Karhu - Helsinki Seagulls

Finland - Korisliiga, Playoffs, final

The Finnish Korisliiga will potentially get a spectacular final series and title fight this May, and that will be clear from the first match between Karhu and Helsinki Seagulls in Kauhojaki.

These are extremely young clubs, in their sixth year of existence the Karhu team has the opportunity to win the fourth championship title. Helsinki Seagulls, on the other hand, is a club that after a decade of existence reached their first opportunity to play in the final series. The Seagulls absolutely deserve the fight for the title ( team that first reaches four victories in the finals will win be champions), with attractive attacking basketball that is recognized even outside the borders of Finland.

Karhu is a team that has improved its form significantly since the beginning of April, they have only lost in their last nine games in the domestic league. Since mid-March, in those nine matches, Karhu has scored at least 80 points in every game.

On the other hand, Helsinki Seagulls have only lost once in the last 18 games – and that was away against Karhu, in an exciting match played on March 22 (86:84). That match also resolved the question of the first place before the playoffs, and it was decided by a comeback in the last two minutes, in which it was seen that the visitors lack a little experience and calmness in the difficult endings of key games.

Now the Seagulls are fiercely motivated to show that they gained that much-needed experience through playoff struggles and victories against Kataja and BC Nokia. In those seven playoff triumphs, the club from Helsinki scored at least 83 points in each game.

All this clearly indicates that the final is expected to be a duel of primarily attacking-oriented teams. On December 7, Karhu won 85:73 at home, but the Seagulls were in a much weaker form then. This season, Karhu scores an average of 90.1, and the Seagulls even 93.5 points on average. Both teams will be looking for chances for as many shots and attacks as they can get, and both shoot quite well from distance during the season. Karhu has an excellent 37.4 percent three-point shooting percentage this season in Korisliiga, about two percent better than their rivals in the finals.

The creator of the Seagulls' success is the excellent Finnish coach Jussi Laakso, absolutely dedicated to the attacking style of basketball, who, before the match, pointed out that his team enters the finals without any injured players, fully rested and healthy. Also, he said that the team from Helsinki absolutely suits the fact that they aren't the favorites in the final and that they will look for a chance to break even in the first game. On the other hand, Karhu strategist Janne Koskimies said that it will be extremely important, in the fast pace of the game, that his players reduce the number of turnovers, as well as control the opponent's offensive jump.

In the last 21 matches at home, Karhu has lost only once. Against Karhu this season, Jeffrey Carroll was especially effective for the Seagulls, with as many as 23.3 points per match against the current champion. Karhu players will have a special task to prevent such a good performance of the American forward, but overall a large number of points can be expected from both teams at the start of the final.