2023-05-30 22:06:00
Season over for Union Neuchâtel in the Swiss Basketball League. The Littoral club was eliminated by Massagno in the semi-finals of the play-off for the title. He lost his series 3-1 following losing 74-65 in Act IV on Tuesday at home.
The Unionists have neither to be ashamed of this defeat nor of their elimination. But the step was just too high to climb. At the end of the game, the 1,285 spectators at La Riveraine were not mistaken: they gave their team a standing ovation. “Now we have to swallow the pill and be proud of what we have done,” insisted captain Killian Martin following the match.
During this fourth decisive meeting, Union Neuchâtel threw all its forces into the battle. Led from the start of the game, Mitar Trivunovic’s proteges have never been more than 11 points behind. Although deprived of their top scorer Dalan Ancrum, suspended, they managed to harass their opponent until the end without managing to pass the shoulder. Five minutes from the end, they were only 5 points behind the Ticino. This is where Marco Mladjan scored a very significant three-point killer basket, which made it clear that the Unionists’ mission was akin to the impossible. With 25 points to his name, the youngest of the Mladjan brothers was rightly voted his team’s best player. Union Neuchâtel clearly did not fight on equal terms once morest the leader of the regular season, who has formidable individuals. This is what coach Mitar Trivunovic also felt following the match: “We lack experience, we were also too tired. It was hard for us and that’s what led us to make mistakes.
Union Neuchâtel has therefore completed its series and its season. The balance sheet remains very satisfactory. With a young and completely reorganized team at the start of the year, the Neuchâtelois showed some inconstancy at times, but they improved over the matches. Coach Mitar Trivunovic and his assistant Chad Timberlake did an excellent job, which allowed their team to progress. The elimination of Vevey Riviera in the quarter-finals of the play-offs, followed two days later by a victory in Ticino once morest Massagno in the first act of the semi-finals will be the highlight of the season. Not to mention in December the victory once morest Friborg Olympic in the quarter-finals of the SBL Cup. /mine
Union Neuchâtel – Massagno 65 – 74 (13-20 18-20 15-16 19-18)
La Riveraine, 1,285 spectators
Arbitres : Novakovic/Stojcev/Mazzoni
Neuchâtel : Roberston 18 points, Roberts 12, West 17, Maquiesse 0, Mehic 0, Martin 8, Caputo 2, de la Fuente 8.
Massagno : D. Mladjan 9 points, Williams 9, Bogues 14, Martino 2, M. Mladjan 25, Zoccoletti 0, Andjelkovic 0, James 5, Galloway 10.
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