Dustin Thomas scored 17 points in the second half and Dardan Berisha fueled team`s offense as the Sigal Prishtina posted a 91-67 win against the ENBL vice-champion Šiauliai on Tuesday, January 24, at the TalTech Spordihoone in Tallinn, Estonia.
Players of the game
Sigal Prishtina faced a survive-or-die game and the players responded in a big way.
Dustin Thomas played all 40 minutes and scored a game high 23 points on super impressive 10-of-14 shooting from the field.
Arkansas star made 7-of-9 field goal attempts in the second half to spark a game winning run.
Thomas grabbed 10 rebounds, registered three steals and forced nine fouls.
Dardan Berisha piled up numbers for another double-double.
Prishtina captain had 13 points and a game high 10 assists.
He provided a constant threat from the deep and registered +32 ratio in less than 25 minutes of play.
Brooks Debisschop scored 14 of his 18 points in the first half.
A former Northern Arizona center provided early boost for his team as he went 7-of-9 from the field.
Debisschop grabbed 11 rebounds too.
Derrick Wilson (Marquette) and a rookie Both Gach (Utah 2022) added 13 and 12 points respectively.
Kyle Mangas led Šiauliai with 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field, including a game best 4-of-7 accuracy from the three point line.
A former Indiana Wesleyan (2017-2021) star guard and a 2018 NAIA Division II champion dished out three assists.
Martynas Varnas followed with 15 points, including a 5-of-5 effort inside the perimeter.
Daniel Baslyk joined with seven points on 3-of-3 shooting from the field.
Key stats
Murat Bilge used a seven man rotation for Prishtina and it worked.
Sigal Prishtina players outscored their opponents by 11 points in the first quarter and by 12 points in the third quarter.
The Kosovars outrebounded the Lithuanians, 36-20.
Prishtina controlled the paint, 46-30, and registered a 74% shooting accuracy inside the three point line, 29-of-39.
Šiauliai had a poor day from the perimeter, except Kyle Mangas.
His teammates made 1-of-18 field goal attempts from the deep.
Game notes
Šiauliai missed the first chance to qualify and dropped to 2-2.
They have two more games to play against Zastal Zielona Gora and Budivelnyk Kyiv.
Sigal Prishtina survived to live and fight another day.
A win by 24 points has increased their chances to advance.
SCHEDULE (local time only)
Monday, January 23, Tallinn, Kalevi Spordihall (GMT+3h)
BC Kalev/Cramo 73–80 Polski Cukier Start Lublin
Tuesday, January 24, Tallinn, TalTech Spordihoone (GMT+3h)
Šiauliai 67–91 KB Sigal Prishtina
19:00 TalTech Optibet – BC Zielona Gora
Tuesday, January 24, Valmiera (GMT+3h)
19:00 Valmiera Glass ViA – Brno Basket
Wednesday, January 25, Tallinn, TalTech Spordihoone (GMT+3h)
13:00 BC Zielona Gora – Šiauliai
18:00 BK Sigal Prishtina – Tal Tech Optibet
Wednesday, January 25, Ness Ziona (GMT+3h)
18:00 Ironi Ness Ziona – BC Wolves
STANDINGS, as of January 24, 2023, CET 17:00
Group A
Budivelnyk Kyiv 4-0 (+56) Qualified
Polski Cukier Start Lublin 4-1 (+44) Qualified
Kalev/Cramo 2-4 (+19)
KB Sigal Prishtina 2-3 (-16)
Zastal Zielona Gora 2-2 (-14)
Šiauliai 2-2 (-19)
TalTech Optibet 0-4 (-70)
Tie-breaker (1): Kalev/Cramo 1-1, +6; Sigal Prishtina 1-1, +3; Zastal Zielona Gora 1-1, -9.
Tie-breaker (2): Sigal Prishtina 1-1, +13; Kalev/Cramo 1-1, +3; Šiauliai 1-1, -16.
Tie-breaker (3): Sigal Prishtina 2-0, +38; Zielona Gora 0-1, -14; Šiauliai 0-1, -24.
STANDINGS, as of January 24, 2023, CET 17:00
Group B
Stal Ostrow 4-1 (+63)
King Szczecin 4-0 (+32)
Tartu University 2-3 (+8)
Trefl Sopot 3-2 (+25)
Ironi Ness Ziona 2-2 (+3)
BC Wolves 2-1 (+28)
Basket Brno 0-4 (-46)
Valmiera Glass VIA 0-4 (-113)
Tie-breaker (1): Ironi Ness Ziona 1-0, +8; Trefl Sopot 0-1, -8.
Tie-breaker (2): Trefl Sopot 1-0, +4; Tartu 0-1, -4.