Zielona Góra — Legia: 104:87, Energa Basket Liga

Zielona Góra beat Legia 102:87 in the Energa-Basket League on Friday evening. The hosts took control after a tight opening quarter and ran out comfortable winners despite the visitors sitting top of the table. To be fair, Legia had looked solid in their previous outing against Słupsk, but this was a different proposition entirely. By then, the momentum had shifted in the Polish capital's favour and stayed there.

And here's the thing about matches like these — you don't need a spreadsheet to see when they turn. The visitors came out with that familiar confidence, but the hosts started finding their rhythm from beyond the arc. Thirteen three-pointers in the first half alone, and suddenly the game had a different complexion. Legia tried to match them but couldn't find the same spacing.

We had backed Legia to win, 54 per cent confidence. That prediction didn't come off, and the reason was simple. The hosts' 33 assists showed a ball movement the visitors couldn't shut down, while Legia managed just 20. Turnovers told the same story — eighteen for the visitors against eleven for the hosts. Not a collapse, but enough to let Zielona Góra breathe.

What stood out was the defensive rebounding battle. Legia pulled down 34 boards to 30, but it didn't matter when the shots weren't falling. The visitors shot 29 from 66 field goals, while the hosts hit 35 from 69. And here's the thing about basketball — you can win the glass and still lose the game if your perimeter shooting goes cold.

For Legia, this adds to a difficult run. They lost to Strasbourg 100:62 on their last trip out, and now this defeat at home against a side they beat twice earlier in the season. The gap at the top remains eight points, but the comfort has gone. For Zielona Góra, this moves them closer to the playoff places and shows they can compete with anyone.