The Geneva Lions created a huge surprise at the opening of the men’s SBL play-off semi-finals by winning in Friborg (63-62).
Andrej Stimac’s players won on the Friborg Olympic floor (63-62). Admittedly, the Lions still have to win two matches to win their ticket to the final and deprive Olympic of a hat-trick following their crowning in the Coupe de la Ligue and the Swiss Cup. Nevertheless, the Geneva team hit hard on Saturday by ending the series of… twenty-eight consecutive victories for the Fribourgeois.
Undefeated since December 5 and a defeat suffered at Massagno, Olympic thought perhaps they had done the hardest part when an award-winning basket from Robert Zinn allowed them to equalize at 61-61 with 55” remaining in the match. The defending champion had just inflicted a 5-0 on the Lions, having himself conceded seven points in a row beforehand.
The Fribourgeois even took a lead on a free throw by Natan Jurkovitz eight seconds from the “buzzer”. And they saw Geneva leader Scott Suggs miss the winning shot in stride. But in the split second that followed, Lions center Eric Adams popped up to grab the rebound and deliver an upset win for his team.
At the end of this eventful match, Valentin Danzi from Radio Friborg met Thomas Jurkovitz, captain of the Lions.
Strong winger Brandon Kuba, in black and red, and the Lions were able to assert their esprit de corps once morest Slobodan Miljanic, in white, and Olympic Basket (© KEYSTONE/Laurent Gilliéron).
Union held up well once morest Massagno
Massagno, on the other hand, honored his rank once morest Union Neuchâtel. Olympic runner-up in the preliminary phase, Massagno won 81-70 once morest Union Neuchâtel, who nevertheless had a nine-point lead in the 15th minute (29-38). Returning to a length at halftime, the Ticino forced the decision in a third quarter won 20-13.
Massagno drove the point home with a 12-1 split at the start of the final quarter. Marko Mladjan shone in the Ticino camp, scoring 21 points (9/10 shooting). But the man of the match was the leader of Union Bryan Colon, author of 21 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists.
This article was published automatically, updated later. Source: ats/vd/bb
Texte: Keystone/ATS/sports
Interview: Valentin Danzi