MEGA MIS, AFTER AN UNREAL TURNOVER, CONVINCINGLY DEFEATED FMP TO QUALIFY IN THE FINALS OF THE RADIVOJ KORAĆ CUP

Mega MIS basketball players are in the finals of the Radivoje Korać Cup! After a great fight and a remarkable turnaround in the last quarter, they defeated the FMP SoccerBeta team in the Čair hall in Niš – 67:86 (24:20, 16:10, 14:22, 13:34). Marko Barać’s team did not open the game well. Still, they consolidated in time and reached a turning point. However, at the end of the second quarter, the Panthers regained the advantage; Mega got down by 17 points, so FMP met the big break with a 10-point lead. FMP repelled a strong surge from Mega in the third period, but it was just a foretaste of the fantastic series of Barać’s chosen ones. With a series of threes, they took control, broke the rival’s resistance, and scored as many as 34 points in the last 10 minutes, thus winning a place in the finals, where they will play the better of the duel between Partizan Mozzart Beta and Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet.

The fantastic Petar Kovačević led Mega to victory with 20 points. He shone in the decisive period and ended the match with 4/4 from outside the three-point line. Aleksa Uskoković accompanied him in crucial moments and, in the end, collected 13 points, as many as Dranko Branković scored, while Matej Rudan had 12 points and seven rebounds. Young Aleksa Milenkovic scored four points, and Asim Đulović debuted for the first team.

For FMP, Aleksa Stepanović had 15 points, while Paulius Valinskas added 14.

After the opening tie, FMP managed to gain a slight advantage and took an 11:6 lead. However, Mega responded and turned the score around in the next three minutes – 15:16. The finish of the quarter then belonged to the team from Železnik, which went to the first break with 22:18. The Panthers opened the second quarter with a 10:2 run and gained a double-digit advantage for the first time. They kept a considerable distance until the last minutes when Mega finally showed a reaction and ended the first half with a 7:0 series in 40:30 after 20 minutes.

Barać’s pullets opened the third period very well. I made a series of 7:2 and caught the connection. However, FMP regained a double-digit advantage in the following minutes. And then, the furious rush of Mega on the wings of the outstanding play of Branković, Rudan, and Kovačević and the 11:0 series to tie the game in the last minute of the quarter. It was only at the very finish that FMP broke the fast and secured possession of the advantage before the decisive 10 minutes – 54:52. A turnaround followed after a three-pointer by a playful Kovačević, who, with a block and two precise shots from a distance spiced up Uskoković for 56:63 in favor of Mega. Barać’s players continued to score from distance, so the advantage was constantly growing. There was also an interruption due to derogatory chanting from the stands, but that did not slow down Mega, who led by 17 points with two and a half minutes to go, and it was all over in Čair. Big win for Mega MIS!

Next comes the grand final, scheduled for Saturday at 9:00 p.m., against Partizan or Crvena Zvezda.

Mega MIS: Milenković 4, Branković 13, Đulović, Rudan 12, Uskoković 13, Kazalon 6, Đurišić 2, Kovačević 20, Cerovina 9, Rori 5, Mušikić 2, Stefanović

FMP: Bič 6, Mur 3, Pavićević 4, Stepanović 15, Saranović 8, Simović 2, Izundu 6, Janković 5, Dženkins, Vujičić 1, Manojlović 3, Valinaskas 14

Photo: Mega MIS/Ivica Veselinov