First BC NN Win Against Szolnoki Olaj

Ivan Paunic fueled Nizhny Novgorod with 12 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists

BC NN won't advance to the Last 16 of the EuroChallenge but at least their fans have seen the young squad get a win in the competition.

Despite another strong performance by Szolnoki Olaj's Obie Trotter, who had 21 points, five assists and five rebounds, Nizhny Novgorod claimed a 76-62 win over the Hungarian side.

The result means that Szolnoki (3-2) must now travel to France next week and overcome Gravelines Dunkerque, who slipped to 2-3 on Tuesday night with an eight-point setback at Spartak St Petersburg.

For BC NN, who were much better than their 0-4 record in the EuroChallenge suggested, got 19 points from Vanja Plisnic while Serbia international Ivan Paunic contributed 12 with six rebounds and three assists.

BC NN out-rebounded the visitors 40-31, although Marton Bader fought hard in the low post with 17 points and a game-high 11 boards for Szolnoki Olaj.

The hosts trailed midway through the second quarter but a Plisnic three-ball triggered an 11-0 run that put them in front to stay.

Plisnic had another shot from the arc and a free-throw in the spurt.

A Trotter lay-up closed the gap to four points early in the second half but BC NN ended up taking a 52-41 lead to the fourth quarter and then went in front by 15 in the last stanza en route to victory.

Quotes BC NN vs. Szolnoki Olaj

Zoran Lukic, Head coach of BC Nizny Novgorod:
"At some moments we played not in the best way, hurt ourselves more than our rivals hurt us. Anyway, by this victory we proved that we became participants of the EuroChallenge not accidentally. As you know, recently Szolnoki confidently beat Spartak, but today we won the game. This victoty is very important for us because it will help our team to get ready for the next game with Enisey within the framework of the Russian Professional Basketball League. I want to thank all the players of my team for this victory, it's the best present to the New Year. "

Peter Por, Head coach of BC Szolnoki Olaj
"It was a very difficult game. In the last match BC NN showed us a very good defence and we expected that they would struggle even more persistent while playing the home match. The rival controlled this game and forsed us do a lot of mistakes. As a result - plenty of turnovers from us. What's more, we usually are good at three-point shooting, but today we were not so good."

Marton Bader, player of BC Szolnoki Olaj:
"Of course our team is disappointed with this defeat. But it should be noted that BC NN is a rather strong team. In spite of the fact that NN didn't win any game before, the team looks very good. It's a very difficult period for our team because we travel a lot, so we all are tired both physically and mentally."

Ivan Paunic, player of BC NN:
"It is evident that we finished our participation in EuroChallenge, but we played a very good game today. We were concentrated during the whole match, and it helped us to win. In the previous games either we lacked the concentration or the run of luck went against us as we lost only a few points. But NN is a young team, and the participation in this tournament is a great experience for us."