KRKA Scrape Narrow Win At Bonn

KK KRKA Novo Mesto travelled to Germany and edged Telekom Baskets Bonn 74-71 on Wednesday to go second in Group E of the EuroChallenge.

Captain Simon Petrov had 16 points for KRKA, who improved to 2-1 with the win to stay a game behind BK Prostejov.

The contest had a frantic finish and the Slovenian side will be breathing a sigh of relief as it led 74-67 in the closing seconds but allowed Bonn a chance to pull level at the end.

After two Petrov free-throws made it 74-67, Bonn's Folarin Campbell knocked down a three-pointer to reduce the deficit 74-70.

The German team then fouled Goran Ikonic and he missed both free-throws.

Chris Ensminger grabbed the rebound for the hosts and was fouled by KRKA.

He made the first but missed the second, yet Bonn got the offensive rebound and called timeout.

However, they weren't able to launch a potential game-tying three-ball as time expired.

Defeat for Bonn, who trailed by 13 points at the start of the fourth quarter, has dropped them to 1-2.

Dominique Wise finished with a game-high 18 points in defeat.

Bonn - Krka

"I am glad we won this game. Telekom Baskets Bonn is a strong team and we knew that it would be tough. We had the lead for the whole time but at the end we lost concentration. Bonn came back into this game but fortunately we won. We have a good chance now the reach the next round. We have two homegames left so we can make it in Slovenia."

Chris Booker, KRKA Novo Mesto:
"It was a tough game to play and we are very glad to come out with the victory. Bonn competed very well, fought to the end and did not give us a breather. This win helps us to put us in a better position for the rest of the group stage."

Aleksandar Dzikic, Head Coach KRKA Novo Mesto:
"We got prepared for this game a lot - and it paid off in the end. Against Bonn, we did not know whether Jeremy Hunt would be playing or not. He did not, what helped us to contain the remaining go-to-guys and put some pressure on the bench players. We had problems rebounding the basketball, but somehow managed to survive down the stretch."

Michael Koch,  Head Coach Telekom Baskets Bonn:
"Congratulations to Novo Mesto for the victory. Due to the injury of Jeremy Hunt it's been a tough game for us. We knew Novo Mesto has a competitive and productive bench, which often rakcs up more points than the starting line-up. We lost our rhythm pretty early and could not get our intensity level going. In the final period we were able to play our best basketball today, but it was not enough to turn things around in our favor - the way we played all night we did not deserve ton win this contest."

Fabian Thülig, Telekom Baskets Bonn:
"It is sad we let this opportunity pass by to get in a better position in our group. Now we have to win our last home game during the group stage next week to hopefully compensate for our defeat."

Nic Wise, Telekom Baskets Bonn:
"It was a tough game for us. We came out at the beginning of the game with no energy. They forced us to fight back in the second half. I am proud of the guys for coming back in the fourth quarter but time was running to dig us out of the hole. Fortunately we won a game on the road so there is still a big chance to advanced the last 16 teams. "