CSO Voluntari allowed only nine points in the first eight minutes of the fourth quarter and increased their lead up to 20 points to beat Tartu Ülikool Maks&Moorits, 92-69, on Tuesday, March 26, at the Sala Gabriela Szabo in southern Romania. Ainars Bagatskis team won the series 168-152 and advanced to its first Final Four in European competitions.
Players of the game
Everything worked for CSO Voluntari and nothing worked for Tartu in the fourth quarter.
Unsportsmanlike foul by Kristjan Kitsing with 62 seconds left ended the failed resistance.
JT Shumate was huge for the winners.
A former Toledo wing had 17 points on 5/7 shooting from the field and 7/8 from the charity stripe.
Shumate filled the stat sheet with nine rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocked shots.
He had a +24 ratio in 28 minutes of play.
KeyShawn Feazell led all scorers with 21 points on 10/16 shooting from the court.
Creighton star center added nine rebounds, one assists and one steal.
Kodi Justice did a great job from the bench.
A former Arizona State guard checked out with 10 points and a game high seven assists.
Dāvis Rozītis shined for Tartu.
A former USC and Hawaii center had 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
Rozītis had the second best +/- ratio (-4) for Tartu after Mart Rosenthal (-2).
Kristjan Kitsing scored 11 points on 2/4 shooting from the three points line and 5/6 from the free throw line.
He completed a trio of Tartu players with “good enough” ratio of -5.
Key stats
CSO Voluntari jumped in front for a 25-18 lead.
Tartu recovered fast and regained a 27-28 lead in less than three minutes.
Voluntari regrouped after a Tartu timeout and ended the first half on a more positive note, 43-39.
The hosts continued their push in the second half and increased their lead up to 20 points with two minutes left, 83-63.
Possession after possession, steal after steal, slam after slam – tenacity and patience worked for the home team.
A three point shot by Mart Rosenthal and a steal by Anatoliy Shundel re-ignited a hope for Tartu, 83-68, with 01:42 to go.
A steal by Trevon Allen and an unsportsmanlike foul by Kristjan Kitsing ruined this dream.
Allen sank both free throws and a possesion ended with another foul.
Alexandru Olah was perfect, 89-69.
Kwamain Mitchell put an exclamation mark with a three pointer.
Game notes
CSO Voluntari improved to 7-2, while Tartu dropped to 5-4.
Voluntari are 4-0 in the ENBL home games.
Tartu are 1-3 in the ENBL road games.
Ainars Bagatskis and CSO Voluntari advanced to the Final Four.
They will face a well known opponent – Royal Liège Basket – in a semifinal on April 9.
Three teams from Group B qualified for the Final Four as Šiauliai will meet the Bakken Bears.
SCHEDULE (local time only)
(A1) Uniclub Casino Juventus Utena – Royal Liège Basket (B4)
Game one: Wednesday, March 13, Liège win 95-84
Game two: Wednesday, March 20, Utena win 96-87
Liège win on aggregate, 182-180
(A2) Bakken Bears Aarhus – Seriös Group Newcastle Eagles (B3)
Game one: Friday, March 1, Newcastle; Bakken Bears win 92-87
Game two: Wednesday, March 13, Aarhus; Bakken Bears win in overtime 96-92 (81-86)
Bakken Bears win on aggregate, 188-179
(A3) Tartu Ülikool Maks&Moorits – CSO Voluntari (B2)
Game one: Tuesday, March 12, Tartu win 83-76
Game two: Tuesday, March 26, Voluntari win 92-69
Voluntai win on aggregate, 168-152
(A4) Bristol Flyers – Šiauliai (B1)
Game one: Thursday, March 7, Šiauliai win 84-76
Game two: Tuesday, March 19, Šiauliai win 90-79
Šiauliai win on aggregate, 174-155
Final Four 2024
Tuesday, April 9
Semifinal one: Royal Liège Basket vs CSO Voluntari
Semifinal two: Šiauliai vs Bakken Bears
Wednesday, April 10
Medal games