DeLonnie Hunt scores at the buzzer, Manchester Basketball win Game One
- marisnoviks
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
Manchester Basketball registered their eighth European win and defeated Dinamo Zagreb, 86-84, in the first game of the best-of-two quarterfinal series on Wednesday, March 25, at the National Basketball Performance Centre in central England.
Players of the game
Last Wednesday of March delivered another 40 minutes of exciting playoff basketball as Manchester Basketball posted their fifth win on the home floor.
PJay Smith was excellent for the hosts and finished with 18 points.
Furman University graduate point guard went 4/7 from the three point line.
Smith added six rebounds and four steals.
Shooting guard Max Jones shined with a team high 23 points on 8/17 shooting from the floor.
Dinamo Zagreb guard DeLonnie Hunt tied Jones in scoring.
The University of Richmond floor general missed his first six attempts from the three point line.
With his team down by five and no time left, he made the right decision and sank a buzzer beater three to make it a one possession game.
Roko Rogic and Imran Polutak scored 20 and 19 points respectively.
Key stats
Manchester Basketball scored 31 points in the second quarter for a 51-40 lead at the half.
PJay Smith and Max Jones were deadly from the three point line.
Manchester Basketball extended their lead up to 15 points early in the second half, 55-40.
A massive turnaround followed as DeLonnie Hunt and Imran Polutak completed two and-one plays in a span of 35 seconds.
Dinamo Zagreb went on a 4-24 run, capped by great plays from Roko Rogic, 59-64.
The visitors led by as much as six points, 61-67.
Manchester Basketball roared back for a 86-81 lead but didn`t finished their last possession with a successful shot.
DeLonnie Hunt grabbed a defensive rebound and scored a three pointer at the buzzer, 86-84.
Game notes
Manchester Basketball improved to 8-2, while Dinamo Zagreb dropped to 6-3.
Manchester Basketball lead the season series against Dinamo Zagreb, 2-0, but own only a two points advantage before the Game Two on the road.
The 2026 Super League Basketball Cup finalists won the pool game at Dinamo Zagreb, 91-88, on February 3.
Manchester Basketball are 5-1 on the home floor after a four game winning streak.
Dinamo Zagreb are 3-2 on the road.
Manchester Basketball and Queensberry Promotions presented a half time face-off between heavyweight boxers Moses Itauma and Jermaine Franklin.
The winners of the best-of-two home and away series will advance to the Final Four where they will face the 2025 German Cup winners, SYNTAINICS MBC.
2026 quarterfinals | local time | CET
Tuesday, March 17
(8)Donar Groningen 81-100 SYNTAINICS MBC (1)
Wednesday, March 18
(7) Dziki Warszawa 89-82 Iraklis BC (2)
Wednesday, March 25
(5)Manchester Basketball 86-84 Dinamo Zagreb (4)
(1)SYNTAINICS MBC 80-73 Donar Groningen (8)
Series won by SYNTAINICS MBC, 180-154
Wednesday, April 1
19:45 | 18:45 (2)Iraklis BC – Dziki Warszawa (7)
19:30 | 19:30 (4)Dinamo Zagreb – Manchester Basketball (5)
to be confirmed
00:00 | 00:00 (11)Riga Zelli – CSO Voluntari (3)
00:00 | 00:00 (3)CSO Voluntari – Riga Zelli (11)
April 21-23, Final Four
Location and final dates to be confirmed
2026 ENBL playoffs and bracket
Live blog: the playoffs are coming