On Tuesday, at 5:45 p.m., Hungary’s two best basketball teams will compete against each other for the third time. The third act of the championship final will take place, after two amazingly exciting derbies, the next battle will follow. In the regular season, as in previous years, the first-placed Szombathely team and the third-placed Fehérvár team both made it to the finals with a sweep.
In the first act of the golden battle, last Wednesday, the students of the Spanish coach Alejandro Zubillaga got off to a great start in the iron capital, they won the first quarter with 12 points, dominated, and advanced with 18 points, there was nothing to suggest that Vojvoda might have any problems. However, making a series of mistakes in the third quarter, they allowed the hosts to get closer and closer, then took control, and in the end won a well-deserved 82-70 victory. The derby was eerily similar to the quarter-finals of the Hungarian Cup at the beginning of April, also in Szombathely, in which the visitors also started excellently on the edge of the western border, but after the long break they struggled with similar problems and eventually lost 79-75.
Over the weekend, on Saturday evening, the second match of the 2022-23 championship final took place in Gáz Street, where the hosts had no other goal than to quickly retaliate against the midweek defeat. In a meeting with a great atmosphere, in front of a boarded-up house, everything was different than three days earlier, in Szombathely. This time, the guests went 8-0 in no time, the home team turned the tables in the first quarter, going into the two-minute break with a score of 19-17. They won by -12 and led 53-31 at halftime. However, there was a way back from here as well, Zubillaga’s guard changed defenses, Falco was unable to respond to the zone in any meaningful way, the people of Koronázóváros attacked excellently, and after amazing excitement they managed to win, 81-80. However, all signs pointed to an encore, as one of the best players in Milos Konakov’s team, the American legionnaire with a sure hand, the overseas scorer, Raymond Cowels, was able to throw two penalties 0.1 seconds before the end of the game. He sent the first into the net, but spoiled the second. The celebration could come, in a match with a special atmosphere and dynamics, the team from Fehérvár tied the match 1-1.
– It was a real final, with all its excitement and fiery scenes. A huge thank you to the fans, who were by our side the whole time, just like us, they didn’t give up for a single moment. We started badly, in the second quarter the guests played great and pulled away. However, we got up from minus 22 points and turned it around, which clearly shows the strength and unity of our team. Everything starts from the beginning, of course we will go to Szombathely to win on Tuesday – said manager Pongó Marcell, who once again performed reliably and registered with 13/6 points.
