"Sabah was unlucky to lose against Norrkoping."
This statement comes from Turgay Zeytingoz, the sports director of the Azerbaijan Basketball Federation, speaking to İdman.biz about Sabah’s 70:74 defeat against Norrkoping in the FIBA Europe Cup.
He identified several reasons behind the loss: “Sabah couldn’t surpass 70 points at home, and there are two main reasons for this. First, the team's three-point shooting accuracy was only 20%, and secondly, they missed nine free throws. If you can’t surpass 70 points against a quality team like Norrkoping on your home court, your chances of winning decrease. Of course, we should also consider the absence of our main scorer, Deandre Baldwin, who missed the last two games. I believe Sabah has had an unfortunate start to the FIBA Europe Cup, as they have lost by less than five points in both games.”
Zeytingoz also mentioned that "Sabah" still has a mathematical chance to advance from the group: "If our team wins the remaining three matches, they can advance. Naturally, this won’t be easy. Especially considering the format of the Europe Cup, to be among the top six second-place teams, we must win every game. I think Deandre’s return will ease Sabah's chances of scoring points. Mentally, one victory would have a very positive impact on the team. After consecutive defeats, they are feeling some fatigue. I hope that in the upcoming games, they will secure victories and advance from the group."
Sabah will host Spirou in their next game on October 30 in Baku.
Emin Aga
Idman.biz
