Basketball News, Scores, Stats, Analysis, Standings

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

Serbian leader Crvena Zvezda delivered the seventeenth win on Sunday night. This time they crushed 6th ranked Croatian Zadar (11-9) 93-54 in Beograd. It ended at the same time the three-game winning streak of Zadar. Crvena Zvezda looked well-organized offensively handing out 24 assists. The best player for the winners was Brazilian point guard Yago Matheus (175-1999) who scored 13 points and 6 assists. Center Luka Mitrovic (204-1993, agency: Octagon Europe) chipped in 10 points and 8 rebounds. Luka Bozic (200-1996) produced 16 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists 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. Defending Serbian champion maintains first position with 17-3 record. Defending Croatian champion Zadar dropped to the fifth place with nine games lost. They share the position with Igokea. Crvena Zvezda are looking forward to face bottom-ranked Mornar (#14) in Bar in the next round which should be another easy win for them. Zadar will play at home against Split (#9) and is hoping to prove to their fans that the loss was just an accident.
The game in Aleksandrovac supposed to be also worth to mention about. Fourth ranked Serbian Partizan (14-6) played at the court of 5th ranked Bosnian Igokea (11-9). Partizan smashed Igokea 98-52. Center Balsa Koprivica (215-2000, college: FSU) orchestrated the victory by scoring 13 points and 9 rebounds. Mateusz Ponitka contributed with 16 points (perfect from the field making all six shots) for the winners. Swingman Edin Atic (201-1997) replied with 10 points for Igokea. Since the result was very predictable, it gave the chance for the coaches to test many bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Partizan moved-up to third place, which they share with Cedevita Ol. Defending Bosnian champion Igokea keeps the fifth position with nine games lost. They share it with Zadar. Partizan will play against Cedevita Ol. (#3) in Ljubljana in the next round, which may be the game of the day. Igokea will play on the road against the league’s second-placed Buducnost in Podgorica and hopes to get back on the winning track.
The game in Split was also quite interesting. Second ranked Montenegrin Buducnost (15-5) played at the court of 7th ranked Croatian Split (9-11). Buducnost managed to secure a 6-point victory 81-75 on Saturday. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Split. Worth to mention a great performance of McKinley Wright IV who helped to win the game recording 19 points and 5 assists. Buducnost’s coach used an eleven-player rotation and allowed the starting five to rest. Shannon Shorter responded with 12 points and 8 assists. Buducnost have an impressive seven-game winning streak. Defending Montenegrin champion maintains second position with 15-5 record having just two points less than leader Crvena Zvezda. Split at the other side dropped to the ninth place with 11 games lost. Buducnost will meet at home Igokea (#5) in the next round. Split will play against Zadar (#6) and hope to secure a win.

Rest of the games of round 20 were quite predictable and ended without any surprises. Here they are:
FMP BG was defeated by Cedevita Ol. in Ljubljana 82-74. Cibona smashed Krka at home 91-63. Mornar lost to Mega BG on the opponent’s court 87-101. SC Derby managed to outperform Borac in a home game 86-84.
The best stats of 20th round was 32 points, 8 assists and 4 steals by Ronaldo Segu of Borac CA.

Cedevita Ol. – FMP BG 82-74

There was no surprise in Ljubljana where 12th ranked Serbian FMP BG (6-14) was defeated by third ranked Slovenian Cedevita Ol. (14-6) 82-74 on Saturday. Worth to mention a great performance of swingman Jaka Blazic (196-1990) who helped to win the game recording a double-double by scoring 15 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists and center Alen Omic (216-1992) who added 11 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists during the contest. Five Cedevita Ol. players scored in double figures. Slovenian point guard Matic Rebec (183-1995, agency: SLN) responded with 21 points and 6 assists and swingman Vojislav Stojanovic (199-1997) scored 10 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Both coaches used bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. Defending Slovenian champion maintains third position with 14-6 record having just three points less than leader Crvena Zvezda, which they share with Partizan. FMP BG at the other side keeps the twelfth place with 14 games lost. Cedevita Ol. will meet Partizan (#4) in the next round. FMP BG will play against Borac (#10) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Cedevita Ol.: J.Blazic 15+10reb+4ast, Z.Dragic 15+7reb+1ast, J.Cobbs 14+2reb+3ast, G.Glas 12+3reb+2ast, A.Omic 11+10reb+4ast, S.Luka 6+3reb
FMP BG: M.Rebec 21+4reb+6ast, V.Stojanovic 10+6reb+4ast, S.Nikola 10+4reb, D.Roberts 8+2reb, K.Foster 8+1reb, A.Stepanovic 6+4reb

gschID: 1132728

Cibona – Krka 91-63

No shocking result in a game in Zagreb where eleventh ranked Croatian Cibona (7-13) smashed 13th ranked Slovenian Krka (4-16) 91-63 on Saturday. Cibona made 17-of-20 free shots (85.0 percent) during the game. Cibona outrebounded Krka 36-24 including a 30-16 advantage in defensive rebounds. Cibona looked well-organized offensively handing out 26 assists comparing to just 10 passes made by Krka‘s players. Worth to mention a great performance of Domagoj Vukovic (208-1993) who helped to win the game recording 23 points and 8 rebounds and Serbian Aleksandar Aranitovic (195-1998) who added 20 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists during the contest. Power forward Jurij Macura (211-1999) responded with 13 points and 5 rebounds and point guard Jan Span (189-1992) scored 14 points and 4 assists. Since the result was very predictable, it gave the chance for the coaches to test many bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. Cibona maintains eleventh position with 7-13 record. Krka at the other side keeps the thirteenth place with 16 games lost. They share the position with Mornar. Cibona will meet at home higher ranked SC Derby (#7) in the next round and it may be quite challenging game. Krka will play against Mega BG (#8) and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Cibona: D.Vukovic 23+8reb+2ast, A.Aranitovic 20+8reb+4ast, B.Tomislav 16+2reb, K.Radovcic 8+4reb+8ast, D.Proleta 8+3reb+2ast, J.Mustapic 7+2reb+5ast
Krka: J.Span 14+1reb+4ast, J.Macura 13+5reb+1ast, M.Radovanovic 12+5reb, M.Skedelj 7+1reb, C.Miha 7+5reb+1ast, I.Cousins 4+3reb+1ast

gschID: 1132729

Crvena Zvezda – Zadar 93-54

gschID: 1132730

Igokea – Partizan 52-98

The game in Aleksandrovac supposed to be also worth to mention about. Fourth ranked Serbian Partizan (14-6) played at the court of 5th ranked Bosnian Igokea (11-9). Partizan smashed Igokea 98-52. Partizan made 33-of-37 charity shots (89.2 percent) during the game, while Igokea only scored eleven points from the stripe. They outrebounded Igokea 36-19 including a 27-11 advantage in defensive rebounds. Igokea was plagued by 33 personal fouls down the stretch. Center Balsa Koprivica (215-2000, college: FSU) orchestrated the victory by scoring 13 points and 9 rebounds. Polish Mateusz Ponitka (198-1993) contributed with 16 points (perfect from the field making all six shots) for the winners. Swingman Edin Atic (201-1997) replied with 10 points and guard Kosta Kondic (193-2001) added 3 points and 6 assists in the effort for Igokea. Since the result was very predictable, it gave the chance for the coaches to test many bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Partizan moved-up to third place, which they share with Cedevita Ol. Defending Bosnian champion Igokea keeps the fifth position with nine games lost. They share it with Zadar. Partizan will play against Cedevita Ol. (#3) in Ljubljana in the next round, which may be the game of the day. Igokea will play on the road against the league’s second-placed Buducnost in Podgorica and hopes to get back on the winning track.
Top scorers:
Partizan: M.Ponitka 16+3reb+2ast, B.Caboclo 14+3reb+1ast, B.Koprivica 13+9reb+1ast, V.Tristan 11+1reb, P.Dozier 11+1reb, J.Nunnally 8+3ast
Igokea: E.Atic 10+3reb+2ast, J.Carmichael 8+2reb, D.Milosavljevic 8+2reb+1ast, M.Josilo 7+1reb+1ast, M.Jeremic 6+3reb+2ast, B.Mihailo 4+3reb

gschID: 1132731

Mega BG – Mornar 101-87

Very expected game in Beograd where 13th ranked Montenegrin Mornar (4-16) was defeated by eighth ranked Serbian Mega BG (10-10) 101-87 on Sunday. Mega BG dominated down low during the game scoring 60 of its points in the paint compared to Mornar‘s 26. They outrebounded Mornar 37-26 including 28 on the defensive glass. Mega BG looked well-organized offensively handing out 30 assists comparing to just 17 passes made by Mornar‘s players. Worth to mention a great performance of Canadian-Serbian guard Stefan Miljenovic (190-2001, college: Slippery Rock) who helped to win the game recording a double-double by scoring 16 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists and forward Uros Plavsic (213-1998, college: Tennessee) who added 18 points and 10 rebounds during the contest. Five Mega BG players scored in double figures. American forward Marcus Weathers (196-1997, college: SMU) responded with a double-double by scoring 29 points and 12 rebounds and his fellow American import point guard Tavian Dunn-Martin (173-1998, college: FGCU) scored 18 points. Both coaches used bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. Mega BG moved-up to seventh place, which they share with SC Derby. Mornar at the other side dropped to the bottom position with 16 games lost. They share it with Krka. Mega BG will meet Krka (#13) in the next round where they are favorite. Mornar will play against the league’s leader Crvena Zvezda and will have a slim chance for a victory.
Top scorers:
Mega BG: U.Plavsic 18+10reb+2ast, S.Miljenovic 16+10reb+7ast, O.Ilyasoglu 13+4reb+3ast, J.Andrija 13+6reb+2ast, D.Nikola 12+2reb+12ast, K.Petar 10+1reb
Mornar: M.Weathers 29+12reb+3ast, T.Dunn-Martin 18+1reb+3ast, D.Murray Jr. 13+2reb+3ast, N.Vranjes 8+2reb+1ast, M.Lewis 6+1reb+3ast, U.Lukovic 6+2reb+1ast

gschID: 1132732

Split – Buducnost 75-81

The game in Split was also quite interesting. Second ranked Montenegrin Buducnost (15-5) played at the court of 7th ranked Croatian Split (9-11). Buducnost managed to secure a 6-point victory 81-75 on Saturday. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Split. Buducnost made 18-of-21 free shots (85.7 percent) during the game. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 21 assists. Worth to mention a great performance of American point guard McKinley Wright IV (183-1998, college: Colorado) who helped to win the game recording 19 points and 5 assists and Bosnian center Kenan Kamenjas (207-2000) who added 13 points during the contest. Buducnost’s coach used an eleven-player rotation and allowed the starting five to rest. American Shannon Shorter (193-1989, college: N.Texas) responded with 12 points and 8 assists and his fellow American import forward Lewis Sullivan (201-1995, college: UAB, agency: BIG) scored 17 points and 5 rebounds. Four Split players scored in double figures. Buducnost have an impressive seven-game winning streak. Defending Montenegrin champion maintains second position with 15-5 record having just two points less than leader Crvena Zvezda. Split at the other side dropped to the ninth place with 11 games lost. Buducnost will meet at home Igokea (#5) in the next round. Split will play against Zadar (#6) and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Buducnost: M.Wright IV 19+1reb+5ast, K.Kamenjas 13+4reb, A.Freeman 10+4ast, A.Slavkovic 9, N.Tanaskovic 6+6reb+1ast, V.Mihailovic 6+4ast
Split: L.Sullivan 17+5reb+1ast, T.Perkovic 13+1reb+3ast, S.Shorter 12+4reb+8ast, D.Funderburk 11+2reb, T.Vuko 11+7reb, M.Kalajzic 9+4reb+5ast

gschID: 1132733

SC Derby – Borac CA 86-84

Rather predictable result in Podgorica where seventh ranked Montenegrin SC Derby (10-10) edged 10th ranked Serbian Borac (8-12) 86-84 on Sunday. SC Derby outrebounded Borac 39-26 including a 31-19 advantage in defensive rebounds. Worth to mention a great performance of Bosnian-Croatian swingman Mateo Dreznjak (195-1999) who helped to win the game recording 26 points and Emir Hadzibegovic (204-1996) who added 13 points and 11 rebounds during the contest. SC Derby’s coach allowed to play the deep bench players in such tough game. American point guard Ronaldo Segu (183-1999, college: Buffalo) responded with 32 points, 8 assists and 4 steals and Nikola Manojlovic (201-2002, agency: Octagon Europe) scored 22 points. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. SC Derby have a solid three-game winning streak. They maintain seventh position with 10-10 record, which they share with Mega BG. Borac lost third consecutive game. They keep the tenth place with 12 games lost. SC Derby will meet Cibona (#11) in the next round. Borac will play against FMP BG in Beograd and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
SC Derby: M.Dreznjak 26+2reb+3ast, B.Kapusta 20+1reb+3ast, E.Hadzibegovic 13+11reb, V.Zoran 12+6reb+1ast, N.Pavlicevic 5+4reb+1ast, B.Luka 3+2reb
Borac CA: R.Segu 32+2reb+8ast, N.Manojlovic 22+4reb+1ast, J.Franklin 15+11reb+1ast, A.Uskokovic 12+1reb+1ast, N.Pavle 2+7reb+2ast, U.Carapic 1