Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.
The most interesting game of round 17 was a derby match between two teams from Serbia. The game took place in Beograd where first ranked Crvena Zvezda won against host FMP BG (12-5) 99-84. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of FMP BG. Crvena Zvezda made 28-of-32 free shots (87.5 percent) during the game. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 21 assists. 28 personal fouls committed by FMP BG helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. Bosnian-Serbian forward Dalibor Ilic (202-2000) orchestrated the victory by scoring 16 points (on 7-of-9 shooting from the field). Swingman Stefan Lazarevic (198-1996) contributed with 14 points for the winners. Lithuanian guard Paulius Valinskas (191-1995) answered with 22 points and 5 assists (was perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line) for FMP BG. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Crvena Zvezda (15-1) have an impressive series of eleven victories in a row. Defending Serbian champion maintains first place. FMP BG at the other side keeps the fourth position with five games lost. Crvena Zvezda are looking forward to face Igokea (#12) in Aleksandrovac in the next round which should be an easy win for them. FMP BG will play on the road against Buducnost (#5) in Podgorica and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Very important is a home loss of third ranked Slovenian Cedevita Ol. (12-4) against fifth ranked Montenegrin Buducnost (11-6) on Sunday night. Host Cedevita Ol. was crushed by Buducnost in Ljubljana 80-58. Canadian guard Trae Bell-Haynes (188-1995, college: Vermont, agency: BeoBasket) stepped up and scored 21 points for the winners and Erick Green chipped in 12 points. Buducnost’s coach felt very confident that he used 11 players and allowed the starting five to rest. Center Alen Omic (216-1992, agency: BeoBasket) responded with 15 points and 7 rebounds. Defending Montenegrin champion maintains fifth place with 11-6 record. Defending Slovenian champion Cedevita Ol. keeps the third position with four games lost. Buducnost will play against higher ranked FMP BG (#4) in Beograd in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Cedevita Ol. will play on the road against MZT Skopje and hopes to get back on the winning track.
The game between 8th ranked Croatian Cibona (6-11) and ninth ranked Serbian Mega BG (7-10) in Zagreb on Sunday ended with biggest points difference. Guests from Beograd outscored Cibona 106-72. Malcolm Cazalon nailed 19 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists for the winning side. Marko Bakovic came up with 8 points for Cibona in the defeat. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. The victory was the fourth consecutive win for Mega BG. They moved-up to eighth place. Cibona lost their fourth game in a row. Defending Croatian champion dropped to the ninth position with 11 games lost. They share it with Split. Mega BG’s supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will face at home their local rival from Beograd Partizan.
There were no big surprises in other games of round 17: Split beat Igokea on the road 92-88. Partizan won against Mornar on its own court 92-74. Bottom-ranked MZT Skopje unfortunately lost to SC Derby in Podgorica 85-103. Zadar managed to beat Borac CA at home 85-75.
The most impressive performance of 17th round was 22 points and 8 rebounds by Luka Bozic of Zadar.
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Cedevita Ol. – Buducnost 58-80
Very important is a home loss of third ranked Slovenian Cedevita Ol. (12-4) against fifth ranked Montenegrin Buducnost (11-6) on Sunday night. Host Cedevita Ol. was crushed by Buducnost in Ljubljana 80-58. Canadian guard Trae Bell-Haynes (188-1995, college: Vermont, agency: BeoBasket) stepped up and scored 21 points for the winners and American guard Erick Green (190-1991, college: Virginia Tech) chipped in 12 points. Buducnost’s coach felt very confident that he used 11 players and allowed the starting five to rest. Center Alen Omic (216-1992, agency: BeoBasket) responded with 15 points and 7 rebounds and American guard Josh Adams (188-1993, college: Wyoming) scored 12 points. Defending Montenegrin champion maintains fifth place with 11-6 record. Defending Slovenian champion Cedevita Ol. keeps the third position with four games lost. Buducnost will play against higher ranked FMP BG (#4) in Beograd in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Cedevita Ol. will play on the road against MZT Skopje and hopes to get back on the winning track.
Top scorers:
Buducnost: T.Bell-Haynes 21+1reb+2ast, E.Green 12+3reb+2ast, C.Reynolds 9+3reb, E.Atic 8+3reb, J.O’Brien 6+3reb+1ast, P.Popovic 6+1reb+4ast
Cedevita Ol.: A.Omic 15+7reb+1ast, Y.Ferrell 13+2reb+3ast, J.Adams 12+3reb+3ast, E.Muric 6+4reb, A.Alibegovic 5+4reb+1ast, R.Radovic 4+2reb
gschID: 990731
Cibona – Mega BG 72-106
The game between 8th ranked Croatian Cibona (6-11) and ninth ranked Serbian Mega BG (7-10) in Zagreb on Sunday ended with biggest points difference. Guests from Beograd outscored Cibona 106-72. Mega BG made 26-of-29 free shots (89.7 percent) during the game. Mega BG outrebounded Cibona 37-23 including a 30-14 advantage in defensive rebounds. They shot the lights out from three sinking 12 long-distance shots on high 54.5 percentage. Mega BG looked well-organized offensively handing out 27 assists. French Malcolm Cazalon (198-2001, agency: BeoBasket) nailed 19 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists for the winning side and Croatian Matej Rudan (208-2001, agency: BeoBasket) accounted for 21 points and 5 rebounds (perfect from the field making all seven shots !!!). Five Mega BG players scored in double figures. Marko Bakovic (205-1993) came up with 8 points and Serbian Aleksandar Aranitovic (195-1998) added 12 points respectively for Cibona in the defeat. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. The victory was the fourth consecutive win for Mega BG. They moved-up to eighth place. Cibona lost their fourth game in a row. Defending Croatian champion dropped to the ninth position with 11 games lost. They share it with Split. Mega BG’s supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will face at home their local rival from Beograd Partizan.
Top scorers:
Mega BG: M.Rudan 21+5reb+2ast, M.Cazalon 19+5reb+7ast, D.Brankovic 18+7reb+1ast, A.Uskokovic 17+5reb+2ast, D.Nikola 13+4reb+8ast, G.Andrija 8+6reb
Cibona: A.Aranitovic 12+2reb, F.Bundovic 10+2reb+1ast, L.Mazalin 9+1reb+1ast, M.Bakovic 8+4reb+2ast, I.Perasovic 8+3reb, K.Ljubicic 7+5reb+1ast
gschID: 990732
FMP BG – Crvena Zvezda 84-99
The most interesting game of round 17 was a derby match between two teams from Serbia. The game took place in Beograd where first ranked Crvena Zvezda won against host FMP BG (12-5) 99-84. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of FMP BG. Crvena Zvezda made 28-of-32 free shots (87.5 percent) during the game. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 21 assists. 28 personal fouls committed by FMP BG helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. Bosnian-Serbian forward Dalibor Ilic (202-2000) orchestrated the victory by scoring 16 points (on 7-of-9 shooting from the field). Swingman Stefan Lazarevic (198-1996) contributed with 14 points for the winners. Four Crvena Zvezda players scored in double figures. Lithuanian guard Paulius Valinskas (191-1995) answered with 22 points and 5 assists (was perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line) and Nikola Manojlovic (201-2002, agency: Octagon Europe) added 8 points and 5 rebounds in the effort for FMP BG. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Crvena Zvezda (15-1) have an impressive series of eleven victories in a row. Defending Serbian champion maintains first place. FMP BG at the other side keeps the fourth position with five games lost. Crvena Zvezda are looking forward to face Igokea (#12) in Aleksandrovac in the next round which should be an easy win for them. FMP BG will play on the road against Buducnost (#5) in Podgorica and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Crvena Zvezda: D.Ilic 16+3reb, O.Dobric 15+1reb+2ast, S.Lazarevic 14+4reb, J.Holland 10+2reb+3ast, N.Nedovic 10+1reb+1ast, F.Petrusev 9+2reb+3ast
FMP BG: P.Valinskas 22+1reb+5ast, B.Beech 11+2reb, S.Nikola 8+2reb+1ast, N.Manojlovic 8+5reb+2ast, C.Jenkins 7+1reb+2ast, E.Izundu 6+4reb+1ast
gschID: 990733
Igokea – Split 88-92
We could consider it a predictable result in the game between close teams when twelfth ranked Croatian Split (6-11) beat 11th ranked Bosnian Igokea (5-11) in Aleksandrovac 92-88 on Saturday. Split made 21-of-23 free shots (91.3 percent) during the game. Guard Dominik Mavra (195-1994) nailed 24 points and 6 assists (was perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line !!!) for the winning side and American Shannon Shorter (193-1989, college: N.Texas) accounted for 17 points and 5 rebounds. Four Split players scored in double figures. Serbian forward Nikola Tanaskovic (204-1997, agency: BeoBasket) came up with 19 points and 7 rebounds and Serbian Dragan Milosavljevic (198-1989, agency: BeoBasket) added 16 points and 4 assists respectively for Igokea in the defeat. Igokea’s coach tried various players’ combinations and tested in total eleven players in this game, but that didn’t help. Split moved-up to ninth place, which they share with Cibona. Igokea lost their seventh game in a row. Defending Bosnian champion keeps the eleventh position with 11 games lost. They share it with Mornar. Split will meet at home higher ranked Zadar (#6) in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Igokea will play against the league’s leader Crvena Zvezda (#1) and will have a slim chance for a victory.
Top scorers:
Split: D.Mavra 24+2reb+6ast, T.Nelson 18+3reb+4ast, S.Shorter 17+5reb+3ast, L.Sullivan 14+6reb, M.Kalajzic 9+2reb+1ast, L.Runjic 8+2reb+2ast
Igokea: N.Tanaskovic 19+7reb, D.Milosavljevic 16+4reb+4ast, K.Kondic 13+2reb+1ast, H.Delalic 9+3reb+1ast, N.Maric 8+3reb, B.Crawford 6+1reb+3ast
gschID: 990734
Partizan – Mornar 92-74
Very expected game when 11th ranked Montenegrin Mornar (5-11) lost to second ranked Serbian Partizan (15-2) in Beograd 74-92 on Sunday. Partizan made 17-of-21 free shots (81.0 percent) during the game. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 24 assists. Power forward Alen Smailagic (208-2000) nailed 15 points and 7 rebounds (on 6-of-7 shooting from the field) for the winning side and guard Aleksa Avramovic (192-1994, agency: BeoBasket) accounted for 13 points and 8 assists. Five Partizan players scored in double figures. Partizan’s coach used an eleven-player rotation and allowed the starting five to get some rest. Slovenian Gregor Glas (195-2001) came up with 20 points and 5 rebounds and American forward Christian Jones (201-1993, college: UNLV, agency: BeoBasket) added 15 points and 8 rebounds respectively for Mornar in the defeat. The victory was the seventh consecutive win for Partizan. They maintain second place with 15-2 record having just one point less than leader Crvena Zvezda. Loser Mornar keeps the eleventh position with 11 games lost. They share it with Igokea. Partizan’s supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will travel locally in Beograd to the arena Mega BG.
Top scorers:
Partizan: I.Papapetrou 19+2ast, A.Smailagic 15+7reb+3ast, Z.LeDay 14+6reb+1ast, A.Avramovic 13+3reb+8ast, D.Andjusic 10+2reb+4ast, U.Trifunovic 9+4reb+3ast
Mornar: G.Glas 20+5reb+1ast, C.Jones 15+8reb+1ast, P.Vujacic 9+1ast, M.Kovacevic 8+2reb, R.Djokovic 7+2reb+5ast, A.Vrankovic 6+4reb+2ast
gschID: 990735
SC Derby – MZT Skopje 103-85
Very predictable result when seventh ranked Montenegrin SC Derby (8-9) won against bottom-ranked North Macedonian MZT Skopje (2-15) in Podgorica 103-85 on Saturday. SC Derby dominated down low during the game scoring 64 of its points in the paint compared to MZT Skopje’s 36. They outrebounded MZT Skopje 39-25 including a 29-14 advantage in defensive rebounds. Serbian forward Danilo Tasic (207-1993, agency: BeoBasket) nailed a double-double by scoring 15 points and 11 rebounds for the winning side and American point guard Loren Jackson (173-1996, college: Akron) accounted for 20 points and 5 assists. Five SC Derby players scored in double figures. Serbian Strahinja Micovic (205-1992) came up with 20 points and 6 rebounds and American point guard Mike Caffey (183-1993, college: LBSU, agency: Players Group) added 20 points respectively for MZT Skopje in the defeat. Both coaches tested many bench players and allowed the starting five to get some rest. SC Derby maintains seventh place with 8-9 record. MZT Skopje lost their ninth game in a row. Defending North Macedonian champion stay at the bottom position with 15 games lost. SC Derby will meet Mornar (#11) in the next round. MZT Skopje will play against Cedevita Ol. and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
SC Derby: L.Jackson 20+2reb+5ast, E.Hadzibegovic 16+6reb, D.Tasic 15+11reb+2ast, A.Slavkovic 15+4reb+2ast, F.Magee 11+2reb+5ast, V.Bacovic 10+5reb+1ast
MZT Skopje: M.Caffey 20+4reb+2ast, S.Micovic 20+6reb+2ast, V.Stojanovski 11+2ast, D.Stojanovski 10+4reb, A.Bursac 9+5reb+2ast, A.Abu 8+4reb+1ast
gschID: 990736
Zadar – Borac CA 85-75
Not a big story in a game when 13th ranked Serbian Borac CA (4-13) lost on the road to sixth ranked Croatian Zadar (9-8) 85-75 on Friday. Zadar made 19-of-25 free shots (76.0 percent) during the game. Luka Bozic (200-1996) nailed 22 points and 8 rebounds for the winning side and Bosnian forward Dario Dreznjak (204-1998) accounted for 19 points and 6 rebounds. Center Djordje Gagic (210-1990, agency: Octagon Europe) came up with 20 points and 9 rebounds and Nemanja Todorovic (206-1991) added 14 points and 6 rebounds respectively for Borac CA in the defeat. Zadar maintains sixth place with 9-8 record. Loser Borac CA keeps the thirteenth position with 13 games lost. Zadar will meet Split (#9) on the road in the next round. Borac CA will play against Cibona (#10) and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Zadar: L.Bozic 22+8reb+3ast, D.Dreznjak 19+6reb+1ast, A.Jordano 12+4reb+7ast, L.Santelj 8+2reb, J.Davis 7+6reb+1ast, K.Zganec 7+2reb+3ast
Borac CA: D.Gagic 20+9reb+1ast, H.Hale 14+3reb+2ast, N.Todorovic 14+6reb+2ast, S.Lesic 7+6reb, U.Carapic 6+6reb, A.Novakovic 6+5reb+1ast
gschID: 990737
Tags : DALIBOR ILIC, KK CRVENA ZVEZDA MERIDIANBET BEOGRAD, ABA LEAGUE BASKETBALL
