Pyrinto Tampere – Kouvot
Finland - Korisliiga, Round 1
Tampere, October 15, 14:00 CET
Just like last season, in the new Finish Korisliiga campaign, Kouvot is synonymous with a team that scores as well as receives a large number of points.
The Kouvot squad is in an excellent situation: to win against Pyrinto in Tampere on Sunday and equalize with the clubs that share the top of the table. However, a tough job is expected for the favorites this weekend, who currently have a record of 2-1 in the Finish Championship.
What is a clear impression when it comes to Kouvot, is that this is a team that easily scores at least 85 points against the favorites and the best teams in Finland - and receives at least 80 against total outsiders.
Thus, in the previous round, against KTP Basket in the match played on Tuesday, Kouvot won 98:86 at home. Before that, they were defeated away by Kobrat 99:86 – and in the first round on September 30, they defeated Lahti Basketball 112:71. This club played in a similar rhythm during March and April at the end of the previous season, they insist on the same game system in the long term. When it comes to Kouvot, the transition game is the only option, and with such an approach, they leave a lot of room for opponents to counterattack. Also, this is a team that consciously allows opponents a lot of three-point shots, especially in the first eight seconds of the offense.
On the other hand, Pyrinto Tampere is on a streak of six defeats. They lost 92:83 on their home court in the previous match, against Salon Vilpas, on October 6. We expect to see at least 175 points again in this game, and there is a good chance that one of the teams will manage to reach 100 points in this Korisliiga duel.
In January of this year, Kouvot won against Pyrinto even 128:103! At the end of October last year in Tampere, the guests celebrated 98:79... It is clear that we can expect a similar match this time as well. In their last five H2H duels, at least one team scored at least 103 points in four cases.
The victory of the guests is still not a completely certain outcome, Pyrinto in Tampere last February outclassed the favorites 110:86 - so that forecast should be avoided.
For a reason, this duel is a delicacy in the Korisliiga round 5, and a particularly good edition is expected from American Jackson for Kouvot in the role under the hoop. In the previous victory over KTP, he scored 23 points with seven rebounds. American playmaker Lofton will also have an important role for the guests, as well as important all-round player Mantynen.
In the last game, played on Tuesday, as many as six players of the Kouvot team scored ten points. The club from Kouvola travels to this visit in Tampere with a lot of confidence and will certainly be ready for another impressive attacking performance.