After seventeen consecutive victories in official games, NKA Universitas Pécs suffered its first defeat of the season, falling 62–43 on the road against Lointek Gernika Bizkaia in the first game of the EuroCup Women play-offs. Despite the loss, the tie is still wide open, and the team will head into the return leg in the Lauber Dezső Sports Hall with a real chance to advance.
The game started evenly, with both teams going head-to-head in the opening minutes. The first quarter ended 20–19 in favor of the hosts, but it was already clear that Gernika’s aggressive rebounding could cause us serious problems. The home team created several second-chance opportunities, and although we tried to keep pace, our offensive rhythm became increasingly inconsistent. The Spanish pressure intensified in the second quarter, and we still struggled to find our flow on offense; even so, the halftime score of 31–26 suggested we still had something to build on.
The third quarter brought tough defense on both sides and few points, but we could not close the gap (41–34). The final period, however, clearly belonged to Gernika: the home side won the quarter 21–9, continued to dominate the boards, and repeatedly capitalized on second-chance opportunities. Despite creating multiple open looks, our shots simply would not fall on this night, we finished the game shooting just 10.7% from beyond the arc.
The statistics highlight the key differences: Gernika won the rebounding battle 53–39, including 21 offensive rebounds, and scored 19 points off our turnovers. Although points in the paint were even (24–24), losing Julia Reisingerová to five fouls proved decisive under the basket, significantly affecting our rotation and overall structure.
After the game, head coach Zeljko Djokic shared his thoughts:
“Congratulations to Gernika, today they were better in every segment of the game. Even when their outside shots didn’t fall, they dominated us in rebounding, and we needed to focus much better on that part of the game. Then there were several very strange refereeing decisions; they didn’t allow our center to play, they practically fouled her out on purpose, which meant we couldn’t use one of our biggest strengths. At the same time, we have to acknowledge that we shot very poorly from the outside, even though we had plenty of open looks. Despite all this, we must not give up this matchup. Next Wednesday, in a full Lauber Dezső Sports Hall, we need to play with extra energy and win by twenty points.”
Although NKA suffered its first defeat of the season, the overall picture remains extremely positive: the team is still undefeated in the Hungarian league (11–0), advanced from the EuroCup group stage with a perfect 6–0 record, and had already beaten Gernika twice earlier this season.
Lointek Gernika Bizkaia – NKA Universitas Pécs 62–43 (20–19, 11–7, 10–8, 21–9)
EuroCup Women Play-Offs – Gernika, Polideportivo Maloste
Referees: Dominique James Kerry (GIB), Marques da Silva Hugo Blanco (POR), Bowe Josh (GBR)
Lointek Gernika Bizkaia: Olaeta A. 8/6, Westerik L. 10, Jankovic M. 17, Bessoir E. 10/6, Adams J. 9.
Subs: Matarranz E. 2, Krnjic S. –, Castedo E. 6/6.
NKA Universitas Pécs: Varga A. 2, Rátkai E. 5, Török Á. 12/6, Dúl P. 9/3, Reisingerová J. 5.
Subs: Olawuyi A. 4, Josepovits K. –, Tóth O. 6.
