Helsinki Seagulls - Kataja
Finland - Korsiliiga, Playoffs, Semifinal
The Finnish basketball public expects that Helsinki Seagulls continue their quest for the first league title in their history, by easily winning the third match and thus coming one step closer to winning the semi-final championship series against Kataja on Friday, April 21.
Behind the Seagulls are two convincing victories against this opponent. After celebrating 84:68 at home, Helsinki won against Kataja away on Tuesday, even 94:71. That match practically solved all the dilemmas about the passenger to the final, although the semi-final series is played on four wins, so the third match on Friday will be a certain formality.
Also, it is easy to expect a convincing triumph of the Seagulls, a team that has been playing by far the best attacking basketball in Finland since mid-autumn. The reason for this is the inferiority of the Kataja team away from home. Since the beginning of April, this team has lost all three times away from home, and each time the home team was extremely convincing. Defensive problems were particularly evident in the 94:66 loss to KTP Basket on April 10.
Kataja has only won once in the last ten away games in Korisliiga, and only three times those were defeats by a single-digit margin. On the ground of Helsinki Seagulls, Kataja lost 84:68 five days ago, and before that 101:87 in the match played on March 10 and 97:81 in the duel played on December 28.
Petri Virtanen, coach of Kataja, was honest after Tuesday's defeat and said that from the start his side could not match the mighty Seagulls. The game of the team from Helsinki was especially impressive in the first quarter. So far, Kataja has not shown that that have the strength to retaliate against the good series of play by their opponents, what is the case against the Seagulls, but also against weaker rivals.
On the other hand, Jussi Laakso, who leads Seagulls very well, announced that he will insist that his players correct some elements of the game that did not work in the previous two games, despite convincing victories. Especially from the first match in Helsinki, in which the home team scored 84 points - and Laakso, as a rule, expects more effective offensive performances from the team. It is clear, that now everything is subordinated to the preparations for the grand finale.
Both coaches have already announced the names of the players they are counting on in the lineup. All the main stars of the Helsinki Seagulls, excellent offensive options, will be ready to perform. The most is expected from the dominant athlete Jeffrey Carroll, who averages 16.2 points in matches against Kataja this season.
At home, Helsinki scores 95.4 points on average this season, and 90.5 per match in duels against Kataja, which scores only 76.7 points on average against this opponent. The Seagulls, the only team that averages over 90 points in the Korisliiga season (as much as 93.3 per match), have a great chance to score over 90 points again in this match on Friday. But to also achieve a victory with a double-digit margin, against the two-time champion of Finland.
It is important to point out that the Helsinki Seagulls' good offensive games do not depend so much on three-point shooting - this team is only fourth in the league with 35.2 percent of three-point shooting. This is proof of how fast and varied the team of coach Jussi Laakso plays in attack.