Dziki Warszawa have just finished the Suzuki 1st Men's League season. Despite good play and many beautiful moments, Wataha ultimately lost to Sokół Łańcut 2-3 and ended their participation in the play-off phase in the quarterfinals.
Show of force in Bemowo
After winning the second match in Łańcut, it seemed that Dziki Warszawa would be the favorites in the remaining clashes with Sokół Łańcut. The team looked motivated and confident. It was no different during the third match of the quarter-final competition.
The Wild Boars started the game by gaining a dozen or so points lead. The Warsaw team showed flair and youthful imagination, which has been lacking many times this season. The hosts were effective in three-point shots and breaking up Sokół's attacks. The team from Łańcut looked lost, which resulted in many losses and ineffective attacks. By half-time, the Wild Boars were winning by twelve points.
The second half was a continuation of the Wataha concert. Krzysztof Szablowski's team played relentlessly and, most importantly, effectively. Sokół had better moments, but did not make up for the losses. Dziki were beyond the reach of their rivals. The hosts managed literally everything. The confirmation of these words can be the spectacular three-pointer by Mateusz Szwed, which was his only effective one this season.
The Wildcats won the third match 85-58. The best scorers were Piotr Pamuła - 14 points and Grzegorz Grochowski - 13 points.
The wild chase wasn't enough
Sunday's competition at Koło was a chance to close the rivalry with Sokół Łańcut. Dziki were leading 2-1 in the series, and where else can you advance if not in front of your own audience?
Sokół Łańcut did not proceed from such an assumption, setting tough conditions for the game from the very beginning. Dariusz Kaszowski's basketball players drew conclusions from the high defeat in Bemowo. The Sokół team did not leave the Dziki so much space for offensive actions. In addition, the home team's attack was grossly ineffective. After 20 minutes of play, the scoreboard in Hala Koło showed the result 38-28 for the visitors.
The second part of the fourth match started for the Dziki in the worst possible way. Sokół caught the wind in their sails and played like clockwork. At one point, the guests were already leading by twenty points. The Pack did not give up and persistently tried to make up for the losses. A few minutes before the end of the match, the Warsaw team was only three points behind. It was very possible to tip the scales in their favor, but the Dziki were still plagued by bad choices and ineffectiveness in front of the opponents' basket. The match ended with a score of 62-66, which meant that the fifth match would decide the promotion.
Rafał Komenda showed his best side in the Dziki team, scoring 16 points and recording 9 rebounds.
Bitter end of the season in Łańcut
Although the score was 2-2 before Wednesday's match, there was little reason for optimism ahead of the decisive clash with Sokół Łańcut. The Wildcats entered the match without team captain Piotr Pamuła, and center Mateusz Szwed played with an ankle injury.
It started well, with the Dziki leading 6-2. That was the end of the optimism in the Warsaw team. Sokół quickly went on the offensive and took the lead. Mateusz Szczypiński stood out in the team from Podkarpacie, who made four accurate shots from behind the arc in the first quarter. It was already clear in the first quarter that the team led by Dariusz Kaszowski would do everything to advance. The good play of the hosts in the first part resulted in a fourteen-point advantage at halftime.
Although the result seemed possible to make up for, the excellent form of the Sokół players dispelled doubts about who would advance to the semi-finals of the Suzuki 1st Men's League play-off phase. Szczypiński was supported by Nowakowski and Struski, who harassed the Dziki defense with shots from half-distance. The high lead turned into a shooting display by the hosts towards the end of the match. Great play under the basket and effective three-point shots meant that Sokół immediately gathered a thirty-eight-point advantage.
The final score of the last meeting of the Dziki this season was 54-92. In the Dziki, Przemysław Kuźkow was responsible for the biggest score, scoring 13 points.
Thank you for a season full of emotions!
For Dziki Warszawa, this is the end of the 2021/22 Suzuki 1st Men's League season. The team led by Krzysztof Szablowski had to overcome many adversities to advance to the play-off phase. The team had to cope without the injured Piotr Pamuła and Mateusz Szwed for half of the competition.
In December last year, Wataha was in fourteenth place in the table, with a balance of 3 wins and 9 losses. Dziki finished the regular season in eighth place, with a balance of 17-15, which is the team's best result in the history of appearances in the 1st league. The team from Warsaw was, along with Sokół Łańcut, the best team of the first league courts in the return round.
We would like to thank our wonderful fans for their support during this demanding season. We wish our opponents good luck in the next phase of the competition and we look forward to more exciting matches in the new season.