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Slupsk won 90-49 in the preseason

Although Kotwica looked bad in the match, the away team's coach Urlep ascribes no significance to this and respects the opponent

Kotwica had a convincing preseason, but in the first leg of the competition they almost surprised the reigning champions from Zielona Gora. Kolobrzeg were close to defeating Stelmet. They surprised the opponent with a solid defense and most of the match was an even struggle. The match went into overtime where the hosts lost concentration and strength.

- Stelmet have had more luck. Three of my players are not in top shape and several have complained about injuries. This was the reason we were not the champions. The difference between us and them in quality is huge so we are happy we were so close - said coach Dariusz Szczubial.

He did not do a lot of rotations. He relied on the first five. The Americans played the best. The play Jordan Callahan scored 18 points with 7 assists, the wing center Terrell Parks scored 21 points with 11 rebounds. Kotwica won the stats battle and even imposed their faster style. They had 68 shots in total, but they lacked accuracy (39,7% in game shot).

Slupsk defeated Polpharm as expected in the first leg. It was a one way game. They had a 12 point advantage on halftime just to enter the final quarter with +18. They got careless and let their opponent score 30 points in ten minutes. Still, Slupsk's victory was not in jeopardy.

The center Garrett Stutz was the best player (21 points + 11 rebounds), as for the back line, the ones that most contributed to the victory are Roderick Trice with 14 and Michal Jankowski with 13 points. Their defense in the first 30 minutes should make them more happy than the offence efficiency of coach Andrej Urpel. The intensity dropped afterwords, but it's clear that the coach will not give up on his tactics which he successfully applied last year.

- We played well, but we must fix our defense. We cant let the last quarter against Polpharma repeat itself. I'm sure we'll play better in the upcoming game weeks - Trice pointed out.

Slupsk are now playing against a club they defeated 90-49 in the preseason in Koszalin.

- That was a preseason match and I think it's not worth mentioning it. You sometimes play better in those matches and sometimes you play worse so I would not ascribe any significance to it - Urlep said and added:

- Everything is possible in this game. You must stay focused regardless of the result and we lost our concentration in the first leg. You must respect your opponent all 40 minutes.

Slupsk could dominate the paint today. Kotwica got reinforcements during the week with the American Karron Johnson. This 202 cm tall player will play center because they do not have a classic five. Slupsk might take advantage of this. Kotwica's game will depend on Callahan's and Parks's inspiration. Slupsk might be aggressive with their opponent's back court which might be the key, just like in the preseason match.

Kotwica caused a lot of trouble in the first round for the reigning champions from Zielona Gora but it is evident that Stelmet is not near the level from the last season. The team from Kolobrzeg used that fact in an excellent way but lost in the extra time. However, I think they will have a lot more problems against Slupsk today. The away team are very aggressive in play, they have excellent defensive players on guard positions and they are also physically dominant in the paint. The team is well consolidated under coach Urlep. In the preseason Slupsk won against Kotwica 90-49. Of course, that match is not a valid indicator but already then it was visible how many problems Kotwica have with almost constant pressure of the opponent. The away team have two excellent solutions for each position, they can keep the intensity in the defense throughout the match and I see that as the main reason for their win this evening with around ten points difference.