Basketball News, Scores, Stats, Analysis, Standings

POSTED BY: Eurobasket News

Bojan Trajkovski

Prva Liga is at the halfway of the Regular Season and there are still another 11 rounds left. Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The game between second ranked Gostivar (8-3) and seventh ranked Feniks 2010 (6-5) was the most important one in the last round on Sunday night. Gostivar was defeated by Feniks 2010 in Skopje 84-66. Feniks 2010 dominated down low during the game scoring 62 of its points in the paint compared to Gostivar’s 32. It was a great evening for the former international power forward Bojan Trajkovski (207-1988, agency: Mansfield and Associates) who led his team to a victory with a double-double by scoring 20 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 blocks. American forward Jordan Tucker (201-1998, college: Butler) helped adding 20 points (on 7-of-9 shooting from the field). Georgian power forward Giorgi Korsantia (207-1998, agency: BIG) responded with 13 points and 7 rebounds. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Feniks 2010 maintains seventh place with 6-5 record. Gostivar at the other side dropped to the third position with three games lost. Feniks 2010’s supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will face at home their local rival from Skopje Rabotnicki.
The game in Gevgelija supposed to be also worth to mention about. Fourth ranked Rabotnicki (7-4) played at the court of 8th ranked Kozuv (3-8). Rabotnicki smashed Kozuv 110-85. It was an exceptional evening for Jordanian-American forward Cameron Forte (201-1993, college: Portland St.) who led the winners with a double-double by scoring 18 points and 11 rebounds. Paul Jackson accounted for 21 points and 6 assists. Rabotnicki’s coach Dimitar Mirakovski felt very confident that he used entire bench and allowed the starting five to rest. Serbian power forward Dusan Juzbasic (207-1999) came up with a double-double by scoring 31 points and 11 rebounds for Kozuv in the defeat. Rabotnicki have an impressive series of seven victories in a row. They maintain fourth place with 7-4 record, which they share with TFT. Kozuv lost fourth consecutive game. They dropped to the ninth position with eight games lost. They share it with Akademija FMP. Rabotnicki’s supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will travel locally in Skopje to the arena Feniks 2010.
Sixth ranked Euro Nickel (7-5) crushed at home 9th ranked Akademija FMP (3-8) by 29 points 92-63, which is the biggest margin this round on Saturday night. The best player for the winners was Jure Planinic who scored 15 points and 8 rebounds. Gabriel Koskoski produced a double-double by scoring 19 points and 10 rebounds for the guests. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Euro Nickel maintains sixth place with 7-5 record. Loser Akademija FMP keeps the ninth position with eight games lost. They share it with Kozuv. Euro Nickel will meet at home bottom-ranked Strumica (#12) in the next round which should be theoretically another easy game. Akademija FMP will play against Kozuv in Gevgelija and it may be a tough game between close rivals.

In the last two games of round 11 bottom-ranked Strumica lost to Cair 2030 on the opponent’s court 92-97. Kumanovo unfortunately lost to TFT in a home game 71-82.
The most impressive stats of the last round was 18 points and 13 rebounds by Stevan Gligorijevic of Kumanovo.

Cair 2030 – Strumica 97-92

Very expected game in Skopje where 12th ranked Strumica (2-10) was defeated by eighth ranked Cair 2030 (4-7) 97-92 on Saturday. However just five-point win is not that big difference and the fans of host team counted on more convincing victory. The best player for the winners was American guard Dee Franklin (196-1992, college: FVSU) who scored 36 points (!!!) and 8 rebounds. His fellow American import forward Yusuf Mohamed (208-1998, college: Westminster, UT) chipped in a double-double by scoring 25 points and 14 rebounds. Franklin is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top international summer league in the market. Serbian guard Stefan Krstajic (190-1995) produced 26 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists and Serbian forward Svetozar Stamenkovic (206-1990) added 25 points and 9 rebounds respectively for the guests. Four Strumica players scored in double figures. Strumica’s coach rotated ten players in this game, but that didn’t help. Newly promoted Cair 2030 maintains eighth place with 4-7 record. Strumica at the other side, also newcomer in the league, stay at the bottom position with ten games lost. Cair 2030 will meet at home Kumanovo (#11) in the next round. Strumica will play against Euro Nickel in Kavadarci and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Strumica: S.Krstajic 26+9reb+6ast, S.Stamenkovic 25+9reb+3ast, R.Mamuzikj 21+3reb+3ast, I.Volkanovski 10+8reb+3ast, I.Asrat 6+1reb+5ast, M.Nikola 2
Cair 2030: D.Franklin 36+8reb+1ast, Y.Mohamed 25+14reb+2ast, T.Bunch 10+5reb+1ast, R.Arbin 9+5ast, A.Jovan 7+2reb+1ast, T.Malik 5+3reb+4ast

gschID: 1015401

Euro Nickel – Akademija FMP 92-63

Sixth ranked Euro Nickel (7-5) crushed at home 9th ranked Akademija FMP (3-8) by 29 points 92-63, which is the biggest margin this round on Saturday night. Euro Nickel made 19-of-22 free shots (86.4 percent) during the game. They also forced 20 Akademija FMP turnovers and outrebounded them 36-25 including 23 on the defensive glass. Euro Nickel looked well-organized offensively handing out 22 assists. The best player for the winners was Bosnian-Croatian forward Jure Planinic (206-2000, agency: AltusBasket) who scored 15 points and 8 rebounds. N Bojcev chipped in 14 points and 5 assists. Four Euro Nickel players scored in double figures. Gabriel Koskoski (203-1998, agency: BIG) produced a double-double by scoring 19 points and 10 rebounds and American Chandler Jones added 7 points and 5 rebounds respectively for the guests. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Euro Nickel maintains sixth place with 7-5 record. Loser Akademija FMP keeps the ninth position with eight games lost. They share it with Kozuv. Euro Nickel will meet at home bottom-ranked Strumica (#12) in the next round which should be theoretically another easy game. Akademija FMP will play against Kozuv in Gevgelija and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Akademija FMP: K.Gabriel 19+10reb+2ast, P.Pajic 12+2ast, M.Dimovski 9+4reb+2ast, V.Nikola 9+1reb+4ast, Z.Viktor 7+2reb+1ast, J.Chandler 7+5reb+3ast
Euro Nickel: J.Planinic 15+8reb+2ast, B.N 14+2reb+5ast, L.Stojanovski 12+3reb+1ast, B.Djekic 10+2reb, D.Sokolov 10+3reb+3ast, T.Zlatev 9+6reb+3ast

gschID: 1015402

Feniks 2010 – Gostivar 84-66

gschID: 1015403

Kozuv – Rabotnicki 85-110

The game in Gevgelija supposed to be also worth to mention about. Fourth ranked Rabotnicki (7-4) played at the court of 8th ranked Kozuv (3-8). Rabotnicki smashed Kozuv 110-85. Rabotnicki made 18-of-22 charity shots (81.8 percent) during the game. Rabotnicki outrebounded Kozuv 39-27 including 27 on the defensive glass. Their players were unselfish on offense dishing 22 assists. It was an exceptional evening for Jordanian-American forward Cameron Forte (201-1993, college: Portland St.) who led the winners with a double-double by scoring 18 points and 11 rebounds. American guard Paul Jackson (188-1996, college: EMU) accounted for 21 points and 6 assists for the winning side. Jackson is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top international summer league in the market. Rabotnicki’s coach Dimitar Mirakovski felt very confident that he used entire bench and allowed the starting five to rest. Serbian power forward Dusan Juzbasic (207-1999) came up with a double-double by scoring 31 points and 11 rebounds and point guard Luka Petrovski (196-1996) added 23 points respectively for Kozuv in the defeat. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Rabotnicki have an impressive series of seven victories in a row. They maintain fourth place with 7-4 record, which they share with TFT. Kozuv lost fourth consecutive game. They dropped to the ninth position with eight games lost. They share it with Akademija FMP. Rabotnicki’s supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will travel locally in Skopje to the arena Feniks 2010.
Top scorers:
Kozuv: D.Juzbasic 31+11reb, L.Petrovski 23+1reb+2ast, R.Rizvic 14+6reb+5ast, I.Kolev 13+7reb+5ast, A.Shterjov 2+1reb, D.Lazarevski 2+1ast
Rabotnicki: P.Jackson 21+3reb+6ast, N.Malesevic 20+8reb+2ast, C.Forte 18+11reb+3ast, F.Bakoch 18+5reb+2ast, B.Peter 9+2reb, G.Markovski 9+2reb+1ast

gschID: 1015404

Kumanovo – TFT 71-82

Very predictable result when sixth ranked TFT (7-4) defeated on the road 11th ranked Kumanovo (2-9) 82-71 on Sunday. TFT looked well-organized offensively handing out 22 assists. The best player for the winners was American forward Trent Buttrick (206-1998, college: UMass, agency: Mansfield and Associates) who scored 14 points and 8 rebounds. The former international Strahil Nikolov (200-2000) chipped in 15 points and 7 rebounds. TFT’s coach Boro Smilkovski used an eleven-player rotation and allowed the starting five to get some rest. Naturalized Serbian Stevan Gligorijevic (205-1997) produced a double-double by scoring 18 points and 13 rebounds and forward Marjan Janevski (203-1988, agency: BIG) added 15 points and 8 rebounds respectively for the hosts. Four Kumanovo players scored in double figures. The victory was the third consecutive win for TFT. They moved-up to fourth place, which they share with Rabotnicki. Kumanovo lost their fourth game in a row. They keep the eleventh position with nine games lost. TFT’s supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will travel locally in Skopje to the arena MZT Skopje.
Top scorers:
Kumanovo: S.Gligorijevic 18+13reb+2ast, N.Zivcevic 16+5reb+4ast, M.Janevski 15+8reb+3ast, D.Nacevski 11+2reb+3ast, J.Milos 5+2ast, G.Georgievski 3+2reb
TFT: N.Strahil 15+7reb+2ast, T.Buttrick 14+8reb+2ast, T.Viktor 13+4reb+4ast, D.McBrayer 11+3ast, J.Bishop 9+4reb+5ast, L.Anderson 7+3reb+2ast