Cedevita Olimpija grabs first win in the Finals

Cedevita Olimpija squad have beaten Krka 97:45 in front of the home crowd in Stožice Arena in the Game 1 of the Liga Nova KBM Finals and made a decisive step towards winning the national championship trophy. The Game 2 of the series will be on Friday, 16:00 in Leon Štukelj Sports Hall.

Cedevita Olimpija have beaten Krka in the first game of the Liga Nova KBM Finals and took 1:0 lead in the series. The scoreboard in Stožice has been showing the score of 97:45 in favour of the Ljubljana squad. The team, led by head coach Jurica Golemac, has done one third of the task on its way to the 18th National Championship trophy.

There was no dilemma about the outcome of the game, really. Cedevita Olimpija entered the game strongly and led by 9 after the end of the 1st quarter and 28 by halftime. In the second half they cruised to the win with the score of 97:45.

Kendrick Perry has been the most efficient in the home squad with 20 points, Jarrod Jones added 17, while Jaka Blažič had 14.

The second game of the FInals will be up on Friday at 16.00 in Leon Štukelj Sports Hall, Novo mesto.

STATEMENTS AFTER THE GAME:

Jurica Golemac, Cedevita Olimpija Head Coach:
»It’s not important how convincing our win has been. What’s important is the win and advantage in the Finals. Everything is not over yet and we need to enter the next game with the same focus and energy. After last game we had a conversation with the players and I found out that they were highly motivated and angry on themselves so there was no need for any special preparation. After the first half we have been up by far, but this did not relax us and we knew that the game wasn’t over yet. There was 20 minutes left on the game clock and a few bad decisions could interrupt the flow of the game. The players reacted well and played the second half with the proper mentality, playing well on defensive end.«

Kendrick Perry, Cedevita Olimpija player:
»We are playing game by game. We have wished to play more aggressively, than the last time against this opponent and we did it. We have fought and were win-thirsty throughout 40 minutes.«

NOVA KBM LEAGUE, FINALS

GAME 1

Stožice Arena (Ljubljana, Slovenia), Wednesday, May 26, at 20.30:
CEDEVITA OLIMPIJA – KRKA 97:45 (21:12, 33:14, 21:15, 22:4)
Cedevita Olimpija: Radović 3, Perry 20 (4 podaje), Hopkins 8, Duščak 4, Murić 9 (6 skokov), Blažič 14, Brown 6, Hodžić 3, Jones 17 (4 skoki), Dimec 8 (6 skokov), Marinković (4 skoki), Rupnik 5 (6 skokov in 6 podaj).

STATISTIKA
FOTOGALERIJA

GAME 2

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

GAME 3

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

*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.