Hale and Baldwin lead Borac Mozzart toward big win over Helios Suns in Game 1
Borac Mozzart have taken the lead against Helios Suns in the 2023/24 AdmiralBet ABA League Qualifiers.
(Photo: ABA League j.t.d./Dragana Stjepanovic)
AdmiralBet ABA League Qualifiers, Game 1, Tuesday, 25 April 2023:
BORAC MOZZART - Helios Suns 96:78 (28:19, 29:23, 19:24, 20:12)
Game recap: Borac Mozzart have taken the lead against Helios Suns in the 2023/24 AdmiralBet ABA League Qualifiers.
The Čačak crew have defended their home court in Game 1 mostly thanks to their American tandem Hunter Hale-Diante Baldwin who scored more than half of points of their team. Both Hale and Baldwin made 25 points tonight.
The series is now moving to Domžale as Helios Suns will host Borac Mozzart in Game 2 that is scheduled for Friday, April 28.
Key moments: Borac Mozzart have had a comfortable lead during most of the match, yet in the opening minutes of the 4th quarter Helios Suns managed to reduce the gap to just 6 points – 76:70.
But, then 2022/23 AdmiralBet ABA League Top Scorer Hunter Hale stepped up for the home side. Hale scored 8 points in a row to bring back a double-digit lead to his team – 84:70. After that, the gap was just getting bigger and bigger all the way until Borac Mozzart triumphed in this match by 96:78.
Man of the match: Hale and Baldwin definitely deserve to share this award today. Baldwin was leading the team in the first half, while after the big break Hale took over the leading role down on the court and made some key shots for the Čačak troops.
Can’t trick the stats: Helios Suns simply made too many mistakes in Game 1. The visitors had 21 turnovers today, while on the other side Borac Mozzart made just 9 turnovers for the entire match.
Stats
Players on court
| BOR | Min | PtsP | RebsR | AssA | StS | FoulF | ValV | |
| 4 | Ćurčić V. Đ. | 04:06 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | Glišić M. | 03:13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -1 |
| 19 | Novaković A. | 27:52 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 |
| 44 | Čarapić U. | 18:12 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 77 | Hale H. | 30:29 | 30 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 28 |
| HEL | Min | PtsP | RebsR | AssA | StS | FoulF | ValV | |
| 1 | Luke A. | 27:34 | 17 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 23 |
| 4 | Ferme T. | 23:33 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | -1 |
| 5 | Babič J. | 03:13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | Tunstall Jr D. | 14:56 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 18 |
| 31 | Sirc L. | 04:06 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Last 5 actions
| Min | Score | Action |
| game finished | ||
| end of 4. quarter | ||
| 00:18 (Q4) | 13 LUKE A. assist | |
| 00:18 (Q4) | 97 : 67 | 11 TUNSTALL JR D. made 2 points (dunk) |
| 00:24 (Q4) | 11 TUNSTALL JR D. steal | |
| 00:24 (Q4) | 4 ĆURČIĆ V. Đ. turnover (ballhandling) |
|
