In Novo mesto for Game 2

The Cedevita Olimpija team will clash with Krka for the second victory in the final series of the Nova KBM League on Friday at 16.00 in the Novo mesto Sports Hall. The team of head coach Jurica Golemac is leaving for the capital of Dolenjska with a 1-0 lead in victories.

After a high victory in the first match of the final set of the Nova KBM League with Krka from Novo mesto on Wednesday in the Stožice Arena, the Cedevita Olimpija players will face the Novo mesto team in the second match on Friday at 16.00 in the Leon Štukelj Sports Hall. In the beauty of Stožen, it was 97:45 in favor of the Dragons on Wednesday after 40 minutes of play, and on Friday they will try to record another victory on Krka’s home court.

It will be possible to watch the match live on Sportklub 1, and online on the official YouTube channel of the Basketball Association of Slovenia.

In the first match on Wednesday in Stožice, Cedevita Olimpija let Novo mesto know from the very beginning of the match that the Dragons are only interested in winning in front of the home fans, who cheered in the largest Slovenian sports hall for the first time since last October. In the end, the scoreboard in the beauty of Stožen showed 97:45 in favor of the people of Ljubljana. Three players in the Ljubljana team exceeded the limit of ten points scored. Kendrick Perry recorded four assists in the statistics with 20 points, Jarrod Jones stopped with 17 points and four rebounds, and Jaka Blažič scored 13 points.

Wednesday’s victory was the first victory of the Dragons in the Final of the national championship since 2018. Even then, the Ljubljana basketball players faced Novo mesto in the final for the national laurels, and the series ended after five games. This season, the people of Ljubljana are chasing their 18^th national title, and for the tenth time they are competing for the title with Krka.

The third match of the final set will be on Sunday at 5.30 pm in Stožice. Possible fourth and fifth matches will be on Tuesday or Thursday.

STATEMENTS AHEAD OF THE GAME:

Jurica Golemac, head coach of Cedevita Olimpija:
“Immediately after the end of the first match, we made it clear to the players in the locker room that the result in the victories was only 1: 0. Nothing has been decided yet. In Novo mesto, Krka will definitely play much better. The Novo mesto players could see that they were not right after winning the Cup. Last but not least, they played one game more than us at Kodeljevo, but it is certainly not the same when compared to us, who had a day more time to prepare, and anger after the defeat in the semifinals of the cup competition. In Novo mesto, the situation will be reversed and they will certainly want to show that the middle of the match is not a realistic indicator of the power relationship between the two teams.”

Edo Murić, player of Cedevita Olimpija:
“Our head coach rotated the players on the floor well in the first game. Those of us who have played more so far have now played a little less. Everyone who stepped on the floor turned out. We have proven that we can all play, and I am sure it will be the same in Novo mesto. We don’t want to think about the result in the first game. We won one duel, and we have a long way to go to the title of national champion.”

NOVA KBM LEAGUE, FINALS

GAME 2

Leon Štukelj Sports Hall (Novo mesto, Slovenia), Friday, May 28, at 16.00:
KRKA – CEDEVITA OLIMPIJA [0:1]*

GAME 3

Stožice Arena (Ljubljana, Slovenia), Sunday, May 30, at 17.30:
CEDEVITA OLIMPIJA – KRKA

Already played:

GAME 1

Stožice Arena (Ljubljana, Slovenia), Wednesday, May 26:
CEDEVITA OLIMPIJA – KRKA 97:45 (21:12, 33:14, 21:15, 22:4)
Cedevita Olimpija: Radović 3, Perry 20 (4 assists), Hopkins 8, Duščak 4, Murić 9 (6 rebounds), Blažič 14, Brown 6, Hodžić 3, Jones 17 (4 rebounds), Dimec 8 (6 rebounds), Marinković (4 rebounds), Rupnik 5 (6 rebounds and 6 assists).

STATISTICS
PHOTO GALLERY

*Final series is played until first team reaches three victories. Possible Game 4 will be on June 1 at 20.30 in Novo mesto, and possible Game 5 will be on June 3 at 20.30 in Stožice Arena.