Partizan NIS bounced back with Hatcher’s game-winner
Partizan NIS team decided not to end their ABA League season yet and they prevented that with a home court win over Cedevita which has tied the series to 1:1. William Hatcher became the black and white hero!
Partizan NIS team (Photo: Partizan NIS)
ABA League Playoffs, Semi-Finals, Game 2, 25.3.2017:
PARTIZAN NIS – Cedevita 74:73 (20:13, 19:21, 17:17, 18:22)
Game recap: The semi-final series of Cedevita and Partizan NIS is extended to three games, as the black and white of Belgrade have bounced back after the defeat in Zagreb and took advantage of their home court in the second game. The series are now tied at 1:1 and the finalist will be given at the third game in Zagreb. The black and white have won the game two fully deservedly after starting strongly and managing to stay in front almost throughout entire playing time of fourty minutes, all until the end. In the end we have seen some drama, with Cedevita almost turning the game around, but William Hatcher prevented them from doing so.
Key moments: With a minute and a half remaining, Vanja Marinković scored the crucial three-pointer to take his team to a 4-point lead and after Bilan’s turnover on the other end, Stefan Birčević made it a 5-point game again for the black and white (70:65) with only 54 seconds remaining. However, with a 5-point winning streak of Ryan Boatright in the following 20 minutes, Cedevita tied the game at 70:70 with 35 seconds left.
Hatcher did take Partizan NIS in front again with a two pointer on the other end. Cedevita had 15 seconds left to make a comeback and Boatright was the to score a big three-pointer which seemed that might be the game winning one. However, William Hatcher came up again when it mattered the most and scored a mid-range game winner 2 seconds before the end of the playing time.
Take a look at the video of the game's exciting finish:
Man of the match: William Hatcher will be the name that Partizan fans will be celebrating all night long. He did not only score crucial points when it was the most important to do so, but he has also led his team in scoring throughout the game with 23 points (4/8 for three). He added 4 assists and a rebound for the valuation of 17. He is deservedly our man of the match.
Can't trick the stats: The score difference was only a point, so it is not surprising that neither of the teams has dominated the statistics. Partizan NIS have indeed ended the game with 3 more rebounds than Cedevita (33:30) and this can be pointed out as the field where the game went their way.
