Victory against Cibona for the third win of the week

Basketball players of Cedevita Olimpija defeated Cibona with the final score of 100:75 in the Round 10 clash in the ABA League and concluded this week with the third home win.

After qualifying for the Top 16 stage in the 7DAYS EuroCup for the first time since playing under the official name of Cedevita Olimpija, Dragons finished off this week with the third win in their third match in six days. 100:75 victory against Cibona, which extended the winning streak of Jurica Golemac’s squad to four in a row gives the Ljubljana team a good foundation to build on in the second half of December when they will play four games, three of those on the road.

Cedevita Olimpija showed flashes of a playful and collective performance in the first few minutes and continued to do so throughout the match. That was the reason Dragons obtained the lead which they did not let go. The team in green and orange won the first quarter by nine points and by half-time they were 19 points ahead. A terrific third quarter by the Ljubljana team sealed the game and in the remaining minutes the Head Coach Jurica Golemac distributed the minutes among all members of the squad. 100:75 win extended the winning streak of Cedevita Olimpija to four games in a row.

Jarrod Jones got hot from the three-point range and scored four threes. He finished the games with 18 points and five rebounds. Edo Murić recorded 16 points and six rebounds, Mikael Hopkins scored 12 points to go alongside with six rebounds. Alen Hodžić and Roko Leni Ukić also scored double digits, they both had 11, but Croatian point guard also dished out eight assists.

Early on Monday morning, the Cedevita Olimpija squad will head on the road to Patras. There they will play Promitheas on Wednesday at 18:30 (17:30 local time). In case of a win over the Greeks and favorable outcome at the Dolomiti Energia Trento versus Herbalife Gran Canaria game, Dragons can claim the top spot in the Group D of 7DAYS EuroCup.

STATEMENTS AFTER THE GAME

Jurica Golemac, Head Coach of Cedevite Olimpije: 
“Congratulations to the players, although a though week is behind us they remained focused. Both teams are dealing with their own problems but we approached the game as we should always do. In the finish of the game, we got an opportunity to rest our starters and give opportunities to other players in the squad, which is important because everyone needs to stay in game shape. Of course, when you are winning you are confident, however, I believe that the confidence comes from good defense. When you play well defensively you are not afraid to shoot on offense. Everything starts from the defense and we have to continue to play well there.”

Edo Murić, igralec Cedevite Olimpije: 
“We knew Cibona has good and experienced players and that our keys to the victory would be energy and good defense. We started the game aggressively, outran our opponents, and played our game that they were not able to keep up with. I am glad that younger guys also got the opportunity to play. Our confidence stems from the defense. Last couple of games we play good defense and rebound well, which positively impacts our offense. Even if we are missing shots we know we can fall back on our deffense. If we are playing our game it will be difficult to stop us.”

ABA League, Round 10

Arena Stožice (Ljubljana), Sunday, December 13:
CEDEVITA OLIMPIJA – CIBONA 100:75 (27:19, 21:10, 31:18, 21:28)
Cedevita Olimpija: Radović 2, Perry 4 (5 assists), Hopkins 12 (6 rebounds), Murić 16 (6 rebounds), Ukić 11 (8 assists), Blažič 6 (6 rebounds), Hodžić 11, Jones 18 (5 rebounds), Dimec 6, Ščuka 3, Marinković 8, Rupnik 3.

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GALLERY

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