A sold-out Športová hala witnessed a truly memorable evening that nobody in attendance will ever forget. In terms of what happened on the court, where a resilient BC Prievidza squad gave Spanish super team Bilbao Basket a valiant fight and remained in the lead after 16 minutes before eventually succumbing to the Basques pressure and quality. But as well in terms of the arena experience – atmosphere, spectacle and class!
Vstávaj, Jano, hore, “wake up, Jano, get going” - the rendition of the historic miner classic while simultaneously unveiling a huge Prievidza Basketball banner gave the crowd a first of many goosebump moments before tip-off. And the Miners were alert right from the get-go: A Daishon Smith three-pointer quickly countered Bilbao center Tryggvi Hlinason’s game-opening dunk. For the entirety of an intense and back-and-forth first quarter, the hosts remained able to find an answer for whatever questions the heavy favorites threw at them. And often in spectacular fashion: Keith Jordan Jr. first threw down a nifty Denis Krestinin assist and then elevated through the lane in videogame style to put the final touch on potentially the best ten minutes of the Prievidza season so far (24:22, 10.).
Carried by 2.694 raging voices, BC remained in the driver’s seat at the start of the second stanza. When Jordan’s strong drive to the basket extended the lead to 29:26 with five minutes to go before half-time, a monumental upset seemed to become a possibility. However, Bilbao, who took the contest incredibly seriously and played with high intensity over the full forty minutes, now showed their depth and experience. They started to mercilessly punish every small mistake the home team offered. A 16-4 run had them enter the away locker with a nine-point cushion (33:42, 20.).
But Saša Jankovič’s troops never gave up and remained competitive while sprinkling in the occasional highlight like a Denis Krestinin dunk and block or Remu Raitanen and Marek Jašš threes after beautiful ball movement. In the end, however, Bilbao’s undeniable quality prevailed. Their defensive pressure became suffocating. In particular physical Swedish combo Melwin Pantzar made life extremely uncomfortable for BC’s point guards and often took valuable seconds off the clock before BC could even initiate their setplay. The guests’ offense mainly came from a youngster: 2003-born Ruben Dominguez connected on 4 of his 6 attempts from the perimeter and finished with a game-high 19 points.
In the closing seconds with the score settling at 61 to 84, the Prievidza faithful applauded both teams in a class move proving a high degree of “feel for the game” from the public that the Bilbao players were happy to acknowledge. It was the final climax of an epic night that made it crystal clear for everybody to see: Jano is wide awake!
Photo: Vladimír Králik