BRATISLAVA, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Levice Patriots is still in the fight for the leading position in the Slovak Basketball League after defeating the struggling, last-placed Komarno 80-73 in the 17th round on Wednesday.

Levice won its sixth consecutive match, gaining its tenth triumph of the season, only two less than the leader from Bratislava. Komarno, led by the American forward Austin Williams with 18 points and 11 rebounds, managed to keep up with the favored home team in the first period despite the fact that new coach Dusan Kasum had only six available players, but lost the second period by 14 points.

Although the visitors cut the 20-point deficit to only 5 in the final stretch, Levice refused to surrender the lead and served the injury-plagued Komarno its sixth straight defeat.

The penultimate team of the league, Spisska Nova Ves is aiming to improve its position in the rankings, hiring a new center from Ukraine Oleksandr Kushnirov, who contributed 11 points and 7 rebounds in a tough game against the best team in the Slovak Basketball League Inter Bratislava.

The home team managed to keep pace with the last season's champion thanks to an aggressive approach but lost almost every period by a couple of points, adding to a 70-79 total at the final buzzer. Bratislava stretched its winning streak to four.

After beating Levice with a last-second effort in the 6th round, Lucenec repeated the crowd-pleaser this time against Svit. The visitor's American guard Mike Caffey became the hero of the night, sinking a three-point buzzer-beater, silencing the home fans, and setting the final score to 74-72. His teammate and fellow countryman Mason Stuteville led the scoring with 21 points and 6 rebounds. Lucenec's ninth victory of the season fortified its third place in the rankings.

Zilina succeeded in ending its six-game losing streak after defeating Handlova 97-89. The visitor started off better and produced a total of 13 three-point baskets but Zilina gradually improved its defense, as well as team play, and created a sufficient buffer to take the sixth position in the standings in this direct clash. Jakub Meress and Robert Rozanek scored a total of 45 for the home team. Enditem

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