MEGA MIS GAVE A GOOD FIGHT BUT LOST TO CRVENA ZVEZDA IN THE FINAL OF THE RADIVOJ KORAC CUP

Mega MIS basketball players qualified for the fifth final of the Radivoj Korac Cup but failed to win Žućko’s lefty for the second time, as after 40 minutes of fighting, they lost to Crvena Zvezda 96:79 (22:23, 29:21, 27:21, 18:14). Marko Barać’s team did well against their favored opponent in the first half. Still, the Euroleague-caliber Zvezda’s team made a crucial difference in the third period and won the Cup in Niš.

Ultimately, Malcolm Cazalon was the most effective with 15 points, and Danko Branković added 14. At the same time, Aleksa Uskoković and Petar Kovačević scored 13 each, with Uskoković recording five rebounds and four assists for a PIR of 21 and Kovačević collecting a PIR of 19.

For Zvezda, Ognjen Dobrić scored 24 points, Nemanja Nedović 20, Filip Petrušev added 15, and Luka Mitrović 14 points.

Very good start for Mega players, as they had an advantage in certain moments of the opening quarter, but Zvezda started to build a more noticeable lead in the middle of the second quarter. However, in the finish, Petar Kovačević and Aleksa Uskoković gave Mega a push, and the teams went to the break with 51:44 in favor of the red and whites.

Mega managed to match its rival at the start of the third period, but the more experienced Zvezda team broke away at the finish and met the last break with a 13-point lead. Mega tried to respond in the decisive quarter, but the red and whites maintained a comfortable advantage, leading by 17 in the middle of the final period. They saved the surplus until the end and won the Radivoje Korać Cup.

The national team break follows, and Mega’s basketball players return to the court in the first week of March when they will host Mornar-Barsko zlato in the Sports Hall of Ranko Žeravica in Round 20 of the ABA League.

Mega MIS: Milenković, Branković 14, Đulović, Rudan 4, Uskoković 13, Cazalon 15, Đurišić 7, Kovačević 13, Cerovina 7, Rorie 6, Mušikić, Stefanović

Crvena zvezda: Vildoza 6, Lazarević 2, Campazzo 2, Mitrović 14, Lazić 3, Martin, Dobrić 24, Ilić 4, Nedović 20, Marković, Petrušev 15, Bentil 6

Photo: Mega MIS/Ivica Veselinov