By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Crvena Zvezda MTS Belgrade won a hard game against Igokea 82-76 on Day 21 of ABA Adriatic League and sealed first place in the regular season.
Taylor Rochestie pushed his team with a great 23 point performance (15 points in the second half), helping them turn the game around in last period.
The game started very slow with a lot of mistakes on both sides. Crvena Zvezda stretched the floor with nice ball movement, but they just couldn’t make the shots (2/11 three-pointers). Meanwhile, Igokea focused on scoring from the paint as they shot only twice from beyond the arc and it went well for them having a lead at the halftime 45-42. It was especially thanks to Nikola Jevtic who scored 12 points in 20 minutes.
After the break, the situation was pretty much the same as Igokea managed to keep their lead. It’s the final period that finally changed things for Crvena Zvezda.
They managed to close the paint and make the opponent take contested shots from outside the three-point line (Igokea 2/12 3-pointers in the second half). The guests ‘took over’ with six minutes left and that momentum was enough to close the game securely.
Nikola Jevtic was the top performer for Igokea as he scored 17 points with five rebounds.
Day 21 – Results
| HOME | AWAY | CURRENT SCORE | FT | HT | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 |
| MZT SKOPJE AERODROM | KK CEDEVITA | 64-85 | 64-85 | 31-41 | 13-15 | 18-26 | 17-16 | 16-28 |
| KK FMP | KK PETROL OLIMPIJA | 81-86 | 81-86 | 37-45 | 18-26 | 19-19 | 25-23 | 19-18 |
| KK CIBONA | KK MORNAR | 79-82 | 79-82 | 34-46 | 28-15 | 6-31 | 15-20 | 30-16 |
| KK IGOKEA | KK CRVENA ZVEZDA MTS | 76-82 | 76-82 | 45-42 | 24-22 | 21-20 | 20-18 | 11-22 |
| KK ZADAR | KK MEGA BASKET | 95-91 | 95-91 | 50-43 | 19-21 | 31-22 | 19-30 | 26-18 |
Standings
|
#
|
TEAM
|
PTS
|
MP
|
W
|
L
|
POINTS
|
+/-
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
KK CRVENA ZVEZDA MTS
|
39
|
21
|
18
|
3
|
1848 – 1610
|
238
|
|
|
2
|
KK BUDUCNOST
|
37
|
21
|
16
|
5
|
1776 – 1597
|
179
|
|
|
3
|
KK CEDEVITA
|
37
|
21
|
16
|
5
|
1713 – 1570
|
143
|
|
|
4
|
KK MORNAR
|
34
|
21
|
13
|
8
|
1719 – 1715
|
4
|
|
|
5
|
KK PARTIZAN NIS
|
32
|
21
|
11
|
10
|
1861 – 1808
|
53
|
|
|
6
|
KK FMP
|
30
|
21
|
9
|
12
|
1692 – 1676
|
16
|
|
|
7
|
KK PETROL OLIMPIJA
|
30
|
21
|
9
|
12
|
1648 – 1708
|
-60
|
|
|
8
|
KK ZADAR
|
29
|
20
|
9
|
11
|
1666 – 1704
|
-38
|
|
|
9
|
KK IGOKEA
|
28
|
21
|
7
|
14
|
1695 – 1777
|
-82
|
|
|
10
|
KK CIBONA
|
28
|
21
|
7
|
14
|
1685 – 1783
|
-98
|
|
|
11
|
KK MEGA BASKET
|
27
|
20
|
7
|
13
|
1659 – 1676
|
-17
|
|
|
12
|
MZT SKOPJE AERODROM
|
24
|
21
|
3
|
18
|
1584 – 1922
|
-338
|
|
Photo: ABA League