Gussing reclaims lead in Austrian Bundesliga

The Top 2 teams of the Austrian A Bundesliga locked horns and as a result a new league leader has emerged. The UBC Magnofit Gussing Knights hosted BC Zepter Vienna yesterday and the home team came away with a convincing 92-72 win. Both clubs now have an identical 24-10 record and are both four games ahead of three teams tied with 20-14 records. A scenario clearly illustrating how highly competitive the premier league in Austria is right now. Tiebreaks have the Knights reclaiming the league lead from their opponents, adding more fuel to the fire of the rivalry that’s been heating up all season.

The new top dog welcomed their guests with some aggressive offense which Zepter Vienna had difficulty matching in this encounter. Gussing set the tone from the opening quarter and attacked the basket right away. Still fresh, Zepter Vienna answered in kind and found themselves down just by five points at the end of the first frame, 19-14. Gussing turned up the heat in the second period. They outplayed their guests in the second period to expand their lead. By halftime Gussing established a commanding 44-30 advantage.

After the break, Marcus Heard and Chavdar Kostov continued what they started in the first half and continued with their proactive approach. Zepter Vienna found no answers to address the tandem in this game and that was the biggest factor in their eventual loss. In the fourth quarter, Vienna fought valiantly but sadly could not do enough to climb back from the deep hole their hosts put them in.

Heard ended the game with 21 points, making 9-of-14 shots from the field, while Kostov chipped in 19 points and sinking 3-of-5 shots from downtown.  Pedrag Miletic and Stjepan Stazic both put up 17 points for Zepter Vienna.