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Vitalyur wins the fourth straight title in Belarus
by Eurobasket News - May 13, 2008
OZAA - Vitalyur 82:86
Vitalyur won the Belarusian championship for the 4th straight time. They overcame OZAA Osipovichi in the third game of the Final series to complete a sweep. But the win was far from an easy journey for renowned Vitalyur. OZAA already proved it was not an accident they got into the title series and challenged their titled opponents. OZAA stayed ahead in the first frame and completed it ahead 23:22.
OZAA - Vitalyur 82:86
Vitalyur won the Belarusian championship for the 4th straight time. They overcame OZAA Osipovichi in the third game of the Final series to complete a sweep. But the win was far from an easy journey for renowned Vitalyur. OZAA already proved it was not an accident they got into the title series and challenged their titled opponents. OZAA stayed ahead in the first frame and completed it ahead 23:22. But Vitalyur surged ahead at halftime 40:39 though the lead changed hands as many as 21 times throughout the action. Milos Maksimovic (200-F-85) ignited a rally from the hosts that put OZAA up by 5 points midway through the third frame. Vitalyur recovered well and fast and maintained a one-point advantage after three quarters of action. Vitalyur went on a 10:0 run to open the fourth frame and the intrigue seemed to perish. But Yevgen Oleynik fueled an 8:0 response from the hosts as they cut the gap and stayed alive in the game. But Vitalyur capitalized on a couple of key mistakes from OZAA in the dying minutes to pull away with a vital win. Kuchinskiy accounted for a couple of jumpers, while Uladzimir Charko (200-F-74) intercepted the ball and dunked it home to give the visitors a 4-point lead with 23 seconds left in regulation. OZAA did not fin a proper answer in the seconds left and had to surrender at the end. Uladzimir Charko led Vitalyur charge with 21 points and 7 boards. Kuchinskiy nailed 17 points and issued 8 assists, while Aliaksei Trastianetsky (201-F-86) provided 12 points for the winners. Heorhi Kandrusevich (197-F-78, agency: Promotex) produced 24 points and 8 boards for OZAA. Milos Maksimovic narrowly missed a triple-double completing the game with 24 points, 10 boards and 9 assists.
Game 3 between OZAA and Vitalyur is scheduled for May 10, but after the first two it might be the last game the spectatoiors will see. A thrilling development discussed closer to the male basketball play-off championship was no longer special in an inappropriate time. Hardly had the final series started on, the Vitalur team was but a few steps from the fourth championship. OZAA was a horrible but bearable opponent during the weekend match.
Game 3 between OZAA and Vitalyur is scheduled for May 10, but after the first two it might be the last game the spectatoiors will see. A thrilling development discussed closer to the male basketball play-off championship was no longer special in an inappropriate time. Hardly had the final series started on, the Vitalur team was but a few steps from the fourth championship. OZAA was a horrible but bearable opponent during the weekend match. On Friday the OZAA team looked up to the mark just in the first quarter. The team won with the score 18:12 wounded only by Sharko and Kuchinskiy with their 6 points each. Right after Vitalur displayed the zone defense blocking the ring. Meanwhile the hosts took a shield advantage with Uladzimir Charko (200-F-74) , Kuchinskiy, Zaitsev Dmitry, Yeremenko Konstantin at the lead. Those four got 65 points out of total 74, and thus met the first series victory. OZAA confronted that victory more and more persistently though suffered a staff loss not long ago. Uladzimir Charko blocked the ring access of Poderachev A. away too harsh and he hit the ground. Even the medical personnel of the opposing team rushed to help him but that was still in vain. An injured elbow of Poderachev A. did not fall under the operative recovery. The quests, however, found themselves in a desperate situation on Saturday right in the beginning of the second quarter 23:14. So, the certain measures were taken, and with Olbrehts inspiration the team ended up 30:30 by the interval. Then Vitalur showed who was who after four intensive attacks 10:0. OZAA fought to the uttermost and received a chance 2 minutes prior to the siren when Uladzimir Charko hit the bench overloaded with fouls. Anyways, that did not prevent Vitalur from the victory for Shustov turned out to be a pretty good leader.
