Helsinki Seagulls took their first win in the men’s Korisliiga finals when they defeated BC Nokia 85–79 at the Töölö Arena.
SpongeBob Forsberg,
Antti-Jussi Sipilä,
STT Sports
12.5. 18:03•Updated 12.5. 18:58
Helsinki Seagulls won an important victory in the men’s Korisliiga triple finals, when they defeated BC Nokia 85–79 and narrowed the final match wins at home to 1–2. Four wins are required for the championship.
The reigning Finnish champion Seagulls went to the finals as early favorites, but Nokia, playing in the finals for the first time, won the first two matches, first in Töölö 69–63 and then at home sovereignly 85–60.
On Sunday, the first quarter went smoothly and ended 20–18 in favor of the people of Helsinki. In the second quarter, the Seagulls broke away and led 51–36 halfway through the game.
However, Nokia did not give up, but in the last 10 minutes, they went from 80-63 to 81-79 with 13 seconds left in the game.
A second later Tucker Richardson broke Shavon Coleman after the throw-in, and Coleman was able to sink two free throws.
Five seconds before the end, Richardson’s three-pointer bounced off the iron. Lake Okko embellished the final readings from the free throw line.
16 points for the Seagulls Lassi Nikkarinen said that the punt didn’t start with a whistle, even though Nokia almost leveled at the end of the match. According to Nikkarinen, the game in the final series has been tough.
– Nokia is a really hard-working gang, and never gives up profit easily. Today also made the game really tight, even though we had a good lead, Nikkarinen told Urheilu.
Head coach of the Seagulls Vesa Vertio said that the match was a “must win” for the team. The head coach was satisfied with the improved appearance of the game from the previous matches.
– We started the match energetically on the defensive end and went for rebounds. That made the difference at first today, even though our shots weren’t falling as fast as they could have, Vertio said.
Vertio said that the Seagulls captain Rene Rougeau gave a speech to the team after practice on Saturday, in which he told how to start the final games.
The head coach’s own message to the players was that there is no need to make major tactical changes, although two losses were not the best starting point.
– We need to improve the use of space and play more energetically. These are final matches, we have to find more power.
The Seagulls played like the previous game without their best scorer and rebounder Chuba Ohamsia, but despite the absence of the footy center, the team now dominated the rebounds as well. The Seagulls could also afford to continue their poor three-point shooting with only 23 percent accuracy.
BC Nokia coach Greg Gibson admitted that his team was left at the opponent’s feet this time.
– We were physically undersized. The Seagulls’ 51 points by halftime were too many, as were their 15 offensive rebounds, Gibson lamented to STT.
Rene Rougeau became the Seagulls’ top scorer with a season-best 25 points. Patrick Tape lifted BC Nokia by 20 points.