Basketball News, Scores, Stats, Analysis, Standings

POSTED BY: Eurobasket News

Dino Muric

The teams have now bigger motivation at this stage of Regular Season. Every game can be crucial and decide about teams’ position at the end of Regular Season. Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The most interesting game of round 15 was a home defeat of 5th ranked Rogaska (7-8) to third ranked Sencur Gor. (8-7) 80-76 in the game for the third place. The guests started the game with a very strong first quarter 27-18. But Rogaska won second period 23-15. However it was not enough to take a lead and get a victory that evening. It was a great evening for the former international power forward Dino Muric (201-1990) who led his team to a victory with a double-double by scoring 25 points and 16 rebounds. point guard Jan Novak (193-1995) helped adding 13 points and 5 assists. Sencur Gor.’s coach Miljan Pavkovic used an eleven-player rotation in such tough game. The best for the losing side was the former international Urban Durnik (204-1997) with a double-double by scoring 20 points and 11 rebounds. Sencur Gor. maintains third place with 8-7 record having seven points less than leader Krka. Rogaska at the other side dropped to the fourth position with eight games lost. They share it with Sentjur and Terme Olimia. Sencur Gor. are looking forward to face Ilirija (#7) in Ljubljana in the next round. Rogaska will play on the road against the league’s second-placed Helios Suns in Domzale and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Liga Nova KBM top team – Krka (15-0) had no problems winning another game. This time they crushed tenth ranked LTH Castings (3-12) in Novo Mesto 85-46. It was a quality performance for the former international Leon Stergar (193-2000) who led the winners and scored 13 points and 7 rebounds. Jan Span accounted for 14 points and 5 assists. American swingman Mario Kegler (201-1997, college: Baylor) came up with 7 points and 9 rebounds for LTH Castings in the defeat. Undefeated Krka have an impressive series of fifteen victories in a row. They maintain first place with 15-0 record. Newly promoted LTH Castings stay at the bottom position with 12 games lost. Krka will play against Hopsi Polzela (#8) on the road in the next round and are hoping to win another game. LTH Castings will play against Sentjur and hope to get back on the winning track.
The game in Ljubljana was also quite interesting. 7th ranked Hopsi Polzela (5-10) played at the court of eighth ranked Ilirija (6-9). Ilirija defeated Hopsi Polzela 95-84 on Monday. The best player for the winners was Adnan Arslanagic who scored 16 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists. At the other side the best for losing team was Milojko Vasilic who recorded 19 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists (on 9-of-11 shooting from the field). Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. The victory was the fourth consecutive win for Ilirija. They moved-up to seventh place. Hopsi Polzela lost their third game in a row. They dropped to the eighth position with ten games lost. Ilirija will meet higher ranked Sencur Gor. (#3) in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Hopsi Polzela will play against the league’s leader Krka (#1) where they are definitely not considered as a favorite in this game either.

In the last two games of round 15 Helios Suns won against Zlatorog on the opponent’s court 78-74. Sentjur unfortunately lost to Terme Olimia in a home game 72-81.

Zlatorog – Helios Suns 74-78

Very expected game in Lasko where 9th ranked Zlatorog (4-11) was defeated by second ranked Helios Suns (13-2) 78-74 on Friday. The guests were tied at the half but managed to speed up in last two quarters eventually winning the game. Helios Suns looked well-organized offensively handing out 21 assists. The best player for the winners was Croatian power forward Lovro Buljevic (211-1998) who had a double-double by scoring 18 points and 10 rebounds. The former international forward Blaz Mahkovic (201-1990, agency: Interperformances) chipped in 17 points and 7 assists. Four Helios Suns players scored in double figures. At the other side the best for losing team was naturalized Croatian point guard Daniel Vujasinovic (188-1989) who recorded 13 points and 8 assists and guard Jan Copot (199-2001) added 19 points respectively. Zlatorog’s coach Ales Pipan rotated ten players in this game, but that didn’t help. Helios Suns maintains second place with 13-2 record having just two points less than leader Krka. Loser Zlatorog keeps the ninth position with 11 games lost. Helios Suns will meet at home Rogaska (#5) in the next round. Zlatorog will play against Terme Olimia (#4) in Podcetrtek and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Helios Suns: N.Bacvic 18+3reb+3ast, L.Buljevic 18+10reb+1ast, B.Mahkovic 17+2reb+7ast, M.Tibor 10+7reb+1ast, U.Oman 5+3reb+2ast, T.Ferme 5+1reb+4ast
Zlatorog: J.Copot 19+1ast, D.Vujasinovic 13+2reb+8ast, F.Samojlovic 13+2ast, D.Lorbek 9+5reb+1ast, A.Bailey 8+7reb+2ast, K.Smrekar 6+5reb

gschID: 1011238

Krka – LTH Castings 85-46

Liga Nova KBM top team – Krka (15-0) had no problems winning another game. This time they crushed tenth ranked LTH Castings (3-12) in Novo Mesto 85-46. The game without a history. Krka led from the first minutes and controlled entire game increasing their lead in each quarter. They dominated on the defensive end, holding LTH Castings to just 4 points in third quarter. Krka held LTH Castings to an opponent 24.7 percent shooting from the field compared to 50.8 percent accuracy of the winners. They outrebounded LTH Castings 46-32 including a 36-20 advantage in defensive rebounds. It was a quality performance for the former international Leon Stergar (193-2000) who led the winners and scored 13 points and 7 rebounds. International point guard Jan Span (189-1992) accounted for 14 points and 5 assists for the winning side. Five Krka players scored in double figures. American swingman Mario Kegler (201-1997, college: Baylor) came up with 7 points and 9 rebounds and the other American import guard Javon Greene (193-1999, college: S.Florida) added 13 points respectively for LTH Castings in the defeat. Krka have an impressive series of fifteen victories in a row. They maintain first place with 15-0 record. Newly promoted LTH Castings stay at the bottom position with 12 games lost. Krka will play against Hopsi Polzela (#8) on the road in the next round and are hoping to win another game. LTH Castings will play against Sentjur and hope to get back on the winning track.
Top scorers:
Krka: J.Span 14+3reb+5ast, L.Stergar 13+7reb+2ast, M.Skedelj 12+6reb, C.Miha 11+4reb+1ast, M.Vucic 10+9reb+2ast, J.Robert 10+11reb
LTH Castings: J.Greene 13+4reb, R.Rodic 7+6reb, S.Bilic 7+5reb+1ast, M.Kegler 7+9reb+2ast, T.Jugovic 7+1ast, F.Nace 5+1reb

gschID: 1011239

Rogaska – Sencur Gor. 76-80

gschID: 1011240

Sentjur – Terme Olimia 72-81

There was a small surprise when sixth ranked Terme Olimia (7-8) defeated on the road 4th placed Sentjur (7-8) 81-72 on Saturday. Sentjur was trailing by 1 point at halftime but managed to get 4-point lead after three quarters before a 26-13 charge of Terme Olimia, which allowed them to win the game. Terme Olimia outrebounded Sentjur 43-31 including 31 on the defensive glass. The best player for the winners was Igor Struger (204-2001) who had a double-double by scoring 10 points and 15 rebounds. Guard Ziga Svigelj (194-1997) chipped in 14 points and 7 rebounds. Four Terme Olimia players scored in double figures. Terme Olimia’s coach Davor Brecko allowed to play the deep bench players saving starting five for next games. At the other side the best for losing team was forward Tim Tomazic (197-1999) who recorded 25 points and 9 rebounds (on 8-of-10 shooting from the field) and Rok Nemanic (192-2001) added 15 points and 5 rebounds respectively. Terme Olimia moved-up to fourth place, which they share with Sentjur and Rogaska. Sentjur lost their sixth game in a row. Terme Olimia will meet at home Zlatorog (#9) in the next round which should be theoretically an easy game. Sentjur will play against LTH Castings (#10) in Skofja Loka and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Terme Olimia: S.Atanackovic 16+6reb+2ast, S.Cebular 14+5reb+4ast, Z.Svigelj 14+7reb+3ast, S.Igor 10+15reb, S.Gasper 9+2reb+4ast, N.Strnad 6+1reb
Sentjur: T.Tomazic 25+9reb+3ast, R.Nemanic 15+5reb+1ast, J.Craig 13+3reb, T.Dunn-Martin 8+4reb+4ast, S.Glogovac 6+4reb+2ast, N.Zupan 5+5reb+5ast

gschID: 1011241

Ilirija – Hopsi Polzela 95-84

The game in Ljubljana was also quite interesting. 7th ranked Hopsi Polzela (5-10) played at the court of eighth ranked Ilirija (6-9). Ilirija defeated Hopsi Polzela 95-84 on Monday. The game was mostly controlled by Ilirija. Hopsi Polzela managed to win fourth quarter 28-21. But it was not enough to take a lead and get a victory that evening. They made 19-of-24 free shots (79.2 percent) during the game. The best player for the winners was Bosnian point guard Adnan Arslanagic (183-1997) who scored 16 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists. Forward Marko Pajic (205-1992) chipped in 13 points and 4 assists. At the other side the best for losing team was Serbian center Milojko Vasilic (207-1989, agency: 011 Sports) who recorded 19 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists (on 9-of-11 shooting from the field) and guard Jure Pelko (189-1990) added 18 points respectively. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. The victory was the fourth consecutive win for Ilirija. They moved-up to seventh place. Hopsi Polzela lost their third game in a row. They dropped to the eighth position with ten games lost. Ilirija will meet higher ranked Sencur Gor. (#3) in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Hopsi Polzela will play against the league’s leader Krka (#1) where they are definitely not considered as a favorite in this game either.
Top scorers:
Ilirija: O.Anej 16+2reb, A.Adnan 16+6reb+7ast, M.Pajic 13+3reb+4ast, A.Shashkov 13+5reb+1ast, K.Jaka 8+2reb+1ast, D.Ziga 7
Hopsi Polzela: M.Vasilic 19+8reb+4ast, J.Pelko 18+2reb+3ast, G.Ozbej 15+1reb+3ast, J.Besedic 12+8reb+2ast, I.Goltnik 7+3reb+1ast, M.Vranjkovic 6+3reb+2ast