ECM Nymburk 85 Ironi Strauss Nahariya 94

Strauss handed Nymburks their first home loss in this year's FIBA Europe League (85-94).

The guests from Israel started with very good defense and several fast breaks. The Czechs weren’t able to score in the first three minutes and Strauss was able to pull away with 8 points.

Even though Strauss center, Marckovich didn’t have any impact on the game, his team was able to hold Nymburk down in the first period. At the end of the first ten minutes ECM was able to get in contact when Mujagic and Votroubek scored a three-pointer each (22-25).

The second period was almost a copy of the first half. Strauss defended their league by keeping Nymburk's centers and the boards under control (39-44).

After the break, Nymburk increased the pressure on the guests. Ashante Johnson scored 12 of his 27 points in this period, but Strauss kept the lead with nice fast breaks (69-73).

Now, Nymburk tried to close the gap with three-pointers but they weren’t as successful as usual and Nahariya had easy game to pull away. Even though Nymburk put all their power to offense at the end of the last quarter they weren’t able to prevent their first home loss in this season.

Game-MVP: Amit Ben David

Quotes ECM Nymburk - Strauss Iscar Nahariya

Michal Jezdik, Head Coach ECM Nymburk:

"We knew, that this match would be very tough and also very important, because Nahariya has good chances to proceed to the second round, and we would like to go to the second round as well. So that’s why this loss is very bad for us. We lost the match in the first period, because of bad rebounding. In the second half we did a better job under the baskets, but our shooting percentage was to bad."

Denis Mujagic, ECM Nymburk:

"Everyone of us wanted to win this match. It was an important game. Now we are very sad, but we will try our best in Israel."

Avi Ashkenzi, Head Coach Strauss Iscar:

"Thanks to Nymburk for a nice welcome here. We knew that Nymburk is a very good team, but we were well prepared. Thanks to our tough defense we could take home the victory."

Amit Ben David, Strauss Iscar:

"We saw Nymburk on video and knew their strengths. We played our game and we run a lot of fast breaks. Now we are very happy and satisfied, that we made this victory. We hope it’s the first important step to the second round of the FIBA Europe League."