Basketball News, Scores, Stats, Analysis, Standings

POSTED BY: Eurobasket News

Leon Santelj

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The game had a very big importance for second-ranked Helios Suns as it allowed them to take a leadership position. Helios Suns edged 4th placed Ilirija in Domzale 56-53. It ended at the same time the four-game winning streak of Ilirija. The hosts took control from the first minutes by winning first half. But Ilirija won third quarter 14-9. However it was not enough to take a lead and get a victory that evening. The game was decided in the last minutes when Helios Suns won last quarter 12-10. They also forced 22 Ilirija turnovers. The former international Leon Santelj (205-95, agency: PEPI SPORT) orchestrated the victory by scoring 12 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Australian forward Venkatesha Jois (203-93, college: EWU) contributed with 12 points and 5 rebounds for the winners. Sasa Ciani (205-3) answered with a double-double by scoring 12 points and 11 rebounds for Ilirija. As mentioned above they are alone now at the top position. Newly promoted Ilirija keeps the fourth place with six games lost. Ilirija will play next round against Hopsi Polzela trying to get back on the winning streak. Helios Suns will try to continue on its current victory against ninth ranked Triglav in Kranj.
Bottom-ranked Zlatorog managed to get a second victory. This time they won against ninth-ranked Triglav in Lasko 80-73. Swingman Jan Kellner (191-1) stepped up and scored 19 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists for the winners and Elvis Keric chipped in 20 points and 5 assists. Guard Jan Macek (194-1) responded with 18 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Zlatorog maintains tenth place with 2-15 record. Triglav lost sixth consecutive game. They keep the ninth position with 14 games lost. Zlatorog will play against higher ranked Terme Olimia (#5) in Podcetrtek in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Triglav will play at home against the league’s leader Helios Suns (#1) and will have a slim chance for a victory.
The game in Polzela was also quite interesting. Second ranked Krka (13-2) played at the court of 6th ranked Hopsi Polzela (6-10). Krka managed to secure a 4-point victory 78-74 on Wednesday. Rok Stipcevic nailed 29 points and 6 assists for the winning side. Krka’s coach Dalibor Damjanovic used a ten-player rotation in such tough game. Marko Vranjkovic came up with a double-double by scoring 11 points, 14 rebounds and 4 assists for Hopsi Polzela in the defeat. Krka maintains second place with 13-2 record behind leader Helios Suns. Hopsi Polzela lost third consecutive game. They dropped to the seventh position with ten games lost. Krka will meet at home Sencur Gor. (#3) in the next round, which may be the game of the day. Hopsi Polzela will play against Ilirija (#4) in Ljubljana and hope to secure a win.

There were no big surprises in other games of round 17: Rogaska beat Zlatorog on the road 89-81. Sentjur destroyed Triglav on its own court 119-87. Terme Olimia unfortunately lost to Sencur Gor. in Kranj 67-75.

Zlatorog – Triglav 80-73

Bottom-ranked Zlatorog managed to get a second victory. This time they won against ninth-ranked Triglav in Lasko 80-73. The hosts started the game with a very strong first quarter 22-13. But Triglav won second period 24-18. However it was not enough to take a lead and get a victory that evening. They outrebounded Triglav 42-21 including a 17-2 advantage in offensive rebounds. Swingman Jan Kellner (191-1) stepped up and scored 19 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists for the winners and guard Elvis Keric (193-98) chipped in 20 points and 5 assists. Guard Jan Macek (194-1) responded with 18 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists and swingman Dominik Praljak (191-1) scored 10 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. Four Triglav players scored in double figures. Zlatorog maintains tenth place with 2-15 record. Triglav lost sixth consecutive game. They keep the ninth position with 14 games lost. Zlatorog will play against higher ranked Terme Olimia (#5) in Podcetrtek in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Triglav will play at home against the league’s leader Helios Suns (#1) and will have a slim chance for a victory.
Top scorers:
Zlatorog: E.Keric 20+4reb+5ast, J.Kellner 19+6reb+4ast, M.Grusovnik 12+9reb+1ast, J.Copot 9+5reb+5ast, D.Tunstall 8+8reb+2ast, M.Miljkovic 6+4reb+1ast
Triglav: J.Macek 18+6reb+5ast, K.Smrekar 13+2reb, M.Miha 10+3reb, P.Dominik 10+5reb+6ast, U.Lovro 8+4reb+2ast, J.Heine 7+1reb+2ast

gschID: 964685

Hopsi Polzela – Krka 74-78

The game in Polzela was also quite interesting. Second ranked Krka (13-2) played at the court of 6th ranked Hopsi Polzela (6-10). Krka managed to secure a 4-point victory 78-74 on Wednesday. Hopsi Polzela trailed by 14 points after 3 quarters before a 22-12 run in the last quarter cut the deficit to 74-78 at the end of the game. Naturalized Croatian point guard Rok Stipcevic (186-86, agency: PEPI SPORT) nailed 29 points and 6 assists for the winning side and international Jan Kosi (204-96) accounted for 10 points and 8 rebounds. Krka’s coach Dalibor Damjanovic used a ten-player rotation in such tough game. Marko Vranjkovic (204-90) came up with a double-double by scoring 11 points, 14 rebounds and 4 assists and the former international guard Miha Vasl (192-92) added 18 points and 4 assists respectively for Hopsi Polzela in the defeat. Krka maintains second place with 13-2 record behind leader Helios Suns. Hopsi Polzela lost third consecutive game. They dropped to the seventh position with ten games lost. Krka will meet at home Sencur Gor. (#3) in the next round, which may be the game of the day. Hopsi Polzela will play against Ilirija (#4) in Ljubljana and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Krka: R.Stipcevic 29+4reb+6ast, L.Stergar 11+4reb+1ast, J.Kosi 10+8reb+2ast, M.Lapornik 9+1reb+2ast, H.French 7+5reb+1ast, M.Skedelj 5+3reb+1ast
Hopsi Polzela: M.Vasl 18+4reb+4ast, R.Basic 14+1reb, M.Vranjkovic 11+14reb+4ast, G.Ozbej 9+5reb, I.Goltnik 6+1reb, J.Besedic 6+3reb

gschID: 911783

Zlatorog – Rogaska 81-89

No shocking result in a game when sixth ranked Rogaska (7-9) beat bottom-ranked Zlatorog (2-15) in Lasko 89-81 on Friday. The guests trailed by 2 points at the halftime before their 42-32 charge in the second half, which allowed them to win the game. Rogaska dominated down low during the game scoring 62 of its points in the paint compared to Zlatorog’s 42. Strangely Zlatorog outrebounded Rogaska 40-28 including 26 on the defensive glass. Croatian center Mladen Primorac (210-90, agency: PEPI SPORT) nailed 20 points (perfect from the field making all eight shots !!!) for the winning side and American forward Ronald Jackson Jr (203-97, college: NC A&T) accounted for 12 points and 12 rebounds. Swingman Jan Kellner (191-1) came up with 16 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists and guard Jan Copot (199-1) added 15 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists respectively for Zlatorog in the defeat. Both teams had five players each who scored in double figures. Rogaska have a solid series of three victories in a row. They maintain sixth place with 7-9 record. Zlatorog at the other side stay at the bottom position with 15 games lost. Rogaska will meet at home Sentjur (#8) in the next round. Zlatorog will play against Terme Olimia in Podcetrtek and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Rogaska: P.Vujacic 21+3reb, M.Primorac 20+3reb+3ast, T.Armstrong 12+1reb+2ast, R.Jackson Jr. 12+12reb+2ast, D.Smith 10+4reb+3ast, D.Bratoz 10+3reb+5ast
Zlatorog: J.Kellner 16+9reb+4ast, J.Copot 15+9reb+4ast, D.Tunstall 15+12reb, E.Keric 11+3reb+5ast, M.Grusovnik 10+2reb+1ast, N.Dragan 8+2reb

gschID: 911781

Helios Suns – Ilirija 56-53

gschID: 966234

Sentjur – Triglav 119-87

The game between closely ranked teams ended with 9th ranked Triglav‘s (2-14) road loss to eighth ranked Sentjur (6-11) 87-119 on Saturday. The game was mostly controlled by Sentjur. Triglav managed to win fourth quarter 21-20. But it was not enough to take a lead and get a victory that evening. Sentjur shot 64.1 percent from the field. Sentjur outrebounded Triglav 35-20 including a 26-14 advantage in defensive rebounds. They shot the lights out from three sinking 22 long-distance shots on high 73.3 percentage. Sentjur looked well-organized offensively handing out 35 assists comparing to just 17 passes made by Triglav’s players. Serbian guard Svetozar Popovic (195-87, agency: Mansfield and Associates) nailed a double-double by scoring 13 points, 8 rebounds and 14 assists for the winning side and American forward Jonathan Holmes (204-92, college: Texas) accounted for 22 points (perfect behind the arc making all five shots). Sentjur’s coach Bostjan Kuhar felt very confident that he used entire bench which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Guard Jan Macek (194-1) came up with 21 points and power forward Lovro Urbiha (204-3) added 14 points and 7 rebounds (on 7-of-9 shooting from the field) respectively for Triglav in the defeat. Five Sentjur and four Triglav players scored in double figures. Sentjur maintains eighth place with 6-11 record. Triglav lost sixth consecutive game. They keep the ninth position with 14 games lost. Sentjur will meet higher ranked Rogaska (#6) in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Triglav will play against the league’s leader Helios Suns and will have a slim chance for a victory.
Top scorers:
Sentjur: J.Holmes 22+3reb+3ast, M.Rikalo 20+8ast, T.Tomazic 13+6reb+1ast, T.Bruncevic 13+1reb+1ast, D.Djapa 13+8reb, S.Popovic 13+8reb+14ast
Triglav: J.Macek 21+4reb+1ast, U.Lovro 14+7reb+3ast, P.Dominik 12+1reb+3ast, C.Crt 12+1reb+3ast, M.Miha 10+2reb, K.Smrekar 9+4reb+1ast

gschID: 911780

Sencur Gor. – Terme Olimia 75-67

Rather predictable result when third ranked Sencur Gor. (13-4) won against 5th ranked Terme Olimia (9-7) in Kranj 75-67 on Saturday. Terme Olimia was tied after three quarters but could not keep up in the last quarter eventually losing the game. Sencur Gor. made 19-of-20 free shots (95.0 percent) during the game. The former international center Hasan Rizvic (210-84) nailed 21 points, 5 rebounds and 4 blocks for the winning side and Bosnian forward Ramo Rizvic (203-87) accounted for 12 points and 5 rebounds (was perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line). Sencur Gor.’s coach used entire bench which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. The former international guard Sandi Cebular (194-86) came up with 16 points and 6 rebounds and Serbian center Milojko Vasilic (207-89, agency: 011 Sports) added 14 points and 6 rebounds respectively for Terme Olimia in the defeat. Four Terme Olimia players scored in double figures. Sencur Gor. maintains third place with 13-4 record behind leader Helios Suns. Terme Olimia at the other side keeps the fifth position with seven games lost. Sencur Gor. will meet league’s second-placed Krka in the next round and it will be for sure the game of the week. Terme Olimia will play against Zlatorog and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Sencur Gor.: H.Rizvic 21+5reb+2ast, R.Rizvic 12+5reb+2ast, D.Muric 10+5reb+4ast, N.Martincic 9+1reb+2ast, J.Rebec 6+4reb+3ast, E.Ahmedovic 6+4reb+1ast
Terme Olimia: S.Cebular 16+6reb+3ast, O.Williams 15+4reb+2ast, M.Vasilic 14+6reb+2ast, S.Atanackovic 11+7reb+1ast, N.Muratovic 5+2reb, N.Strnad 4+3reb+5ast