RRI Sports Club – Basketball

Florin Orban, 20.04.2022, 10:44

The Romanian men’s basketball club U-BT
Cluj-Napoca missed the opportunity to qualify to the Champions League Final
Four. The team from Cluj lost in the quarterfinals to Germany’s Ludwigsburg,
which won two out of the three matches scheduled. In the final match on
Tuesday, the German team won 79-73 in Cluj. Previously, U-BT won the first game
76-73 on home turf, while Ludwigsburg won the second game 92-75 in Germany.

On Tuesday, Ludwigsburg dominated the
first half of the game, securing a 14-point lead, 37-23. Mihai Silvășan’s trainees evened the odds in the third
quarter. On minute 35 the lead was only 6 points, 57-63, then, with 36 seconds
left to play, the lead dropped to four points, 68-72. Towards the end of the
game, the German side took control again and secured a 6-point lead. The most
efficient player for Cluj was American Patrick Richard, who scored 18 points
and had 3 assists. The best player for Ludwigsburg was Jordan Hulls of the US,
with 21 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists.

The match was played on BT Arena in Cluj
in front of 10-thousand-strong crowd, which represented the hall’s full
capacity. The fans cheered for the Romanian side throughout the game and even
at the end, despite the score. U-BT Cluj-Napoca reaching the Champions League
quarterfinals is a great achievement in itself. Moreover, the team from Cluj
reached this phase of the competition on its first appearance in Champions
League. (VP)