Dragons entered the Playoffs with a win
Cedevita Olimpija has beaten Igokea m:tel 93:79 in the first round of the regional league’s preliminary round of the Playoffs and made a decisive step towards qualifying for the Semi-finals of the competition. The second game of the series will take place on 19.00 in Laktaši and the Dragons would have secured themselves a spot … Continued
Cedevita Olimpija has beaten Igokea m:tel 93:79 in the first round of the regional league’s preliminary round of the Playoffs and made a decisive step towards qualifying for the Semi-finals of the competition. The second game of the series will take place on 19.00 in Laktaši and the Dragons would have secured themselves a spot amongst the Top Four of the regional competition.
The fans of Ljubljana had a chance to watch the first regional league Playoffs game after a long time. Cedevita Olimpija has beaten Igokea m:tel and written down first win, making a decisive step towards a spot in the semifinals of the regional competition. The score was 93:79, in favour of Jurica Golemac.
It has been a game, in which the Dragons, that have been playing without absent Jaka Blažič, have been the ones to dictate the tempo of the game throughout the clash and in the end they have deservedly taken the lead in the series. The series is now moving to Laktaši for the Game 2, where Igokea m:tel will try to take advantage of their home court to tie the series at 1:1.
Even though Cedevita Olimpija have been in front for the majority of the game, Igokea m:tel kept coming back from behind. However, the Dragons pulled away decisively at the beginning of the final quarter. When James Robinson scored in the 31st minute, he cut the gap between the two sides to 2 points (73:68), but then Cedevita Olimpija replied with a 6:0 run to pull away to the double-digit lead again (79:68). As it turned out later in the game, Igokea m:tel did not have the strength to fight their way back into the battle for a win again until the end.
Jacob Pullen has been the top scorer in the green and orange jersey with 21 points and 6 assists. Zoran Dragić has demonstrated a great performance as well with 18 points, while Yogi Ferrell added 17. Zach Auguste stopped at 13 points and Melvin Ejim also contributed a large part to the win with 9 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists.
The second game of the series is coming up on Wednesday, 19:00 in Laktaši Sports Hall.
ABA LEAGUE, PLAYOFFS
PRELIMINARY ROUND, GAME 1
Tivoli Sports Hall (Ljubljana, Slovenia), Saturday, April 30:
CEDEVITA OLIMPIJA – IGOKEA M:TEL 93:79 (29:26, 25:21, 19:18, 20:14)
Cedevita Olimpija: Pullen 21 (6 assists), Ferrell 17, Ejim 9 (11 rebounds, 5 assists), Duščak, Murić 11 (6 rebounds), Auguste 13, Hodžić, Ščuka, Omić 4 (10 rebounds), Dragić 18, Radovanović, Mulalić.
PRELIMINARY ROUND, GAME 2
Laktaši Sports Hall (Laktaši, Bosnia and Herzegovina), Wednesday, May 4, at 19.00:
IGOKEA M:TEL – CEDEVITA OLIMPIJA
*If necessary, Game 3 will be in Ljubljana on May 8.
