Skonto couldn’t make up to the home fans for last week’s loss away from home, as the Latvian side went down against Polonia Warbud in Riga this evening.
Polonia started strongly, capitalising on Skonto’s mistakes, and the home team could then never turn the game around and take control. Turnovers, mistakes, missed easy baskets and too many fouls from Skonto allowed the visitors a 6 point lead at the end of the first quarter.
Aggressive team defense and strong play from starting forward Demtri Hill brought the locals to within 3 at the beginning of the 2nd quarter and an enormous trey from guard Linus Juknevicius tied the game. All the good work soon went undone, however, as Juknevicius picked up an unsportsmanlike foul and Polonia pushed the ball in offence, Eric Elliott hitting a couple of crucial shots to ensure the Warsaw club a 7 point advantage, 40:47, as the teams headed to the locker rooms at half time.
Polonia again came out strong at the start of the second half, as big man Antonio Harvey stopped an Andris Biedrins move to the hoop with a huge block. Sloppy play from Skonto meant that Polonia were able to stretch the lead to 13 half-way through the 3rd, Jeff Nordgard already with 23 points in his account. However, Skonto weren’t ready to lie down and pulled back to within 8, refusing to let the visitors get comfortable: 58:66 after 30 minutes.
Although the home team came close, Polonia kept their nerve in the final quarter and held on to take the away win 84:87, despite a last-minute run from Skonto. Andris Biedrins fouled out late in the quarter, adding to the locals’ woes. The Riga side simply made too many mistakes and spent most of the game chasing the lead, finally letting the win slip through their fingers.
MVP of the game – Jeff Nordgaard, Polonia Warbud
