The Rila athlete basketball champion lost to the Hungarian Alba Fehervar with 83:93 (17:24, 17:22, 27:17, 22:30) as a host in the “Samokov Arena” in the fourth round of Group F of the men's FIBA Europe Cup tournament, BTA reported.
Samokovci suffered a fourth consecutive defeat and continue without a win in the group phase. Alba Fehervar achieved his second success from his four matches.
The hosts got off to a better start and led 10-3 after about five minutes of play, but allowed the opposition to make a run of 10 unanswered points and turn it to 13-10 in their favor in just over a minute. By the end of the first part, Rila Athlete was behind by 17:24. In the second 10 minutes, Alba Fehervar held the initiative and extended their lead to 14 points at 42:28 midway through the period to lead 46:34 at the break.
After the break, Samokovci played more confidently and gradually reduced their deficit. The hosts went on an 11-0 run to pull within 55-56, and with less than three minutes left in the third quarter, Alan Arnett made a three-pointer to tie the score at 58-58. Another draw followed and after 30 minutes of play the visitors from Hungary were leading by only 2 points – 63:61.
However, the Rila sportsman's strength was not enough for a turnaround, and Alba Fehervar's team pulled ahead again to end the match with a 10-point lead.
Samokovci had trouble shooting from distance, making just 7 3-pointers out of 30 attempts, and missed half of their free throws (8/16).
Jure Planinich distinguished himself as a Rila athlete with a “double-double“ of 26 points and 12 rebounds. Alan Arnett added 13 points and 4 rebounds, and Chavdar Kostov scored 12 points.
In the tournament for the FIBA Europe Cup for the Rila athlete, two away games are coming up, the first of which will be at the Estonian Kalev/Kramo on November 6. Three days earlier, on November 3, Samokovci met Chernomore Ticha in a match of the National Basketball League.