Basketball. King in Sopot starts the fight for medals

The quarterfinals of this year's Orlen Basket League will see a repeat of last year's final. Polish Champion Trefl will host the runner-up King Szczecin in Sopot on Wednesday in the first match. The competition is to three wins and after two matches in Sopot, it will move to Szczecin on Monday.

Last year's Orlen Basket League final will remain in the memory of fans in Sopot and Szczecin for a long time. King also started the final with Trefl a year ago with an away game and a win in the first game in Sopot. Trefl evened the score in the second game, but after the next games in Szczecin the Polish vice-champions were already leading 3-1. Coach Miłoszewski's team did not maintain their advantage and the next three games were won by Trefl. Thus, after seven games the Sopot team could enjoy the Polish championship.

This season, both of last year's finalists were among the favorites. In the regular season, Trefl performed better, winning 20 out of 30 matches. Żan Tabak's team jumped into the play-offs from the position of vice-leader, won the last match with Czarni in spectacular style (89:65), and despite this, the Trefl coach was not satisfied with the team's performance in this phase of the competition.

- We have no right to talk about the championship after playing in the regular season. We did not show good enough basketball to talk and think about winning the gold medal. We can only talk about the first match in the quarterfinals. For me as a coach, it is a very unpleasant situation that I do not really know what the team will present in a given match and whether it will be ready to fight. The regular season was very irregular in our performance. We showed that we can beat anyone, but also lose to anyone. I believe that we will transfer this good energy that we showed in the match against Czarni to the matches in the play-off phase - said Żan Tabak, the coach of Trefl Sopot, after the match against Czarni.

King's coaching staff may be even less satisfied with the regular season. The Polish vice-champion won the fewest 17 games in three seasons, and had a 6-9 record at home. Of the seven already certain play-off participants, Szczecin has the worst defense, and there are only 5 teams in the entire league that lose more points than King. On average, coach Miłoszewski's team lost over 85 points per game in the regular season.

King's recent transfers are also a big disappointment. Mustapha Heron and Maciej Żmudzki, acquired on the last day of the transfer window on March 31, played a total of... 8 minutes in April and May for King. The Żmudzki exchange for Wójcik is especially shocking, because the latter has been playing great for Zastal. King's new center Marcus Lee has also been performing without any great fireworks. He spends an average of 17 minutes on the court per game, scores 6 points and records 4.4 rebounds.

Before the quarter-final matches with Trefl, King's last performance in the play-in with Śląsk may be cause for optimism. In a match with a real stake, the team showed character and commitment. For the first time in 7 matches, King lost less than 75 points. Dziewa played great, and Novak referred to King's best performances. Meyer has also been playing better and better in recent matches, and Whitehead maintains a high level. However, King lost four out of five league matches earlier. The form of the Polish vice-champions before the play-offs is therefore a great unknown.

This season, the direct league matches are a draw. Trefl won in Szczecin, and King in Sopot. Both matches were even and ended with a difference of 2-3 points.

The Trefl-King quarter-finals will be played on Wednesday (7 p.m.) and Friday (8:15 p.m.) in Sopot and on Monday (5:30 p.m.) in Szczecin. If three matches do not determine the semi-finalists, the next ones are scheduled for May 21 in Szczecin and May 24 in Sopot.

(voivodeship)