Win over Crvena zvezda got away in the last seconds

Cedevita Olimpija lost 81:82 in the postponed match of the 11th round of the ABA League after a dramatic finish against Crvena zvezda.

The Dragons were close to a resounding victory over the Crvena zvezda Euroleague team in the Aleksandar Nikolić Hall, but it slipped out of their hands at the end of the match after a series of interesting referee decisions. The Ljubljana team recorded its sixth defeat in the regional championship in the first clash with Dejan Radonjić’s team this season, and Jurica Golemec’s team will be able to settle the accounts with the Belgrade team this coming weekend.

The first half of the basketball spectacle between two offensively talented teams was marked by a high number of shots from behind the three-point line. Ljubljana team was successful from a distance as many as nine times from 16 attempts and they also won the battle of rebounds and collected two assists more than the locals. The reason for the one-point deficit after 20 minutes of the basketball match in the Serbian capital was hidden in the number of turnovers and faul trouble, which burdened the players of the Ljubljana team.

Subsequently, the team from the Dragon’s Nest managed to limit the shortcomings from the beginning of the match. With a focus on the defense, they managed to stop Crvena Zvezda’s attacks and, 26 seconds before the last sound of the buzzer, took the lead by three points. In the close crunch time, the team in the green-orange jersey’s then lost by 81:82.

Kendrick Perry was again the top scorer of the Dragon team. The American playmaker of the Ljubljana collective scored 19 points. Luka Rupnik and captain Jaka Blažič scored 14 points and five assists each. Jarrod Jones scored 10 and Mikael Hopkins scored eight points with eight rebounds. Rion Brown finished the game with six points and nine rebounds.

After a road trip, the green-orange crew is now returning to the home shelter of Ljubljana’s Stožice, where the rejuvenated team of Cedevita Olimpija will play the Nova KBM League match against the basketball players of Domžale’s Helios Suns on Friday. The favorites of the Ljubljana audience will end the week with Sunday’s match of the 24th round of the ABA League, in which they will be able to avenge the defeat against the Belgrade Red and Whites.

STATEMENTS AFTER THE GAME

Jurica Golemac, Head Coach of KK Cedevita Olimpija:
“Congratulations to the guys for a good game. We made a lot of mistakes but we worked hard. I do not have anything to say about the ending of the match, we move forward.”

Kendrick Perry, Player of KK Cedevita Olimpija:
“I don’t have anything to say about how we competed. I think we showed a lot of heart. There were some leapses in the game we could have did better. It’s a controversial call at the end. At the end of the day we could keyed in to some mistakes we made. It hurts when you leave all on the line and you come up short. It is nothing you can control. It is how it goes. We need to have a short term memory and get our revenge on Sunday.”

ABA LEAGUE, ROUND 11

Dvorana Aleksandar Nikolić (Belgrade, Serbia), Wednesday, April 14:
CRVENA ZVEZDA – CEDEVITA OLIMPIJA 82:81 (24:24, 28:27, 17:14, 13:16)
Cedevita Olimpija: Radović, Perry 19, Hopkins 8 (8 rebounds), Duščak, Murić 3, Rupnik 14 (5 rebounds), Brown 6 (9 rebounds), Blažič 14 (5 assists), Hodžić 3, Jones 10, Marinković 4, Dimec.

STATS
GALLERY

STANDINGS