Crazy drama! Peli-Karhut made history without substitutes – see how the Finnish championship ended in a tough decision

Peli-Karhut won the historic eighth Finnish basketball championship on Friday. In women, only Sampo Basket from Lahti, Nokian Urheilijat, Forssa Alku and Tampereen Pyrintö have won eight Finnish championships.

For Kotkala team Peli-Karhui, the championship was the fifth in a row. In the final series, Peli-Karhut beat Torpa Pojat from Helsinki directly with a 3–0 victory.

However, it was not easy to get to PeKa. The second victory came after two overtimes on Tuesday in Helsinki. On Friday in Kotka, PeKa was already leading by 16 points at its best, but ToPo leveled at the end Ebba Pekonen with a three-pointer with five seconds left.

Torpa Poikie’s American reinforcement To Ilmar’l Thomas however, a foul was called two seconds before the end. The whistle aroused great emotions. The whistling on ToPo’s bench was a big surprise.

Coached Peli-Karhu in 2016–2021 Roope Mäkelä considered the foul whistle a harsh judgment on Ruuttu’s broadcast.

– I saw that one referee showed a sideline and the other showed a mistake, Mäkelä described the situation.

Game Bears Donna Cosby got to the free throw line. Cosby made both free throws and clinched the championship for the Eagles.

Peli-Karhut made history after some wild stages on Friday. Peli-Karhut has practically played the finals with six players after injuries and illnesses, i.e. with one substitute player. In the third final, Peli-Karhut still played without substitutes for the last 14 minutes and 26 seconds, when the back player Rosa Lehtoranta was injured.

With the Peli-Karhuje coach With Mika Haakana of course, there were three juniors available as substitutes, but Haakana stuck to his core players even in difficult situations.

– I am incredibly proud of these memes. We’ve had so much adversity this season. This is by far the most mentally strong and resilient team I’ve been a part of. We fought to get the job home with five players. The room was almost full here. A chilling atmosphere, Lehtoranta gives Urheilu a fresh atmosphere.

The decisive final was watched in Kotka by a season’s record audience, 1,050 spectators.

According to Lehtoranta, the team gained self-confidence after the win in Helsinki after two overtimes, but physically it didn’t have that big of an impact.

Your calf took a bit of a hit, but now you’ve surely started your vacation?

– Maybe it (calf) could have been torn, but it probably won’t hurt tonight, and not tomorrow either. You can’t celebrate here, Lehtoranta said.

A more special morning porridge as the secret of the best basket maker

ToPo managed to eclipse Peli-Karhuje’s hardest scorer of the season in the last final by Natalie Kleemann-Day. The player from the US Virgin Islands had scored 42 and 32 points in the two previous finals.

Now he was ten points behind. Three of the eleven free throws were missed. However, he was not upset about his own actions with the gold medal around his neck.

– Fantastic. Can’t get any better than this. I am happy that I can share this championship with my teammates, Kleemann-Day described his feelings after the championship.

Kleemann-Day last played in Finland in the finals in the 2017–2018 season. At that time, he represented Lappeenrantan Catzi and got to experience the Peli-Karhuje championship celebration from a close distance. Catz had played undefeated the whole season, but succumbed to the Eagles in the fifth final.

That was also the start of Peli-Karhuje’s streak of five championships.

– Sal has a wonderful portrait that I look at every day. It reminds you of stakes. “My teammates showed me that picture on the first day here,” Kleemann-Day described before the decisive final.

Kleemann-Day played 33 matches in the season. Only Roosa Lehtoranta played more league matches in Peli-Karhuje’s shirt, a total of 35. The biggest feat was seen on Tuesday, when Kleemann-Day played almost the entire match. 48 minutes and 22 seconds. If not for the last-minute kick, the American would have played the entire match, only 50 minutes.

– I have a small child at home. A small child’s smile can make you forget your problems, Kleemann-Day said.

He keeps his breakfast a secret. It includes quinoa-amaranth porridge, bread, egg substitute and tahini on top of the bread.

According to Kleemann-Day, one of the biggest reasons for returning to Finland was Mika Haakana, who had already coached him at Catzi.

The success story of over 400 matches: “I don’t remember matches like this”

One of the most successful coaches of the Women’s Basketball League of all time was able to celebrate his sixth championship.

– I’ve been coaching for quite a long time, but I don’t remember matches like this. Incredible thrillers! Haakana glowed with the experience of more than 400 Korisliiga matches.

– Of course, there was concern about whether we had recovered from Tuesday. The whole season has been about survival. There have been a lot of changes, difficulties and injuries. This reflected well the season that captain Roosa Lehtoranta dropped out today and we survived that too.

According to Haakana, the Peli-Karhuje team welded together nicely.

– The injured players cheered on others and were very involved the whole time. They also helped with the coaching. This united the team mentally, Haakana stated.

Even for Haakana, it has been a long time since the previous championship celebration, no less than seven years.

– I don’t remember how these parties go. However, there are some partygoers here who are so experienced that they don’t know how to handle the job, Haakana decided.