The Polish Cadet Basketball Championship quarterfinal tournament was held on May 9–11 in Gdynia. StarBol’s opponents were: Prokom Trefl Sopot (1st place in the Pomeranian–Warmian–Masurian district), ZKS Stal Stalowa Wola (2nd place in the Podkarpackie–Lublin district), and MKKS Rybnik (3rd place in the Silesian–Opole district).
In the first match, StarBol faced the tournament hosts, Prokom Trefl Sopot. Jarosław Leszczyński’s players kept the contest even with the Sopot team only during the first two quarters. In the remainder of the game, Prokom increased its lead minute by minute. Ultimately, StarBol lost to its opponents 68:104 (18:23, 18:18, 14:26, 18:37).
On the second day of the tournament, the Bolesławiec cadets faced the team from Rybnik. In this game, the Bolesławiec players quickly took the lead and maintained it for half an hour. The fourth quarter determined the final result, as the Rybnik players made up the deficit and took the lead. The match ended with a one-point defeat for StarBol: KK StarBol Bolesławiec – MKKS Rybnik 94:95 (29:15, 16:23, 24:19, 25:38).
Qualification for the semifinals was still possible. Unfortunately, the next opponent, ZKS Stal Stalowa Wola, imposed its playing style on our cadets from the start. Only in the fourth quarter, after a fierce battle, did StarBol recover from a 13-point deficit and force overtime. However, the opponents proved better in overtime and won the match 85:82 (24:9, 17:26, 18:11, 16:29, 10:7).
“The boys played the entire tournament with tremendous determination; every player contributed to the team’s very good performance on the court. We were missing only the proverbial finishing touch,” says coach Jarosław Leszczyński. “Overall, we fell just short. One more basket in the second game would have led to a different attitude before the third game, and perhaps we would have reached the championship semifinals,” adds player Jarosław Kłosowski.
According to cadet Wojciech Leszczyński, the quarterfinal tournament was a success for the StarBol team. “We did not advance, but we met the coach’s expectations. We played good games, especially against Rybnik and Stalowa Wola,” the young basketball player emphasizes. “The Prokom team was beyond our reach, but even in that game we did not give up and fought to the very end. I am happy that we showed others that a team from Bolesławiec can compete with any opponent,” he adds.
(KK StarBol/GA information)