, up to 14 for Mike Taylor’s team won Damian Kulig.
The meeting started with our competitors. Two effective actions of Mateusz Ponitka and 7: 2 lead. Later, however, the hosts were 8-0, and Artur Milaknis took the lead. The stars of Lithuanian basketball – Jonas Valanciunas and Mindaugas Kuzminskas – blocked our players, which in turn facilitated their quick attack. Finally after 10 minutes it was 18:10 for rivals.
In the second quarter, the Lithuanians were already leading 14 points difference between our team we could not find when the scoreboard was 31:17 and the situation on the floor looked dull. The Lithuanian coach Dainius Adomaitis put Martynas Gecevicius on the parquet floor and started throwing three more. In the attack we saw a lot of mistakes, and in defense we tried to defend but this attempt was sometimes in ruins. At one point, the guests had the performance of 4/20, and they began to accelerate.
After these few plays and Poles stood and some impotence entered. White-Reds approached even eight points ahead, thanks to Ponitk’s actions. After the first half the Lithuanians won 34: 26. They felt stronger and controlled the situation on the dance floor.
The third quarter started with Damian Kulig having good hits and the action of the undercut quickly reduced the losses to four points. Both teams later had problems with efficiency, which meant that rivals were still in the lead. Thanks to Tomasz Gielo’s White-Reds, they lost only 41:45 after 30 minutes of play! It meant that it was the smallest 3 point difference in the match and it got hot on the stands and on the dance floor. Competitors from Poland began to throw more and better and how this machine faster heated to redness.
A score of one and a half minutes before the end of Slaughter’s three, the result was a draw. However, in the end, Valanciunas and Gailius ended the crucial actions, and they gave the Lithuanians the lead. Mateusz Ponitek’s loss has been reduced by three, but the hosts have finally won 59:58.
Some changes forced the situation on the floor, such as the fast 2 fouls of Mateusz Ponitka. In the next fight from Latvia we will react according to the course of the match – said Taylor, adding that it may not be possible that next meeting will be absent against Lithuania Filip Matczak and Andrzej Mazurczak. Mike Taylor Interview for Sport.pl
August 11 in Riga. The next stage of the team’s preparation will be a strong team in Hamburg. From 18 to 20 August the team will play with Germany, Russia and Olympic vice champions from 2016 – Serbia.
The last friendly tournament will be held in Poland. Coach Taylor’s team from 24 to 26 August will take part in EuroBasket – Hungary, Great Britain and Israel. The venue for these meetings will be announced at a later date.
LITHUANIA – POLAND 59:58 (18:10, 16:16, 11:15, 14:17)
LITHUANIA : Jonas Valanciunas 14, Arturas Gudaitis 11, Eimantas Bendzius 9, Mindaugas Kuzminskas 6, Arturas Milaknis 5, Deividas Gailius 5, Linas Lekavicius 4, Edgaras Ulanovas 2, Martynas Gecevicius 3, Mindaugas Girdziunas 0, Adas Juskevicius, Rokas Giedraitis.
POLAND : Damian Kulig 14, Mateusz Ponitka 12, A.J. Slaughter 10, Adam Hrycaniuk 8, Adam Waczyński 4, Tomasz Gielo 4, Aaron Cel 2, Łukasz Koszarek 2, Karol Gruszecki 2, Przemysław Zamojski 0, Michał Sokołowski 0, Aleksander Czyż 0.
