The Czech Republic got off to a winning start at the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Ankara as they defeated New Zealand 70-51 on Monday afternoon.
The best player for the winners today was Eva Vitechkova with 22 points, including four threes. Viteckova added and six rebounds. Center Petra Kulichova finished with a double-double: 13 points and 13 rebounds.
Against the outsider in the group New Zealand, head coach of the Czechs Lyubor Blazhek decided not to use the star of the team Jana Vitechkova from Seattle Storm in the WNBA.
For New Zealand the best scorer with 9 points was Jillian Harmon.
Czech Republic dominated from first to last second of the match. After a strong start the team gained a lead of over 10 points thanks to its good fast break. For eight minutes
New Zealand scored just six points in the first quarter as the Czechs led 20-6, and led at halftime by 44-25.
After the break, on the court in Ankara nothing happened differently. Czechs continued to dominate and came to an easy victory at the final 70-51 without any tension.
Tomorrow New Zealand will face Argentina and Turkey will play with Japan in Group B. The next game for Czech republic is on Wednesday, with Argentina.
