Slovenia – 2SKL Round 5: Sezana defeats Celje in the game between Top 4 teams

MilanKovacevic An interesting game for Sezana (5-0) which hosted in Sezana 3rd placed Celje (3-2). Leader Sezana managed to get a 12-point victory 64-52. The game was mostly controlled by Sezana. Celje managed to win fourth quarter 17-4. But it was not enough to take a lead and get a victory that evening. They dominated on the defensive end, holding Celje to just 3 points in third quarter. They outrebounded Celje 46-23 including a 20-6 advantage in offensive rebounds. Milan Kovacevic (200-96) orchestrated the victory with a double-double by scoring 15 points and 16 rebounds. Power forward Vito Furlan (198-90) contributed with 8 points and 14 rebounds for the winners. point guard Tadej Kostomaj (187-87) answered with 11 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists for Celje. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Undefeated Sezana have an impressive series of five victories in a row. They keep a position of league leader, which they share with Ilirija. Celje at the other side dropped to the fifth place with two games lost. Sezana is looking forward to face Grosuplje (#6) in Grosuplje in the next round which should be theoretically an easy game. Celje will play on the road against the league’s leader Ilirija in Ljubljana and is hoping to prove to their supporters that the loss was just an accident. 2SKL top team – Ilirija (5-0) managed to deliver another win. This time they beat eighth ranked Triglav (1-4) in Kranj 83-70. Bosnian forward Jasmin Hukic (204-79, agency: BeoBasket) stepped up and scored 25 points and 7 rebounds for the winners and Goran Jagodnik chipped in 20 points and 5 rebounds. Guard Rok Jakobcic (199-91) responded with 10 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists. The victory was the fifth consecutive win for Ilirija. Newly promoted Ilirija maintains first place with 5-0 record, which they share with Sezana. Triglav lost their fourth game in a row. They dropped to the ninth position with four games lost. They share it with Elektra and Crnomelj. Ilirija will play against Celje (#5) at home in the next round. Triglav will play against Parklji (#8) in Bezigrad and it may be a tough game between close rivals. Bottom-ranked Branik is still unable to win any game. This time they could not use their home court advantage losing their fifth consecutive match to seventh ranked Parklji (2-3) 84-70 on Saturday evening. Ziga Doljak nailed a double-double by scoring 16 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists for the winning side. Marko Cej came up with 26 points and 4 assists for Branik in the defeat. Branik’s coach rotated twelve players and allowed the starting five to rest. Parklji maintains seventh place with 2-3 record, which they share with Pingvini. Branik lost their fifth game in a row. They still close the standings with five games lost. Parklji will meet at home Triglav (#10) in the next round. Branik will play against Pingvini in Ljubljana and hopes to get finally their first victory.A very interesting game took place in Crnomelj. It ended with only one-point home defeat of 9th ranked Crnomelj (1-4) to fourth ranked Plama Pur (4-1) 68-67 on Sunday evening. Guest team only slightly avoided a big embarassment. The best player for the winners was Robi Hrescak who scored 27 points and 5 rebounds (on 9-of-11 shooting from the field). Plama Pur moved-up to third place. Crnomelj at the other side keeps the ninth position with four games lost. Plama Pur’s next round opponent will be Elektra (#9) in Sostanj which should be theoretically an easy game. Crnomelj will play on the road against Konjice and hope to win that game. In the last game of round 5 Elektra was beaten by Pingvini on the road 96-88. The most impressive performance of 5th round was 28 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists by Sanel Bajramlic of Elektra.Crnomelj – Plama Pur 67-68A very interesting game took place in Crnomelj. It ended with only one-point home defeat of 9th ranked Crnomelj (1-4) to fourth ranked Plama Pur (4-1) 68-67 on Sunday evening. Guest team only slightly avoided a big embarassment. The guests took control from the first minutes by winning the initial quarter 24-16. But Crnomelj won second period …

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