Last weekend, the quarterfinal matches of the Polish Junior Basketball Championship were held in Tarnów. Players from Klub Koszykówki StarBol Bolesławiec competed against peers from Bydgoszcz, Tarnów and Kwidzyn. Unfortunately, in every match, the players from Bolesławiec had to acknowledge the superiority of their opponents.
On the first day of the tournament, StarBol Bolesławiec lost 68:122 to Astoria Bydgoszcz, which was considered the event’s favorite. The opponents’ strong, aggressive defense and StarBol players’ simple mistakes in attack—all of this contributed to the young players from Bolesławiec suffering a heavy defeat.
On the second day of the event, StarBol faced the tournament hosts, ZKS Unia Tarnów, whose team included three players with previous appearances in the men’s top division! After an attractive and evenly matched game, however, the players from Tarnów celebrated an 83:71 victory. The second quarter, which Bolesławiec lost by 9 points, influenced the defeat.
In the remaining quarters, the basketball players from Bolesławiec kept pace with their opponents. The third and fourth quarters were an attempt to make up Unia’s 12-point lead from the first half. They almost succeeded. With just 3 minutes remaining before the final whistle, StarBol had reduced the deficit to 6 points, but two thoughtless turnovers in attack, followed by baskets for Unia, meant that catching the opponents and potentially winning slipped out of the Bolesławiec players’ hands.
StarBol’s final opponent was MTS Basket Kwidzyn. The team from Kwidzyn quickly took the lead and held on to it until the end of the game, ultimately defeating StarBol Bolesławiec 111:69. Although Basket’s advantage grew from quarter to quarter, the players from Bolesławiec put in a solid performance. It should also be noted that the Bolesławiec team was the youngest squad in the tournament: it featured only two players born in 1988, as well as 8 younger players (6 juniors and 2 cadets).
The basketball players from Bolesławiec received a basketball lesson in Tarnów. They failed to produce a surprise, although they came close to doing so in the match against Unia Tarnów. Above all, they lacked experience and exposure to playing against such strong opponents in competitions held at such a high level.
KK Starbol Bolesławiec squad: Daniel Czernia (captain), Paweł Minciel, Tomasz Szewczyk, Paweł Wilas, Łukasz Chmielnicki, Krzysztof Buciak, Mariusz Sokal, Damian Krajewski, Zbigniew Owczarek and Daniel Pytliński. Coach: Jarosław Leszczyński. Assistant coach: Piotr Matusiak.
Final tournament standings
- Astoria Bydgoszcz
- MTS Basket Kwidzyn
- ZKS Unia Tarnów
- KK StarBol Bolesławiec
The first- and second-place teams qualified for the semifinal tournament of the Polish Junior Championship.
Results for the Bolesławiec team:
Astoria Bydgoszcz – KK StarBol Bolesławiec 122:68. Starbol points: Czernia 28, Minciel 11, Wilas 10, Szewczyk 8, Sokal 6, Owczarek 5, Krajewski, Chmielnicki and Buciak 0 each.
KK StarBol Bolesławiec – ZKS Unia Tarnów 71:83. Starbol points: Minciel 24, Czernia 20, Wilas 12, Szewczyk, Chmielnicki and Sokal 5 each, Pytliński, Owczarek, Buciak and Krajewski 0 each.
KK StarBol Bolesławiec – MTS Basket Kwidzyn 69:111. StarBol points: Minciel 31, Czernia 14, Owczarek 8, Sokal 7, Szewczyk 6, Chmielnicki 3, Pytliński, Buciak, Krajewski and Wilas 0 each.
(information and photo: KK StarBol Bolesławiec)