BC Kyiv 66 - Honka Playboys 58

BC Kyiv took top spot in Group C of the FIBA Europe League tonight, handing the Honka Playboys their third loss in the FIBA Europe League.

From the very beginning of the game the guests from Finland took control and led 6:0, followed by a 13:7-lead after 6 minutes. The interest to the game was rather big, the arena was sold out and the game was shown live on the First Ukrainian TV-Channel.

Nevertheless the guests from Finland could increase their lead to 20:9. After 20 minutes the score was 34:25 in favor of Honka Playboys.In the first half Kyiv couldn’t compensate the absence of Reggie Geary due to injury.

But after the break it seemed like Kyiv finally woke up. It was especially Andriy Lebedyev (22 points, 5 assists) who brought Kyiv back into the game. The hosts finally took their first lead of the night at a score of 49:46.

But Honka managed to stay close to Kyiv even though they didn’t hit any three-pointer in the last ten minutes. The game finished with the score 66:58. It was the second game BC Kyiv won in the FIBA Europe League 2004 and the third loss for the Playboys.

GAME MVP: Andriy Lebedyev

Quotes BC Kyiv - Honka Playboys

Vitaliy Lebedyntsev, Head Coach BC Kyiv:

“Today it was difficult but we tried our best to win – and luckily we made it!”

Mihail Pavichevich, Head Coach Honka Playboys:

“Congratulations to the opponents. Thy wanted to win much more then we did. We couldn’t believe that a victory here was possible. Because of the new philosophy of our club we have a very young team without any experience.”