07.01.2009

Ukraine Overwhelm Germany

Ukraine went on a 25-2 run spanning six minutes of the first quarter and blew out Germany in their EuroBasket Women Additional Qualifying Round clash in Kyiv.

Volodymyr Bryukhovetskiy's team rolled to a 73-47 victory to improve to 2-0 in Group A.

Germany and Bulgaria are each 0-1.

Olexandra Gorbunova had 15 of her team-high 20 points in the first quarter.

The leading scorer in EuroBasket Division A last year, Gorbunova was two of three from behind the arc. She also had nine rebounds and swatted two shots.

Victory was sweet for Ukraine, who throttled Germany 93-39 in their first qualifying game last year only to then fall in the second game that was played at the Germans, 74-65.

That defeat was a costly one because at 5-3, Bryukhovetskiy's team finished third in the group behind Israel and Lithuania and missed out on direct qualification for the Final Round.

If they make it to Latvia for this summer's EuroBasket Women, however, playing in the Additional Qualifying Round may turn out to be a blessing in disguise as it has allowed Bryukhovetskiy to get a good look at other up-and-coming players in the national team.

It was 22-year-old veteran Gorbunova who made the biggest difference in the first-quarter scoring rampage that effectively sealed victory for Ukraine.

She had 13 of Ukraine's first 27 points and probably would have finished with more than 20 had Bryukhovetskiy decided to have her on the floor more than the almost 27 minutes she did play.

For Germany, 21-year-old Romy Bär poured in a game-high 21 points.

 

07.01.2009

Quotes Ukraine vs. Germany

Olexandra Gorbunova, Ukraine player:
"The result was badly needed. We gained the win and that is the only thing that counts. The win should give us enough confidence before the next game against Bulgaria. We have only one week left to prepare well for the game. Germany played without some of their key players today and we do not know yet if they are going to play in the second game. We made the first two steps towards qualification but we have two more yet to take. We will try to stay focused and hopefully we will prepare well for the road game in Germany."

Volodymyr Bryukhovetskiy, Ukraine coach:
"We won the first half by 24 points and some of our players lost their concentration. Germany however also played much better after the break. They have a young team and played without Anna Breitreiner. But Romy Bar stepped up for them scoring almost half of their points. We had the information that Anna Breitreiner would miss the game. But she is expected to play in Germany. I tried to give a chance to all the players on the roster and everyone worked hard today. I liked the way new players stepped up defensively and how they added their rhythm to the encounter."

Imre Szittya, Germany coach:
"We have a young team and we missed some players today. We played horribly in the first half, especially defensively. And if you do not play good defense you can not play in offense. It was a bit better in the second half, especially in the third quarter. Every team wants to win before the game but coming here without our key player made the task too difficult. We really want to show that we can play at this level when we face Ukraine at home."