GTK better than guests from Opava. Kiwilsza and Szlachetka gave the impulse

GTK Gliwice won second time during the preparation period to the championship. This time our team defeated BK Opava 96:84 in the arena at Jasna. We were triumphed thanks to the polish roster, which in the key fourth quarter when the result was draw lead GTK to the victory.

 

After two friendly games with the bronze medalist of previous competitions, Polski Cukier Toruń, it was time to play against the Czech runner-up, BK Opava. Opponent in the upcoming season will play in the Champions League, but he arrived in Gliwice weakened. The coach of Petr Czudek, who is the assistant to Ronan Ginzburg in Czech national team and the playmaker Jakub Szirina, are missing. Both of them are staying at the training camp preparing for the next qualifying phase for the World Cup. For the same reason, there was no Tanel Kurbas in our team who trained in Estonia.

 

Guests from the first minutes showed that despite the weakness and narrow rotation will want to win in Poland. After a good three point shot of Radovan Kouril they was already running six points (4:10). From that moment, the hosts scored 14 consecutive points and took the lead (18:10). This is due to Szymon Kiwilsza who did well in the paint. Opava did not intend to give up, and skillfully enforcing offenses slowly leveled losses from the free throw line (25:20).

 

After resuming the game, GTK recorded another series. This time, the run was 10:0  and after Brian Dawkins's accurate free throw  was already 35:20. Gliwice probably controlled situation on the floor and it seemed that the match will have a one-sided course. After the good shot of Piotr Robak, the locals ran 39:23 in the middle of the second quarter. The easy advantage gained by the Gliwice players caused that they lost focus  and this fact was immediately used by their rivals. Led by Vaclav Bujnoch, the basketball players from Opava managed to reduce their losses to four points (43:39) before the halftime.

 

In the third quarter, the fight was extremely fierce. The lead went from one side to the other and none of the teams could gain a greater advantage. A good substitution was introduced by Mateusz Szlachetka after the break. The young point guard felt very well on the line of free throws and thanks to him the Czech runner-up led after 30 only by three points difference (62:65). Among the guests in this part of the game, Jan Svandrlik, who after four years in the United States, where he graduated from the Iona University, returned to his native country, played excellent. He replaced Krystof Vlck in BC Opava, who retired from basketball and started career like a coach.

 

Also in the last quarter the Czechs kept the minimum lead. The situation changed when coach Paweł Turkiewicz decided to play only with the Polish part of the team. Attack of the hosts was driven by Szlachetka, when Kiwilsza and Dawid Słupiński played like a shooters. Only when Słupiński committed the fifth foul, Damonte Dodd returned to the floor. American center previously showed  some dynamic and impressive slam dunks. From score 70:74, GTK won this part of the fourth quarter in a ratio of 18:1 and thus secured the final triumph.

 

GTK will play next friendly game on Tuesday at 19:30, and the rival will be team from the first league Jamalex Polonia 1912 Leszno. The game will take place at the Łabędź Sports and Cultural Center.