Prostejov Take Ames But Miss Target As Zagreb Win

KK Zagreb got big games again Ante Tomic and Krunoslav Simon to complete their EuroChallenge Qualifying Round 1 victory over BK Prostejov.

The duo shone in the first leg played in the Czech Republic last week and on Tuesday back in the Czech Republic, Tomic had 17 points and 19 rebounds while Simon scored a game-high 23 in a 79-73 triumph.

The result gave Zeljko Pavlicevic's side a 148-134 win on aggregate.

A determined Prostejov made Zagreb work for their victory on the night.

They pulled level on aggregate at 42-34 with 6:41 to go in the third quarter after a basket by Rahsaan Edward Ames.

Prostejov were still on top in the game at 46-39 with 3:41 to go in the third quarter when Zagreb stole the initiative with a 12-0 run.

Mario Dundovic started the scoring burst with a three-ball and Petar Babic capped it with a three as Zagreb led 53-48.

Prostejov didn't go away and went back in front in Tuesday's game at 59-57 with 6:07 to play after another three from Ames.

But they got no closer on aggregate the rest of the way.

Ames led the Czech team's scoring with 20 points while Shaun Steven Pruitt scored 14 and pulled down 12 boards.

Quotes KK Zagreb vs. BK Prostejov

Rahsaan Edward Ames, player Prostejov:

"We played a good match, on several occasions we came close to getting the result to see us through but we did not succeed. The home team was stronger in the final minutes. In my opinion we missed our opportunity to qualify in the first leg at home."

Luka Drezga, player KK Zagreb:

"Because of injuries the coach gave me his trust tonight and I am glad that he did not regret it. This is my best match so far in the Zagreb outfit and I hope that I will continue the same way. We lacked our game organizers and for a long period we could not keep a positive rhythm, and when finally we managed to connect several good defenses with a pair of fast breaks the game turned for us."

Ivica Mavrenski, coach Prostejov:

"I believe that we lost a great chance to go through in our home game at Prostejov. Zagreb is the superior team in relation to us and it was a tall order to overcome the eight point deficit from the first leg. Beside that we were missing three players and we lacked depth in our rotations which played a role later in the game."

Željko Pavličević, coach of KK Zagreb:

"As well as at Prostejov, we missed three key players. But especially tonight in our game we felt the absence of our playmakers. After Vladović who had also not played in the first match, in our last training session before the game tonight we also lost Morović who was very important for our victory in the Czech Republic. So we ended up having only Babić as organizer of our game and our rivals felt a chance and troubled us for a big part of the game. Nevertheless, our quality was revealed in the end with our main players getting excellent statistics. Tomić was dominant under the baskets, Simon and Drezga have used their chance and surprised us. Prostejov played excellently, their Americans have been great tonight."