BC Nokia defeated Helsinki Seagulls in Korisliiga at home in a wild atmosphere. The Finnish basketball championship is decided for the first time only in the seventh final.
Roope Visuri,
Antti Sahlström
21:23•Updated 21:23
The Finnish basketball championship will be decided this spring in a historic way, when Helsinki Seagulls and BC Nokia will twist yet another seventh final.
The matter was confirmed when BC Nokia punished the reigning Finnish champion Helsinki Seagulls on their home field with a score of 88–65.
The seventh final has never been played in the Korisliiga before. The current system, where four wins are required for the championship, has been played since the 2015–2016 season.
Even the semi-finals were already historically tight, when both BC Nokia and the Seagulls made it to the finals only in the seventh matches.
The last time a similar number of full medal games was seen was in the season 2014–2015, just before the rule change, when both the semifinals and the final series went to five games.
The fans surrounded the captain
American confirmations were pending at BC Nokia Both Gach (28 points), Tucker Richardson (20 points) and captain Niko Mattila (17 points). Mattila posted her best points total this season.
The match ended in a great moment, when the Nokia supporters had a great mecca in Harjuniity’s sports hall.
Captain Niko Mattila was surrounded by fans after the match. They needed a hero’s charms.
– What porridge have you eaten today? One fan was amazed by BC Nokia’s display.
– I don’t know, I ate oatmeal! Mattila threw in response.
BC Nokia is this season’s real sensational team. The team was just called a playoff team before the start of the season. However, Nokia excelled in the regular season and ended up second in the regular season. The team also reached the final of the Finnish Cup against the Seagulls.
In the previous final, BC Nokia fell hard to Helsinki Seagulls in the final period and lost the game in Töölö by 20 points. The team seemed really tired.
Niko Mattila, where did you get the last push for this match with your back against the wall?
– We had such a weak last game. We had a place to wash our faces, especially in front of the home crowd. The performance of the last game is not enough to begin with. We decided with the guys that we’re going to put everything on the line. That was the end result, Mattila said.
At halftime, BC Nokia already led by 19 points. In the second period, Nokia scored as many as 34 points. All throws seemed to sink, even the more difficult ones.
– When there is an audience like this, it just brings more energy. When the throws start sinking, it’s a snowball effect. Then it just goes and goes. It was really great, Mattila beamed.
BC Nokia is playing the first finals in its club history. The team won one SC medal in its history, when it won bronze in the 2015–2016 season.
What still needs to be improved in order for this charm to last until the end?
– We once beat the Seagulls away with a good game. Gotta get some energy there for 40 minutes. We have had games where 35 minutes have been played well. Against a team of the Seagulls’ caliber, it’s not enough. It has to be 40 minutes all in glass if we want to bring the Pantteri statue here to Nokia, Mattila said.
The decisive seventh final will be played in the Töölö race hall on Friday from 18:30.
Head coach of the Seagulls Vesa Vertio regretted his team’s poor first half.
– BC Nokia also sank such throws that we have agreed that they can take, Vertio also reminded of Nokia’s good throwing game.
Even though BC Nokia did hard performances, they also got to grind with their familiar strength, i.e. fast attacks.
– The transition defense was really struggling in the first half. We have to be able to improve a lot on this, Vertio emphasized.