ABA League – Round 14: Cedevita edges Buducnost by two points

Ra’shadJames The most exciting game of round 14 in the Adriatic League took place in Podgorica. This derby game ended with only two-point home defeat of second-ranked Montenegrin Buducnost (10-4) to fourth ranked Croatian Cedevita (10-4) 86-84 in the game for the third place. The guests trailed by 8 points after first quarter, but they rallied back winning two of next three quarters and won the game by 2 points. Cedevita made 24-of-30 free shots (80.0 percent) during the game. 26 personal fouls committed by Buducnost helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. The best player for the winners was American guard Ra’shad James (188-90, college: Kaiser) who scored 16 points and 7 rebounds. Center Miro Bilan (213-89, agency: BeoBasket) chipped in 10 points and 11 rebounds. American guard Marcus Williams (191-85, college: Connecticut) produced 17 points and 7 assists for the hosts. Buducnost’s coach rotated ten players in this game, but that didn’t help. Cedevita have a solid three-game winning streak. Defending Croatian champion moved-up to third place, which they share with Cibona and Buducnost. Buducnost lost third consecutive game. Cedevita is looking forward to face league’s leader Crvena Zvezda in Beograd in the next round and it will be for sure the game of the week. Buducnost will play on the road against KK Zadar and is hoping to win this game. Bottom-ranked FYR Macedonian Karpos Sokoli managed to get the second consecutive victory. This time they outleveled eighth-ranked Slovenian Krka in Skopje 83-56. It’s especially surprising that the victory came too easily and 27-point difference suggests that Karpos Sokoli is in a good shape to leave the bottom place. Croatian forward Zoran Vrkic (203-87) orchestrated the victory by scoring 19 points and 6 rebounds (on 7-of-8 shooting from the field). Dragan Labovic contributed with 24 points (on 8-of-10 shooting from the field) for the winners. Karpos Sokoli’s coach felt very confident that he used entire bench which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. point guard Matic Rebec (181-95) replied with 8 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists for Krka. Karpos Sokoli (4-10) moved-up to tenth place, which they share with 4 other teams. Krka lost sixth consecutive game. They keep the eighth position with nine games lost. They share it with Zadar. Karpos Sokoli will play against higher ranked Igokea (#6) in Aleksandrovac in the next round and it may be quite challenging game. Krka will play at home against Un.Olimpija and it may be a tough game between close rivals. Serbian undefeated leader Crvena Zvezda delivered the fourteenth consecutive victory on Saturday night. This time they crushed 12th ranked FYR Macedonian MZT Skopje (4-10) 93-73. Stefan Jovic had a double-double by scoring 11 points and 10 assists to lead the charge for the winners. Crvena Zvezda’s coach let to play all 12 players and allowed the starting five to rest. Josh Scott responded with 21 points and 9 rebounds. Undefeated Crvena Zvezda (14-0) have an impressive 12-game winning streak. Defending Serbian champion maintains first position with a perfect record of 14 victories in a row. Defending FYR Macedonian champion MZT Skopje dropped to the tenth place with ten games lost. They share the position with 4 other teams. Crvena Zvezda will meet Cedevita (#4) in the next round. MZT Skopje will play against the league’s second-placed Partizan (#2) in Beograd and hope to secure a win. We should mention about the upset which took place in Beograd, where higher ranked Croatian KK Zadar (5-9) lost to thirteenth ranked Serbian FMP (4-10) in a road game 77-94. Filip Covic notched a double-double by scoring 30 points and 10 assists to lead the effort. FMP’s coach allowed to play the deep bench players saving starting five for next games. FMP moved-up to tenth place, which they share with 4 other teams. KK Zadar at the other side keeps the eighth position with nine games lost. FMP’s next round opponent will be Mega Leks (#13) in Sremska Mitrovica. The game with biggest result difference took place in Zagreb. Local Cibona (10-4) outscored 6th ranked Bosnian Igokea (7-7) 84-61 on Sunday night. The best player for the winners was Ante Zizic who scored 17 points and 5 rebounds (on 8-of-9 shooting from the field). The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Cibona have a solid four-game winning streak. They moved-up to third place, which they share with Buducnost and Cedevita. Defending Bosnian champion Igokea keeps the sixth position with seven games lost. Cibona will face bottom-ranked Mornar Bar (#14) on the road in the next round which should be another easy win for them. Igokea will play against Karpos Sokoli (#12) and hope to win that game. In the last two games of round 14 Mornar Bar were defeated by Partizan in Beograd 90-85. Un.Olimpija beat Mega Leks at home 82-69. The best stats of 14th round was 17 points by Wiliam Hatcher of Partizan.Cibona – Igokea 84-61The game with biggest result difference took place in Zagreb. Local Cibona (10-4) outscored 6th ranked Bosnian Igokea (7-7) 84-61 on Sunday night. The game was mostly controlled by Cibona. Igokea was better in fourth quarter 22-17. But it was not enough to take a lead and get a victory that evening. Cibona forced 20 Igokea turnovers and outrebounded them 37-26 including 24 on the defensive glass. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 24 assists. The best player for the winners was power forward Ante Zizic (210-97, agency: BeoBasket) who scored 17 points and 5 rebounds (on 8-of-9 shooting from the field). Forward Marin Rozic (201-83, agency: Interperformances) chipped in 17 points and 4 assists. Center Drasko Albijanic (211-86, agency: BeoExcell) produced 18 points and 6 rebounds and Serbian guard Vuk Radivojevic (196-83) added 9 points and 9 …

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