The Capital's Dziki are making a great start to the new season of the first league. Krzysztof Szablowski's team defeated Enea Basket Poznań 62:54 in a close match.
The match between the Dziki and the Poznań team gathered a crowd of fans in the KOŁO hall, eager for basketball experiences. No wonder, after all, exactly 154 days have passed since the last home match of the capital team. The Dziki team, after an intensive, but above all well-worked-through preparation period, entered the competition with the league newcomer as a clear favorite. The Warsaw team, strengthened by solid transfers during the season break, are considered one of the main candidates to win the entire league. No wonder then that in the match against Enea Basket, the hosts were seen as a certain winner.
The match was not a walk in the park for the capital team, especially since there were some complications right from the start. The main center of Dzików – Rafał Komenda caught three fouls in the first three minutes and coach Krzysztof Szablowski was forced to put the twenty-four-year-old center on the bench. Fortunately, the experienced Mateusz Bartosz – the new acquisition of Dzików – recovered before the start of the season. The former center of Wolves Morskie Szczecin showed in his debut exactly what the fans of "Wataha" expected from him: fighting under the basket, skillful blocking and ease of finishing the action in the "painted". Thanks to Mateusz's rebounds on the attacked board, Dzików could score points from the retake, which, considering the relatively poor overall effectiveness of the entire team (38.2% from the game), allowed Krzysztof Szablowski's team to maintain the lead in the match and control it more calmly.
The match looked quite similar over the quarters. Both the hosts and the guests from Poznań focused on strong defense and attempted to switch to quick counterattacks, which were supposed to result in easy points. In the Dzików team, apart from the aforementioned Mateusz Bartosz, another new player certainly deserves a mention – Alan Czujkowski . The thirty-two-year-old winger scored 14 points (the most in the entire team), added 3 rebounds, 2 assists and an impressive block that got the entire audience gathered in the KOŁO hall up on their feet. Apart from his effectiveness on the pitch, Alan brought something else to the team – character. It was clear that the Dzików winger is the type of leader who knows how to react appropriately in difficult situations and support his teammates.
Another debuting basketball player in the colors of the "Wataha" also showed his good side - Michał Aleksandrowicz . The popular "Panda" was literally everywhere on the court. He ran, fought, defended, passed and threw. His involvement on the court allowed him to score a double-double in the form of 11 points and 10 rebounds. It is also worth noting that the first meeting in front of the "wild" audience also included: Antoni Michalski , Maksymilian Motel and Filip Munyama .
The Wildcats may not have played brilliantly in attack, but they showed character, fighting spirit and, above all, what they were famous for last season – a strong and tough defense. We saw a team with great potential and ready to fight for every ball and every inch of the pitch. However, coach Szablowski has something to work on with his players, because the number of losses (25) committed by the capital team in the first round is definitely too high, as Grzegorz Grochowski emphasized at the post-match conference. The Wildcats captain also mentioned that his team defeated the Poznań team with an effective defense, but they need to respect the ball more in attack.
- It was a very difficult match, which is why I congratulate my team on their victory. The Poznań team surprised us with their defense. They prepared something completely different for us than we expected. We managed to maintain the lead and advantage mainly thanks to the individual skills of our basketball players. Therefore, I congratulate them on their victory, but I also congratulate the attitude of the visiting team. We are happy with this victory, despite the large number of losses. Additionally, I would also like to thank the fans, who with their support helped our players leave their energy and heart on the court" - this is the post-match statement of coach Krzysztof Szablowski .
It was a successful start to the season, but in the next round the Warsaw team will face a difficult competition with the demanding WKK Wrocław team.
Points for Wild Boars:
Alan Czujkowski - 14 points
Michal Aleksandrowicz - 11 points.
Grzegorz Grochowski - 9 points.
Mateusz Bartosz - 8 points.
Przemysław Kuźkow - 8 points.
Maksymilian Motel - 7 points
Antoni Michalski - 3 points.
Dominik Groth - 2 points
Photos: Paweł Pietranik.