Slovenia – Liga Nova KBM Round 1 of Regular Season

Kyle Casey The Regular Season in Telemach League just started. Helios smashed Tajfun in Domzale 85-54. The game without a history. Helios led from the first minutes and controlled entire game increasing their lead in each quarter. They dominated down low during the game scoring 52 of its points in the paint compared to Tajfun’s 22. They outrebounded Tajfun 38-22 including a 26-15 advantage in defensive rebounds. Helios looked well-organized offensively handing out 25 assists comparing to just 11 passes made by Tajfun’s players. American forward Kyle Casey (201-89, college: Harvard) stepped up and scored 17 points and 7 rebounds for the winners and guard Luka Voncina (193-91, college: Charlotte) chipped in 11 points. At the losing side American center Khaliq Spicer (206-94, college: Kent St., agency: Court Side) responded with a double-double by scoring 16 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Tajfun will play next round against strong Lastovka trying to get back on the winning streak. Helios will try to continue on its current victory against Zlatorog in Lasko. The most crucial game of the last round was a loss of Rogaska (0-1) in Podcetrtek. Visitors were rolled over by Terme Olimia (1-0) 77-58. Power forward Anze Cerkovnik (200-86) nailed 19 points and 8 rebounds for the winning side and Mensud Julevic accounted for 12 points and 11 rebounds (made all of his seven free throws). Bosnian power forward Dragan Djuranovic (203-88) came up with 12 points for Rogaska in the defeat. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Terme Olimia will play against Krka (#3) in Novo Mesto in the next round, which may be the game of the day. Rogaska will play at home against LTH Castings (#7) and it may be a tough game between close rivals. Quite upsetting was LTH Castings’ 30-point home defeat in a game versus Lastovka. Gezim Morina fired 16 points and 5 rebounds for the winners. Matic Jesenicnik produced 12 points for lost side. 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. Lastovka will meet Tajfun (#11) in the next round and are hoping to win another game. LTH Castings will play against Rogaska (#9) in Rogaska Slatina and it may be a tough game between close rivals. And what about another game where Hopsi Polzela (#4) beat Sencur Gor. 91-80 on the road. Worth to mention a great performance of Alen Hodzic who helped to win the game recording 21 points and 5 assists. Hopsi Polzela’s next round opponent will be Un.Olimpija (#12) in Ljubljana which should be an easy win for them. Sencur Gor. will play on the road against Portoroz (#8) and it may be a tough game between close rivals. An interesting game took place in Lasko where Portoroz (0-1) was upset on the court of Zlatorog (1-0) 93-68 on Saturday. Urban Durnik stepped up and scored 17 points and 6 rebounds for the winners. Since the result was very predictable, it gave the chance for the coaches to test many bench players and allowed the starting five to get some rest. Zlatorog will face Helios in Domzale in the next round and it will be for sure the game of the week. Portoroz will play at home against Sencur Gor. (#10) and hope to win that game. In the last game of round 1 Krka won against Un.Olimpija on the opponent’s court 91-80. The most impressive stats of the last round was 10 points and 10 rebounds by Bojan Radulovic of Lastovka.Terme Olimia – Rogaska 77-58The most crucial game of the last round was a loss of Rogaska (0-1) in Podcetrtek. Visitors were rolled over by Terme Olimia (1-0) 77-58. The game was mostly controlled by Terme Olimia. Rogaska was better in third quarter 26-17. But it was not enough to take a lead and get a victory that evening. They outrebounded Rogaska 49-24 including a 32-15 advantage in defensive rebounds. Power forward Anze Cerkovnik (200-86) nailed 19 points and 8 rebounds for the winning side and naturalized Montenegrin Mensud Julevic (200-85) accounted for 12 points and 11 rebounds (made all of his seven free throws). Four Terme Olimia players scored in double figures. Bosnian power forward Dragan Djuranovic (203-88) came up with 12 points and guard Miha Fon (194-84) added 11 points respectively for Rogaska in the defeat. …

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