DEFEAT OF MEGA MIS IN LJUBLJANA FOR THE END OF THE ABA LEAGUE REGULAR SEASON, NEXT STOP – PLAYOFFS

Mega MIS basketball players did not manage to make a surprise in Ljubljana and end the regular season of the ABA League with a victory over Cedevita Olimpija. Mirsad Alilović’s more experienced team celebrated in front of their fans with 85:70 (26:11, 17:23, 19:18, 23:18). In the end, it turned out that the advantage that the host gained in the opening quarter was crucial. The Slovenian champion ended the first quarter with a 15-point lead. Although Marko Barać’s young team managed to reduce the deficit to five points at the beginning of the third quarter, Cedevita Olimpija defended itself and prevented a complete reversal, quickly removing the dilemmas about the winner in the first part of the decisive quarter.

Thus, Mega MIS ended the regular season with a 12-14 score and will know their opponent in the playoffs by the end of the 26th round. If there are no major surprises and Partizan Mozzart Bet justifies the role of the favorite in Zadar, Barać’s team will meet the Budućnosti VOLI team in the quarterfinals.

In the last match of the season’s first phase in the regional championship, Ahmaad Rorie stood out with 16 points, seven rebounds, and three assists for a PIR of 15. Nikola Đurišić recorded the same scoring performance, while Danko Branković finished the match with nine points and seven rebounds. Matej Rudan and captain Luka Cerovina added eight points each.

Cedevita Olimpija was led to its 17th win (eight losses) by Matic Rebec with 17 points, former Mega center Karlo Matković with 15, and Edo Murić with 13 points, and Marko Jeremić with 12 also scored in double figures.

In the middle of the opening quarter, the home team started to build an advantage. Four minutes before the first break, they took the lead with a double-digit difference (15:5). Mega could not pair with the team from Ljubljana. After 10 minutes were 15 points behind (26:11). The basketball players of Cedevita Olimpija kept a large surplus until the end of the half, when Barać’s team, through Rorie and Đurišić, reduced the deficit to single digits. After two periods, the scoreboard read 43:34.

Mega held on solidly after returning from the break, even got within five points of the opponent. Still, the champion of Slovenia repelled the push of the youngest team in the regional competition and then kept it at a distance. The decisive period was entered with a score of 62:52 in favor of Cedevita Olimpija, and the host then pushed hard, pulled away to 73:56, and it became clear that they would register a triumph in front of their fans. Cazalon and Đurišić had a couple of good moves in the finish, but the advantage of Mirsad Alilović’s team was still unattainable.

Mega MIS: Paunović 2, Branković 9 (8 sk), Rudan 8 (6 sk), Uskoković, Cazalon 7, Đurišić 16, Kovačević, Cerovina 8, Rorie 16 (7 sk), Grbović 4, Terzić, Mušikić

Cedevita Olimpija: Rebec 17, Radović, Jeremic 12, Alibegović 7, Murić 13, Mulalić, Adams 8, Kosi, Matković 15, Gnjidic, Omić 8

Photo: ABA league