Levharti Chomutov erased a 14 points deficit in the second half to post a 77-73 comeback win against Neptūnas Klaipeda and earn a historic gold medal on Sunday, March 5, at the Centrum Sportu Wilanow in Warsaw, Poland.
Players of the game
Kateřina Bartoňová had another special day.
Levharti Chomutov point guard dished out nine assists – she averaged 9.5 assists in the Final Four.
Bartoňová worked hard on defense and registered four steals.
She led her team to two wins over Frankivsk Prykarpattya and Neptūnas Klaipeda.
Kateřina Bartoňová was named the Most Valuable Player.
Eliška Brejchova earned a place in the All Tournament team, selected by the team coaches.
Young guard scored a game high 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the floor.
Najai Pollard had 17 points and 17 rebounds.
Delaware State star connected 3-of-5 three pointers and grabbed seven boards in offense.
Monika Satoranska also had 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field, including a 3-of-6 from the three point line.
Valentyna Kadlecova scored 14 points and registered a game high five steals.
Young guard made the 2022 European U20 championship All Star team.
Dalia Donskichyte scored 11 points and dished out eight assists for Neptūnas Klaipeda.
She was fouled out 15.1 seconds before the end of regulation.
Viktoria Balaban scored a team high 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field.
Ukrainian international earned the place in an All Star team.
Ligita Tamutyte showed her fighting spirit enroute to 13 points, joining Balaban in the All-tournament team.
Key stats
Both teams moved the ball exceptionally well.
Levharti Chomutov had seven assists on eight field goals in the first quarter, Neptūnas Klaipeda – six assists on seven field goals.
The Lithuanians scored at least 45 points in the first half for second day in a row.
Neptūnas connected 63% of their three point field goal attempts in the first half – 7 of 11.
Levharti had just 15% shooting accuracy from the deep – 3 of 19.
It was a story of the two halves as Levharti Chomutov made 7-of-10 three pointers in the second half.
Neptūnas missed all eight three point attempts after the halftime break.
Chomutov outrebounded Klaipeda, 41-38, especially on the offensive glass, 16-8.
The Champions scored more second chance points, 16-3.
First half: Balaban is perfect, Sinickaite beats the buzzer
All five players touched a ball until Agne Černeckyte hit a three pointer from the left corner for a 15-13 lead.
Levharti Chomutov went on a 5-0 run early in the second quarter for a 25-19 lead.
Neptūnas Klaipeda answered with a 13-0 run.
Ligita Tamutyte had two points, Dalia Donskichyte stole the ball and fed Linda Ndoli, while Uliana Datsko made two three pointers for a 32-25 lead.
Chomutov made it a one possession game, 34-31, but more players stepped up for Neptūnas.
Viktoria Balaban didn`t missed a shot and went for a perfect 4-of-4 in the first half to increase Klaipeda`s lead up to double digits.
Brigita Sinickaite sank a three pointer, beating the buzzer for a 45-35 lead at the half!
Second half: the turn of the tide
Neptūnas incresed their lead up to 14 points, 49-35, but everything changed during the next three minutes.
Viktoria Balaban missed her shots and Levharti Chomutov went on a 16-0 run.
Valentyna Kadlecova blocked Balaban and made a three point shot, 38-49.
Najai Pollard then hit a back-to-back-to-back three pointers after two steals by Bartonova and one by Kadlecova.
Satoranska tied the game at 49.
Chomutov never trailed after that and several times increased its lead up to seven points.
Neptūnas fought until the last second.
Ligita Tamutyte and Brigita Sinickaite made it a one possession game, 71-68, with 03:14 to go.
Linda Victorine Ndoli cut it down to two points, 72-70.
Monika Satoranska answered with a three point shot, 75-70.
Tamutyte forced two more fouls and made 3-of-4 free throws, 75-73.
Neptūnas Klaipeda registered three fouls in a span of five seconds, including two fouls by Donskichyte.
She fouled out and Bartoňová went to the line to seal the game, 77-73!
Game notes
Michaela Krejzova missed the Final Four due to illness, while Monika Satoranska joined the team on Saturday.
Najai Wynn-Pollard got injured in the semifinal but returned on the floor on Sunday.
All tournament team
Krystyna Filevich, forward, Frankivsk Prykarpattya
Anna Pawlowska, guard, Polonia Warszawa
Viktoria Balaban, shooting guard, Neptūnas Klaipeda
Ligita Tamutyte, forward, Neptūnas Klaipeda
Eliška Brejchova, guard, Levharti Chomutov
Most Valuable Player
Kateřina Bartoňová, point guard, Levharti Chomutov
SCHEDULE (local time, GMT+2h)
Saturday, March 4, semifinals
SKK Polonia Warszawa 73–79 BC Neptūnas Klaipeda
BC Frankivsk Prykarpattya 76–86 BK Levharti Chomutov
Sunday, March 5, medal games
SKK Polonia Warszawa 100–53 Frankivsk Prykarpattya
Levharti Chomutov 77–73 Neptūnas Klaipeda
Final Four history
Rīga 2016: TTT Rīga, Basket 90 Gdynia, Astana Tigers, Tsmoki Minsk
Košice 2017: Good Angels Košice, TTT Rīga, Dynamo Moscow, Basket 90 Gdynia
Rīga 2018: Good Angels Košice, TTT Rīga, Dynamo Moscow, Udominate Basket
Rostov on Don 2019: TTT Rīga, Tsmoki Minsk, Rostov Don SFEDU, Žabiny Brno
Brno 2020: season five cancelled (Žabiny Brno-Tsmoki, Novosibirsk-Pieštany)
Maladziechna 2021: Horizont Minsk, Nika Syktyvkar, TTT Rīga, Prometey Kamianske
Pieštany 2022: Žabiny Brno, Pieštanske Čajky, Kibirkštis Vilnius, SBŠ Ostrava
Warszawa 2023: Levharti Chomutov, Neptūnas Klaipeda, Polonia Warszawa, Frankivsk Prykarpattya
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