Žan Tabak, Trefl Sopot to win a historic title

Žan Tabak, Trefl Sopot won a national title of Poland as the black-and-yellow team from Pomerania defeated the Polish reigning champions of Wilkie Morskie Szczecin 77:71 in the seventh, decisive game of the finals.

Sopot built a double-digit edge throughout a 14:2 run in the first quarter, and kept the game under control all across the rest of the game to finally survive a comeback by the opponents, and earn a 6-point win.

Head coach Tabak’s aggressive defense, with pressure on both the ball handler, and the passing lines, was the key that allowed Sopot to triumph, eventually keeping the opponents to 71 points made in 40 minutes, with a 33,3% field goal efficiency.

The series

Trefl succeeded to overrun a complicated situation, where the black-and-yellow Pomeranians trailed after four games, with one home loss and two road defects.

Then, with two wins in a row, head coach Žan Tabak managed to change the inertia of the finals, eventually triumphing in the last, decisive match in front of the home public.

A historic success

For Tabak, the success is a second national title of Poland won in five seasons spent in Polish Ekstraklasa as a head coach.

For Sopot, it’s the first national title since the team became a single entity, following Prokom Asseco’s split in 2009.

Trefl Sopot vs. Wilki Morskie Szczecin 77:71 (26:14, 12:16, 20:14, 19:27).

Sopot – Best 15, Groselle 14 (9 reb), Scruggs 11 (6 reb), Zyskowski 11, Schenk 8 (8 ass), Van Vliet 7, Váradi 4 (5 reb), Barnes 4, Witliński 3. Head coach – Žan Tabak.

Matteo Cazzulani
@MatteoCazzulani
@matejkatsouranis