BRATISLAVA, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- The sixteenth round of the Slovak Basketball League saw the second-ranked Levice Patriots win their fifth consecutive match on Saturday, defeating Svit on home court 80-75.
Both teams exchanged the lead during the match with the home team winning the first and third periods and the visitors the other two. Levice could once again rely upon its bench players, the member of the Slovak national team Milan Ziak scoring 19 points, for example. Svit sits in the middle of the rankings with 7 victories and 7 defeats.
The leader of the league Inter Bratislava got a little lucky against Zilina and put the game away at 77-73. The home team was close to losing but managed to decide the fate of the match in the last three minutes after the American Kenney Funderburk converted on a free throw and his fellow countryman Lee Skinner sealed the triumph on an individual drive to the basket, becoming the player of the match with 27 points and 15 rebounds. Bratislava stretched its winning streak to three.
Elsewhere, fourth-ranked Prievidza started in Spisska Nova Ves less than ideal, losing the first period by 8 points but managed to tip the scales in the remaining acts with strong play under the rim and lethal fastbreaks, resulting in a convincing 84-68 triumph. The third period turned out to be crucial to the visitors' success. Prievidza won it by 17 with thanks to an improved defense and a large help from its Serbian point guard Zlatko Jovanovic who finished the night with 25 points.
