Men’s Basketball League: The Seagulls turned a nearly 20-point deficit into a victory in Joensuu

Meaningful Helsinki Seagulls rallied from 18 points behind to win as a guest of Joensuu Kataja Basket in the men’s Korisliiga on Wednesday and took a 2–0 match lead in the semi-final series.

A miserable phase in the second quarter seemed to have already decided the match, when with the Seagulls leading 30–26, home team Kataja Basket pulled off a 19-point streak.

Kahron Rossin four consecutive successful three-pointers brought the Helsinki team to a 74-74 tie at the end of a long Kiri. When the same American quarterback bagged a few decisive free throws, the robbery from Joensuu’s sports hall was complete.

“When I heard that he (Ross) was signing for the Seagulls, I knew we would have a chance because he is mentally strong, which makes me want to be mentally stronger. He does a great job as a playmaker on the field, the way he takes responsibility, sinks big shots and puts the group in the right places,” captain René Rougeau praised the name of the day in Ruudtu’s TV interview.

Sunday the opening match went in the Seagulls’ favor largely thanks to excellent defence. The superior basket king of the series De’Vion Harmon shot with a bad percentage and was limited to 13 points.

Head coach of Kataja Basket, former back player of the Finnish national team Petri Virtanen however, in the intervening days, he had made sure that Harmon would return to the floor to wreak havoc.

When the home team was able to stop the seagulls’ attack, the ball was delivered to Harmoni’s hands as quickly as possible. American star’s first game overcoat Ricky Waxlax didn’t get to play with the full team defense on Wednesday, because the people of Joensuu set a lot of early ball screens.

Mistakes made the Seagulls’ situation even more difficult.

“We made mistakes early, became passive on the defensive end and lost rebounds”, the head coach Timo Saukkola dismantled the problem areas.

“We were a little taken aback by the intensity that was on offer today,” he continued.

The teams played the match with reverse jerseys because the Seagulls’ yellow away kits were stolen last Friday.