10 Hard Birth After Heavy Labor

Romanian Cup

Quarter Finals Second Leg

BC Mures Tirgu Mures - Steaua CSM Eximbank Bucuresti

88-94

(17-23, 28-22, 18-29, 25-20)

Aggregate: 179-173

BC Mures lost their quarter final return leg against Steaua CSM Eximbank Bucuresti, but qualified for the Final 4 due to a higher aggregate score. 

Steaua came determined to turn around the first leg's 12 point deficit and had 11 points advantage in the first half, only to see BC Mures come back before halftime for a 45-45 score at the break. In the second half Steaua pulled away again and didn't give up the lead until the end. The visitors even had a 15 point lead with 12 minutes remaining, but BC Mures managed to claw back into the game and after a tight endgame succeeded in keeping a 6 point aggregate lead and qualify into the quarter finals.

Steaua played with only four foreign players due to the mysterious departure of Travis Wattson and without two injured point guards Mihai Paul and Adrian Tudor. Coach Bavcevic was also forced to field Ionel Dodoc for a considerable period of time (28 minutes) due to Terrell Everett's early foul trouble. The seven player rotation didn't prove enough for turning around the tie. Titus Nicoara was easily the MVP of the game, his 27 points and 11 rebounds mounting to an efficiency of 32.

BC Mures used a ten player rotation, all of them putting points on the board. Laci Lazar managed to substitute Ousmane Barro with the best +/- score of the team, Polyak and Corpodean gave their colleagues much needed breathing time and Capusan's 6 rebounds were vital in the final count. The two best home players were Filip Adamovic and Vaidotas Peciukas. Kyndall Dykes, although far from his first round performance, contributed consistently to the team effort. Ivan Ivanovic had early foul trouble but managed to play almost 30 minutes and be an important presence under the boards. Matija Ceskovic brought his oscillating, up and down game, alternating amazing shooting skill with stupid turnovers, two of them inside the final two minutes putting his team in a delicate situation.

All in all BC Mures deserved the Final 4 berth, but Steaua proved that even with a truncated rotation, they can be a formidable opponent. After the final whistle both managers accused the referees of influencing the final result. This can only mean that even if there were mistakes at both ends, the officiating had been equitable. 

BC Mures joins BCM U Pitesti and CSU Sibiu in the Final 4 and waits for the winner of the Asesoft Ploiesti - BC Timisoara aggregate winner to join them there.

Best scorers:

BC Mures: Adamovic 23 (3), Peciukas 16 (1) and Dykes 13 (1)

Steaua: Nicoara 27 (2) and 11 rebounds, Barac 21 (3) and Ikonic 14 (3)

Full game stats on the FRB site.