Tight win against Greeks for Top 16

After a tight game with a dramatic ending, Cedevita Olimpija fought to a 77:73 win over Promitheas Patras and qualified for the Top 16 stage in the 7DAYS EuroCup.

Cedevita Olimpija hosted Promitheas Patras in the delayed round five game of 7DAYS EuroCup. The visitors needed a win in Stožice to keep their chances for Top 16 alive. The Dragons defeated the opponents from Peloponnese and qualified for the next stage of 7DAYS EuroCup for the first time after 2015/16 season.

The clash with a lot on the line for both teams started with an equal offensive performance on both sides of the floor. Greek team made a run before the end of the first quarter and gained a lead, which they held on to until halftime. A halftime break had a good impact on Ljubljana team and the home team won the third quarter 27:14. In the last quarter, Jurica Golemac’s squad managed to repel all Patras team’s attempts to achieve a comeback. After a missed three-pointer by Ian Miller, Edo Murić scored two free throws to seal the 77:73 win.

Kendrick Perry lead the team in scoring 24 points, 15 of which he scored in the first half. The captain, Jaka Blažič had 18 points and six rebounds, as he played an important role in the team’s comeback in the second half. Mikael Hopkins recorded 11 points and five rebounds and Edo Murić collected nine points and six rebounds.

Dragons will play their third home game this week on Sunday when they will face Cibona in Hala Tivoli. The round 10 game of ABA League will start at 21.00.

STATEMENTS AFTER THE GAME

Jurica Golemac, Head Coach of Cedevita Olimpija: 
“Congratulations to the team, they deserved the qualification to Top 16 in 7DAYS EuroCup. We worked hard but we don’t plan to stop here but to keep moving forward. The tough game is behind us and we knew what this game meant to us. We started the game in a cramp but with higher intensity on defense, we started to play better on offense. Once again, congratulations to my squad. It is a pity that our fans could not be with us today so they could see how hard these guys work.”

Kendrick Perry, Player of Cedevita Olimpija: 
“This was one of the goals that we had at the beginning of the season. We are thankful that now we are in the position to move on to the next round and continue to play at a high level.“

7DAYS EuroCup, ROUND 5

Arena Stožice (Ljubljana), Thursday, December 10:
CEDEVITA OLIMPIJA – PROMITHEAS PATRAS 77:73 (13:21, 19:20, 27:14, 18:18)
Cedevita Olimpija: Radović, Perry 24, Hopkins 11 (5 rebounds), Murić 9 (6 rebounds), Ukić 2, Blažič 18 (6 rebounds), Brown 4, Hodžić 3, Jones, Dimec, Marinković 6, Duščak.

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