Primul meci din sezonul competitional 2009-2010 s-a terminat cu nu foarte surprinzatoarea victorie a amfitrionilor. Dinamo, o echipa serios zguduita de probleme financiare, a aliniat un amestec de "veterani de razboi" (Fometescu, Markovic, promovat in functia de antrenor principal, Mocanu, Popa) si nou veniti (Sokolov, Ristic, Filovici). Multe fete noi si in tabara tigrilor fata de anul trecut: Tomic, Sheard, Reed, Vlaicu, Bulancea, Hallai, Peciukas, si accidentatii Pascu si Waddell in tribune.

Stilul "executa fara comentarii" al antrenorului Prakuraitis a dat roade de la inceput cand atacul lui Dinamo a fost limitat la doar 3 puncte reusite in primele sase minute. Peciukas a inceput in forta marcand primele sapte puncte ale tigrilor, dar principalul ingredient al succesului a fost defensiva. Pressingul constant a atras dupa sine nenumarate geseli si in consecinta mingi pierdute de catre dinamovisti, in timp ce baietii in alb au scapat si ei cateodata mingea din mana, s-a vazut clar ca apararea a fost considerabil imbunatatita de anul trecut.
Celalalt lituanian, Pociukonis, si-a adus si el contributia mai tarziu si pana la mijlocul sfertului trei zarurile au fost practic aruncate. Dar, fiind dubla mansa, diferenta de puncte este la fel de importanta ca si identitatea castigatorului, iar vizitatorii au reusit sa reduca handicapul la o diferenta mai acceptabila de 23 de puncte.
Cu toate ca scorul final de 71-48 da aripi sperantei suporterilor, impotriva unei echipe care a tras atat de multe gloante oarbe nici chiar performanta din aparare nu poate fi supraestimata. Lipsa unui pivot adevarat nu este un lucru bun. Oamenii nostri mari sunt ori masivi (Tomic, Reed), ori subtiri (Jakab), ori accidentati (Waddell). Si mai este loc de mai bine in ceea ce priveste eficacitatea atacului nostru daca vrem sa castigam impotriva unor adversari seriosi.
Concluzie: un inceput placut al unui sezon - sa speram - mult mai bun decat precedentul.

MVP in opinia noastra: Marius Pociukonis, pentru performanta extraordinara din atac (21 de puncte) si agresivitatea din aparare (8 interceptii).

Statistica meciului
Galeria foto

Comfortable Win in Season Opener

The first game of the 2009-2010 season ended with a not-so-surprising win for the home team. Dinamo, a team seriously wrecked by financial turmoil, lined up a mixture of old warriors (Fometescu, Markovic, promoted to head coach, Mocanu, Popa) and new arrivals (Sokolov, Ristic, Filovici). Many new faces for the Tigers also since last year: Tomic, Sheard, Reed, Vlaicu, Bulancea, Hallai, Peciukas, with the injured Pascu and Waddell in the stands.
Coach Prakuraitis' "no talking back, just execute" style showed up early in the game when Dinamo was held to only three point in the first six minutes. Peciukas got off to a hot start scoring the first seven Tiger points, but the main ingredient to success was defense. A relentless pressure forced countless turnovers, and while the men in white occasionally played hot potato with the ball themselves, it was clear that massive improvements had been made on the defensive end.
The other Lithuanian, Pociukonis, added his share later in the game and by the middle of the third quarter all was virtually settled. But, as this is a double header, the point difference was as important as the name of the winner so the visitors managed to limit the gap to a reasonable 23 points.
The final score of 71-48 may give a lot of hope for the fans, but let's face it, against a team that shot so many blanks, even the defensive performance should not yet be ecstatically celebrated. The lack of a real center isn't a very good thing. Our big men are either massive (Tomic, Reed), thin (Jakab) or injured (Waddell). And the firepower needs a lot of improvement if we are to beat some serious contenders.
Bottom line: an enjoyable start for hopefully a much more enjoyable season.

MVP in our opinion: Marius Pociukonis for his exquisite shooting (21 points) and aggressive defense (8 steals).

Stats sheet
Photo gallery