Win in Zadar after a dramatic ending

With the score of 80:78, Cedevita Olimpija team won on the road in Zadar, in the postponed game of the Round 9 of the ABA League. The Dragons, who spent most of the match in the lead, found themselves behind in the final minutes, but then achieved their eighth win this season in crunch time.

The unfavorable away game in Zadar justified its reputation. The basketball players of Cedevita Olimpija clenched the 80:78 win in the last minute of the match after they were the team leading from the seventh to the 36th minute of the match in the Krešimir Čosić Hall. The Dragons improved their record in the ABA League to eight wins and three losses.

Jurica Golemec’s team entered the duel with Zadar in the absence of Luka Rupnik, who did not have the right to play because he was not yet a registered member of the Ljubljana club at the date when the match was first scheduled, and Ivan Marinković, who stayed in Ljubljana due to illness. Regardless of the circumstances, the Dragons opened the match with a good first quarter, which they won with a score of 20:12. Subsequently, the Cedevita Olimpija team managed to maintain the advantage it had created in the first ten minutes, despite the foul trouble of point guards Kendrick Perry and Dan Duščak.

The advantage of the team from Stožice gradually began to fade after the start of the last quarter and just under four minutes before the end of the match, the Zadar team found itself in the lead again, which increased to four points with 1:45 minutes left to play. This was followed by a response from Cedevita Olimpija in the form of a triple by Edo Murić and three made free throws by Kendrick Perry, who tipped the scales in favor of the Ljubljana team. The successful defense in the last possession of the game translated into a 80:78 victory of player the green-orange jerseys.

Jaka Blažič was the best scorer of the Ljubljana team with 23 points, and Dragon’s skipper also dished out five assists to his teammates. Kendrick Perry scored 14 points, followed by Mikael Hopkins with 13 points and five rebounds. Jarrod Jones collected 12 points, and Rion Brown stopped at seven points and eight rebounds.

The next fixture of Cedevita Olimpija is already waiting for Wednesday, January 13, at 18:30, when the Dragon’s Top 16 stage of the 7DAYS EuroCup will start with a match at Virtus Segafredo Bologna. Jurica Golemec’s squad will play their next match in the ABA League on Thursday, January 21, when the Budučnost VOLI team is coming to the Stožice Arena, and two days before that, the two rivals will face each other at the 7Days EuroCup duel.

STATEMENTS AFTER THE GAME

Jurica Golemac, Head Coach of Cedevita Olimpija:
“Important game, important win. After a series of road trips and away games we had additional problems with the absence of Luka Rupnik in the game against Zadar. Our guards got into foul trouble again, but kudos to the whole squad. We managed to believe in ourselves. After long a big lead we did not give up, we had trust in ourselves and deserved to win. I’m wishing Zadar all the best as the season goes on.”

Kendrick Perry, Player of Cedevita Olimpija:
“We will take [wins] any way we can get them. Credits to Zadar, they played a great game. We just have to stay with it. It is a game of the runs so as long as we stay true we will make stops when we need them and we will make baskets when we need them. In the ABA League, every win matters, no matter how big or small. You do not have to win by 20, you just have to win by one. As long as we have more points than the other time at the end of the game, we are good with that. We just have to stick with it, it is a 40-minute game. Ups and down, playing and not playing, shooting the ball well or not shooting the ball well. We have to continue to play and that is what we did.”

ABA LEAGUE, ROUND 9

Krešimir Čosić Hall (Zadar, Croatia), Sunday, January 10:
ZADAR – CEDEVITA OLIMPIJA 88:93 (12:20, 19:20, 26:26, 21:14)
Cedevita Olimpija: Radović, Perry 14, Hopkins 13 (5 rebounds), Murić 6, Blažič 23 (5 assists), Hodžić 4, Jones 12, Dimec, Brown 7 (8 rebounds), Ščuka, Duščak 1.

STATS
GALLERY

LESTVICA