VALENCIA (Spain) – The Bahamas became the first team to reach the semi-finals of the OQT tournament in Spain. 90-81 succeeded over Poland.
It’s two out of two in Group B as VJ Edgecombe, Deandre Ayton and Buddy Hield could set themselves up for a big weekend in Valencia with 56 points in the last win.
Turning point:
The Bahamas opened fire on their first four attempts from three-point range and soon built a double-digit cushion. Despite offering resistance to stay in touch, Poland held on at halftime trailing 50-38.
The lead ballooned to 16 points early in the third before Jeremy Sochan was the catalyst for Poland’s 14-4 response as they cut the deficit back to just six points.
However, the Bahamas managed to keep their opponents at bay and appeared to be in the clear, only to see themselves suffer one more minor scare.
TCL Player of the Game:
Buddy Hield set the tone early with back-to-back 3-pointers and finished with a double-double with 17 points and 10 assists to go along with 6 rebounds in another impressive performance.
Hield hit five 3-pointers in that game, matching his six from the previous game for the most in a two-game stretch in OQT in the modern era.
Edgecombe had 21 points, including a three-pointer with 34.7 seconds left, while Ayton weighed in with 18 points and nine boards.
He is the first rookie in the modern era to score 20 or more points in back-to-back games in OQT.
Although Edgecombe made seven field goals, his missed dunk might have been one of his most impressive attempts.
The statistics don’t lie:
The Bahamas got off to a hot start, which helped hurt the first half – making eight of 13 three-pointers. Meanwhile, Poland was 4-of-14 from deep at halftime and never settled into its shooting rhythm until a brief spell in the fourth.
Bottom line:
The Bahamas were better than their first game and that’s all you want in a tournament like this. While they don’t completely shut down either game until late, they lock down on both ends of the floor when needed.
Not an ideal start for Poland, but there is little time to dwell on the result as they return to action against Finland on Thursday in what is effectively a Quarter-Final clash to decide who will make it to the last four.
They said:
“It was a great game, we fought through difficulties. We played a great opponent, Poland is a well-trained team. Now we will only focus on the next game.” Guardian of the Bahamas, VJ Edgecombe.
“Back-to-backs were tough, so it was interesting to see how the team would respond. Poland is a big team, it’s really hard to guard and they compete. We had a lot of other players, especially down low.” Bahamas head coach Chris Demarco.
“Tough loss. They came out with a lot of threes in the first half and it threw us off our rhythm. We came back from a six-point deficit in the third quarter, but they made a lot of threes and second-chance points.” Polish center, Aleksander Balcerowksi.
“There were a few situations early in the game where we didn’t respond well to their key players. We fought hard. I’m proud of my guys for coming back twice. We knew that even though we won it. The game wouldn’t have been a big difference because tomorrow is the key game.” Poland’s head coach Igor Milicic.
FIBA
