On 20 September, Minsk hosted the decisive matches of the Women's Cup. Horizont beat BSU-Tsmoki in the final, while Olympia won bronze in the game against Tsmoki.
The third-place match
The fight for the bronze medals turned out to be extremely exciting because Olympia and Tsmoki were fighting until the last seconds of the game.
Olympia started the match with confidence, but towards the end of the starting quarter, Tsmoki seized the initiative and took the lead. It was the American athlete Britney Jones who scored 9 points. In the second 10 minutes, the Grodno basketball players managed to hold back the Tsmoki leader and, due to this, went to the halftime with an advantage of 6 points – 42:36.
Throughout the second half, Olympia kept the lead and repeatedly ran away from the Minskers by "+8" and "+9" – but each time Tsmoki reduced the deficit and returned the intrigue to the match. As a result, Olympia almost made a mistake in the semifinals – Tsmoki were one-step away from their 11-point comeback.
A minute before the buzzer, the capital's team was only 2 points behind. However, this time Yury Charniak's team coped with the nervousness and dealt with the pressure of the opponents with successful ball possessions almost to the end. In the end, Yuliya Vasilevich put a period to the outcome of the match for the bronze – 76:72.
First time in a while, Tsmoki failed to win awards at the Women's Cup. Even the super-performance of Britney Jones who scored 31 points did not save the Minsk women. Yana Haliakova was the best at Olympia – the forward scored 22 points, had 9 rebounds and 2 assists.
The head coach of Tsmoki-Minsk Andrei Vauleu: "There were a lot of young players in our roster today. It will take us time to start showing better basketball. Actually, we were ready for this, so the result of the Cup is quite justified".
Olympia head coach Yury Charniak: “First of all, I would like to thank my players for the fact that they managed not to lose heart after yesterday's defeat. Today we managed not only to show character but also to play better in defense and be more organized in attack. That is why we managed to win".
Tsmoki-Minsk – Olympia - 72:76 (22:21, 14:21, 22:20, 14:14)
The final
Horizont unexpectedly met with the debutant of the Cup BSU-Tsmoki in the decisive match of the tournament. The young Minsk team performed a miracle in the semifinals, having won back the 18-point deficit from Olympia and won the ticket to the final in the last seconds.
In the first quarter, it seemed that BSU was ready to fight with Horizont as shortly before the end the score was equal – 15:15. However, the subsequent 14-point burst of Nataliya Trafimava's team predetermined the winner of the Cup already by the halftime.
BSU-Tsmoki were inferior to Horizont in the fight under the backboard and allowed their rivals to gain many points after the offensive rebounds. Yes, Horizont made many losses, but the "student" team did not take advantage of this while allowing their opponents to run away in fast breaks. BSU hit only 3 of 12 from deep in the first half.
Horizont, having leveled the game after an unsuccessful start, quickly went ahead and won 29 points by the end of 20 minutes. The team was stronger than its rivals almost in all aspects, and its attack was difficult to stop without a foul — 26 free throws in half of the game is the proof.
After a long break, BSU-Tsmoki could not surprise, and the winner of the Belarus Cup-2020 was predetermined long before the final buzzer. Horizont celebrated a great victory – 87:43 – and took home the long-awaited trophy.
The head coach of Horizont Nataliya Trafimava: "As I said yesterday, the coaches and players of our team had some nervousness before the start of the Cup, but I am glad that in the end we all coped with it and won the trophy. There was a feeling that my players underestimated the opponent in the first 20 minutes of the match. You know, we wanted to win at minor expense. But then, at the right time, we were able to add more offence and create a comfortable advantage for us. I congratulate my team on the successful start of the season, and all the fans on the resumption of basketball competitions".
Volha Padabed, head coach of BSU-Tsmoki: “I am proud of my girls. Yesterday they showed a character and won a very important game. Today, especially in the first half of the match, the girls also showed good basketball against such a strong opponent as Horizont. I think that we performed at the Cup more than worthily. Now we will try to continue in the same spirit in the National Championship”.
Horizont – BSU-Tsmoki - 87:43 (20-15, 18-11, 19-11, 30-6)
The best players in the nominations according to the results of the Women's Cup:
MVP - Yuliya Rytsikava (Horizont);
Best Guard - Britney Jones (Tsmoki-Minsk);
Best Forward - Adrienne Nicole Webb (Horizont);
Best Center - Natallia Dashkevich (BSU-Tsmokі);
Best young player - Yuliya Vasilevich (Olympia);
Audience Award - Britney Jones (Tsmoki-Minsk).
- Details