Sventoraite buzzer-beater seals third place for Schio

PRAHA (Czech Republic) - Beretta Famila Schio ended their first Final Four on a high after a last second bucket by Egle Sventoraite gave them a 59-56 win against ZVVZ USK Praha in the Third- Place Game.

It was a dramatic finish to a compelling contest and the celebrations on the final buzzer showed what it meant to the Italians to attain their highest ever finish at the event.

Turning point: It all boiled down to a dramatic conclusion and with Teja Oblak having made what looked like a clutch show to force overtime, Schio got the ball sideline with four seconds remaining - only to despair by turning it over. However, Praha repaid the favor by spilling it themselves and it ended up in the hands of the Lithuanian center Sventoraite who sunk the biggest shot of her career with a little help from the backboard.

Game hero(es): As well as the late intervention from Sventoraite, there were 17 points from Marina Mabrey and 11 from Astou Ndour for Schio. Meanwhile Alyssa Thomas and Brionna Jones both accumulated double-doubles in defeat. Thomas racked up 15 points and 12 rebounds, with Jones adding 10 points and 15 boards.

Stats Don't Lie: ZVVZ USK Praha scored 58 points in the Semi-Finals which was unthinkable for them. But, this tally of 56 was even worse and you would have to have a long memory to remember them ever scoring this low in successive games.

Bottom Line: Schio had to dig deep having dominated and almost threw it away as they did last season on the same floor in the Quarter-Finals, but this time they clung on - if only just. This was not the fairytale finish of a first title, but their rookie Final Four appearance still returned a finish that will live long in the memory. With head coach Georgios Dikaioulakos taking Coach of the Year at the awards ceremony 24 hours earlier and then with this dramatic success, the weekend will always be considered a success.

Praha were simply a pale shadow of themselves. The injury to Temi Fagbenle was some mitigation, but they never looked anything like the team who impressed during the Regular Season. For almost all 80 minutes across the weekend they were second best and their fourth-placed finish was deserved with so many big-hitters under-performing - as well as the team collectively.

"What can I say about this group of players I have? They are amazing characters and amazing players. I love them. We wanted the bronze medal so much. It was a nice game. We didn't play so well in the fourth quarter, but our defense kept us in the game. At the end we had a very well organized shot from deep inside the playbook [joking]. But I think we deserved the win." Beretta Famila Schio head coach, Georgios Dikaioulakos

"To be honest, I can not believe it. But then I do believe in this team. We have been working a lot since the beginning of the season and I think that work paid off today." Beretta Famila Schio center, Astou Ndour

"This is not the way you want to go out, It's been a long season with ups and downs. But we have a lot to be proud of. We gave it everything we had. We just missed shots as we had a lot of open looks. We have to be better." ZVVZ USK Praha forward, Alyssa Thomas

"I am angry because it wa a difficult game and we came from out of a hole. We were fighting and showed heart. We couldn't play our game in the first-half. It was mentally very difficult for us. We were so close to winning the game." ZVVZ USK Praha head coach, Natalia Hejkova

FIBA