Basketball News, Scores, Stats, Analysis, Standings

Isaiah Washington

The Regular Season in ABA Druga Liga just started. Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

Montenegrin Lovcen smashed North Macedonian Pelister in Cetinje 108-85. Lovcen made 23-of-28 free shots (82.1 percent) during the game. They also forced 19 Pelister turnovers. 26 personal fouls committed by Pelister helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. American guard Isaiah Washington (185-98, college: LBSU) stepped up and scored 18 points and 6 assists for the winners and Swedish guard Elijah Clarance (194-98, college: Illinois St.) chipped in 20 points and 4 assists. At the losing side Serbian forward Nikola Malesevic (202-89, college: URI) responded with 21 points. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Pelister will play next round against Sutjeska trying to get back on the winning streak. Lovcen will try to continue on its current victory against Osijek on the road.
The most crucial game of the last round was a loss of Slovenian Helios Suns in Domzale. Hosts were defeated by Montenegrin Podgorica 95-90. Serbian center Nikola Jankovic (206-94, agency: BeoBasket) nailed 28 points and 8 rebounds (on 11-of-14 shooting from the field) for the winning side and Marko Kovacevic accounted for 21 points and 6 rebounds. Tadej Ferme (187-91, agency: PEPI SPORT) came up with 22 points for Helios Suns in the defeat. Helios Suns’ coach rotated ten players in this game, but that didn’t help. Podgorica will play against Borac BL in Banja Luka in the next round which should be theoretically an easy game. Helios Suns will play at home against Spars to get more than just one victory in their record.
One of the most interesting games of round 1 was a derby match between two teams from Serbia. The game took place in Novi Sad where Zlatibor won against host Vojvodina NS 79-74. LaQuinton Ross fired a double-double by scoring 31 points and 11 rebounds for the winners. Zlatibor’s coach used an eleven-player rotation in such tough game. Petar Rakicevic produced 17 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists for lost side. Zlatibor will meet at home Siroki in the next round. Vojvodina NS will play against Mladost ZE in Zemun and hope to win that game.

There were no shocking results in the rest of the games of round 1: Osijek lost to Spars on the opponent’s court 74-82. Sutjeska managed to outperform Rogaska in a home game 79-73. Mladost ZE lost to MZT Skopje on the road 90-97. Siroki lost to Borac BL on its own court 69-94.
The most impressive stats of the last round was 18 points and 6 assists by Diante Baldwin of Borac BL.

Helios Suns – Podgorica 90-95

The most crucial game of the last round was a loss of Slovenian Helios Suns in Domzale. Hosts were defeated by Montenegrin Podgorica 95-90. Podgorica dominated down low during the game scoring 50 of its points in the paint compared to Helios Suns’ 28. They outrebounded Helios Suns 37-25 including 16 on the offensive glass. Podgorica players were unselfish on offense dishing 24 assists. Helios Suns were plagued by 27 personal fouls down the stretch. Serbian center Nikola Jankovic (206-94, agency: BeoBasket) nailed 28 points and 8 rebounds (on 11-of-14 shooting from the field) for the winning side and Serbian swingman Marko Kovacevic (195-99) accounted for 21 points and 6 rebounds. Four Podgorica players scored in double figures. Tadej Ferme (187-91, agency: PEPI SPORT) came up with 22 points and forward Blaz Mahkovic (201-90, agency: Interperformances) added 16 points respectively for Helios Suns in the defeat. Helios Suns’ coach rotated ten players in this game, but that didn’t help. Podgorica will play against Borac BL in Banja Luka in the next round which should be theoretically an easy game. Helios Suns will play at home against Spars to get more than just one victory in their record.
Top scorers:
Helios Suns: T.Ferme 22+1reb+1ast, B.Mahkovic 16+4reb+2ast, C.Ervin II 14+1reb+5ast, V.Jois 9+2reb, M.Pasajlic 9+1ast, A.Bratec 8+1reb
Podgorica: N.Jankovic 28+8reb+1ast, M.Kovacevic 21+6reb+1ast, Z.Paunovic 13+3reb+3ast, O.Carapic 11+3reb+4ast, I.Sejfic 8+11reb+2ast, N.Korac 7+1reb+9ast

gschID: 920549

Spars – Osijek 82-74

Spars used a home court advantage and beat the opponent from Osijek 82-74 on Tuesday night. Montenegrin guard Masan Vrbica (187-94, agency: BeoBasket) fired 19 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 steals (on 7-of-9 shooting from the field) for the winners. Serbian guard Arijan Lakic (197-0) chipped in 20 points and 7 rebounds. Australian-South Sudanese guard Jackson Makoi (196-0, college: Daytona St.) produced 15 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists and Bosnian center Djordje Topolovic (208-1) added 13 points and 9 rebounds respectively for lost side. Five Osijek players scored in double figures. Spars will meet Helios Suns in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Osijek will play against Lovcen and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
Osijek: M.Grusanovic 18+1reb+1ast, J.Makoi 15+8reb+6ast, D.Topolovic 13+9reb+3ast, K.Kuany 10+6reb+3ast, B.Marko 10+8reb, V.Porobic 8+3reb+3ast
Spars: A.Lakic 20+7reb+3ast, M.Vrbica 19+5reb+7ast, U.Durnik 9+6reb+1ast, R.Abell 9+2reb+3ast, N.Nikolic 8+2reb+2ast, T.Burch-Manning 6+2reb

gschID: 920550

Lovcen – Pelister 108-85

gschID: 920551

Sutjeska – Rogaska 79-73

Sutjeska used a home court advantage and defeated the opponent from Rogaska Slatina 79-73 on Tuesday night. Forward Vladimir Tomasevic (201-92) fired 26 points and 8 rebounds for the winners. Power forward Radosav Spasojevic (204-92, agency: PEPI SPORT) chipped in 16 points and 5 rebounds. Sutjeska’s coach used a ten-player rotation which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. American guard Terry Armstrong (198-0, college: Arizona, agency: PEPI SPORT) produced 20 points and Petar Vujacic (196-0) added 16 points and 4 assists respectively for lost side. Four Rogaska players scored in double figures. Sutjeska will meet Pelister in the next round which should be an easy win for them. Rogaska will play against MZT Skopje and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
Rogaska: T.Armstrong 20+4reb+2ast, P.Vujacic 16+2reb+4ast, M.Primorac 14+6reb, D.Bratoz 10+4reb+3ast, N.Zupan 7+2reb+1ast, J.Dornik 4+6reb+1ast
Sutjeska: V.Tomasevic 26+8reb+3ast, R.Spasojevic 16+5reb+3ast, V.Ilija 11+2reb+2ast, A.Zahiragic 8+2reb+4ast, J.Vojinovic 7+3reb+2ast, I.Goranovic 3+1reb

gschID: 920552

MZT Skopje – Mladost ZE 97-90

MZT Skopje used a home court advantage and won against the opponent from Zemun 97-90 on Tuesday night. MZT Skopje outrebounded Mladost ZE 41-27 including 16 on the offensive glass. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 23 assists. Swingman Damjan Robev (194-97) fired 30 points (on 9-of-11 shooting from the field) for the winners. Montenegrin Nemanja Milosevic (204-87, college: WKU, agency: 011 Sports) chipped in 20 points and 9 rebounds. MZT Skopje’s coach used a ten-player rotation which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Forward Matija Belic (200-3) produced 23 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists and American point guard Otis Livingston II (180-96, college: GMU) added 19 points respectively for lost side. MZT Skopje will meet Rogaska in the next round which should be an easy win for them. Mladost ZE will play against Vojvodina NS and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Mladost ZE: B.Matija 23+5reb+4ast, O.Livingston II 19+1reb+2ast, A.Bojic 11+3reb+2ast, D.Milosavljevic 8+1reb+6ast, S.Gavrilovic 8+5reb+1ast, M.Sekulovic 8+6reb+1ast
MZT Skopje: D.Robev 30+4reb+2ast, N.Milosevic 20+9reb+1ast, R.Rikic 10+9reb+3ast, D.Stojanovski 9+6reb, J.Davis 8+7reb+4ast, B.Krstevski 7+1reb+2ast

gschID: 920553

Vojvodina NS – Zlatibor 74-79

One of the most interesting games of round 1 was a derby match between two teams from Serbia. The game took place in Novi Sad where Zlatibor won against host Vojvodina NS 79-74. Zlatibor made 18-of-19 free shots (94.7 percent) during the game. American forward LaQuinton Ross (203-92, college: Ohio St.) fired a double-double by scoring 31 points and 11 rebounds for the winners. Dusan Kutlesic (200-94) chipped in 19 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists (made all of his nine free throws !!!). Zlatibor’s coach used an eleven-player rotation in such tough game. Guard Petar Rakicevic (204-95, agency: Alti Sport) produced 17 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists and American point guard Nickolas Neal (185-88, college: Purdue-NCent.) added 17 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists respectively for lost side. Four Vojvodina NS players scored in double figures. Zlatibor will meet at home Siroki in the next round. Vojvodina NS will play against Mladost ZE in Zemun and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
Vojvodina NS: P.Rakicevic 17+7reb+5ast, N.Neal 17+7reb+4ast, D.Beslac 11+9reb+1ast, N.Gacesa 10+2reb+2ast, V.Vucetic 6, A.Zaric 6+3reb+1ast
Zlatibor: L.Ross 31+11reb+2ast, D.Kutlesic 19+6reb+8ast, L.Joksimovic 9+8reb, M.Nikolic 8+4reb+1ast, A.Cabrilo 6+1reb, N.Protic 5+2reb+2ast

gschID: 920554

Siroki – Borac BL 69-94

There was a small surprise in Siroki Brijeg where Borac BL outscored Siroki 94-69 on Monday. Borac BL forced 23 Siroki turnovers. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 21 assists. American point guard Diante Baldwin (180-94, college: UNCG) fired 18 points and 6 assists for the winners. Point guard Drasko Knezevic (185-93) chipped in 13 points and 5 assists. Four Borac BL players scored in double figures. Croatian point guard Luka Bozic (200-96) produced 13 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists and Croatian Ive Ivanov (200-85, agency: PEPI SPORT) added 15 points respectively for lost side. 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. Borac BL will meet Podgorica on the road in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Siroki will play against Zlatibor in Cajetina and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
Siroki: I.Ivanov 15+4reb+2ast, L.Bozic 13+5reb+6ast, M.Vucic 8+2reb, M.Scott 8+3reb+2ast, J.Bilinovac 7+3reb+3ast, M.Colak 6+4reb+1ast
Borac BL: D.Baldwin 18+3reb+6ast, S.Gavric 15+1reb, D.Knezevic 13+3reb+5ast, A.Jankovic 11+3reb+3ast, J.Cunningham 9+4reb+2ast, S.Kenic 8+1reb+2ast