THE FIGHT UNTIL THE LAST SECONDS IN SREMSKA MITROVICA, BUT THE DEFEAT OF MEGA MIS AGAINST BUDUCNOST IN AN DRAMATIC FINISH

Mega MIS basketball players put up a great resistance, were in control for most of the match, but failed in the tight finish to defeat Buducnost VOLI in Sremska Mitrovica, and after the second loss, they were stopped in the quarterfinals of the ABA league playoffs, 80:82 (19:15, 27:14, 14:26, 20:27). Marko Barać’s team gained a significant advantage in the second quarter, they went to the big break with plus 17, briefly increased the edge in the third quarter, but then came the response of a more experienced opponent who cut the deficit in half with a big run. Nevertheless, Mega met the last 10 minutes with an excess of five points, but the guests turned the tables in the decisive period. It was an uncertain finale, Barać’s team refused to give up, but in the end, the champion of Montenegro kept the advantage and, with the second victory in the quarterfinal series, won a place in the semi-finals of the regional competition.

Before the start of the meeting, a minute’s silence was held in honor of the victims of the tragedies that happened in Vladislav Ribnikar Elementary School and Mladenovac. All the players wore black strips on their jerseys, and for the warm-up, they ran in specially designed T-shirts dedicated to the tragic victims.

In the Mega team, Ahmaad Rorie stood out with 22 points, four rebounds, and assists for a PIR of 27. Matej Rudan added 12 points, and Aleksa Uskoković had nine, but with five assists, three rebounds, and steals for a PIR of 17. Luka Cerovina counted up to nine, and the captain recorded six rebounds (PIR 16). Danko Branković was close to a double-double with eight points and boards each (PIR 14).

Right before the start of the game, the former captain of Mega Rada Zagorac presented Nikola Đurišić with the trophy for Top Prospect of the ABA League.

Former Mega player Alpha Kaba led the winning team with 16 points and nine rebounds; Erick Green added 14 points, while JJ O’Brien and Marko Jagodić Kuridža scored 11 each, and Trae Bell Haynes also scored in double figures with 10 points.

After an even fight in most of the first part, Mega tied four points in a row in the finish and managed to break away before the first break. It was an announcement of the storm of Barać’s chosen ones in the second period, who increased their advantage minute by minute to meet halftime with a big 46:29 lead.

Kaba pulled away from the guests in the third quarter, so Budućnost reduced the deficit of 19 points to a single-digit in just a few minutes. They came to with just two points, but the Mega basketball players did not allow a turnaround. Grbović scored three important points at the end of the third period, and Mega MIS met the last break with 60:55.

However, there was a turnaround in the last part, but after it, a great fight for every possession. Mega coped well with the opponent and stayed in the game until the very end, but the Podgorica players concentrated from the free throw line, saved the surplus, and recorded the victory.

That’s how the Mega MIS basketball players were stopped in the quarterfinals, which they reached as sixth-placed in the ABA league standings with a 12-14 score. The 2022/23 season will be remembered as the first with playoffs achieved since 2016, but also for the historical series of triumphs from the second part, when nine victories were recorded in 10 matches.

Mega MIS: Paunović, Branković 8 (8 rb), Rudan 12, Uskoković 9 (17 PIR), Kobzistyi, Cazalon 8, Đurišić 5, Kovačević, Cerovina 9 (PIR 16), Rorie 22 (PIR 27), Grbović 7, Terzic

Buducnost: Reynolds, Bell Haynes 10, Atić 6, Kaba 16, Lazić, O’Brien 11, Ilić 3, Jagodić Kuridža 11, Drobnjak 2, Popović 9, Green 14, Kamenjaš

Photo: Mega MIS