Karpenko was the best player in the second game of the quarterfinals although he could not prevent the defeat of CB San Pedro.
One step away from the Final Four, CB San Pedro crashes at home against a surprising CB Novaschool by 44-50
CB San Pedro U18, coached by Davor Matkovic, leaves the victory at home and loses the golden opportunity to fight in the Final Four for the League in the only game it has lost of the season. The heart-stopping end of the second game of the U18 Gold League Playoffs between CB San Pedro and CB Novaschool left Karpenko as MVP of the game, despite the tough defeat of the Sampedreños.
San Pedro broke out due to the scandal
A referee created controversy and ruined a very close match. Unfortunately for the sport and the fans, the performance of one of the referees was the protagonist in the defeat of the locals, who suffered throughout the game with “one of the referees who was not impartial in his decision-making”, according to what CBSP has denounced in a statement spread on the Internet, which shows its discontent and helplessness for the controversial referee, while congratulating the rival for progressing to the final. Half of the 30 personal fouls called against CB San Pedro were non-existent for the majority of those present, although they caused the expulsion from the game of four of the team’s nine players, the four belonging to the starting quintet. San Pedro finished the game with the last five players available on the bench, one of them, Karpenko, with 4 personal fouls and one foot off the court. In this situation of clear disadvantage, the team could not come back and take the victory as it did in other games this season, after tying 35-35 with four and a half minutes remaining.
Bitter MVP
Karpenko, only 16 years old, played a great Playoff game on Sunday that helped him obtain the individual title of ‘MVP’, although it did not help his team beat CB Novaschool. For Karpenko, the personal MVP title didn’t matter because of the team’s loss. The versatile player did what he could to help his team. He played as 4, as 3, even as 1, masterfully directing the San Pedro team’s offense. He was in as many positions as his coach asked him to. He scored 14 points (32% of his team’s points) with 6/9 free throws, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 ball recovery and 6 fouls received.
Photo of Karpenko during the game © 2024 Ignacio García. – Great leap in defense.
IGGA is a company committed to sports and official sponsor of Club Baloncesto San Pedro.
