By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The final of Adriatic league, between two Croatian teams in Belgrade, it became the official coming out party of Dario Saric in senior level competition. The boy-wonder of Croatian basketball just hours after entering the NBA draft led Cibona to the 72-59 win over Cedevita.
However, both teams from Zagreb are happy, since they secured a spot in next season’s Euroleague by getting to the final and they will probably meet again in about a month in the Croatian league finals. That’s why the final turned out to be a Saric focused affair. The 20 years old forward playing for a crowd of NBA scouts – as the 20.000 seats capacity Kombank Arena was almost empty after both Serbian teams, Partizan and Crvena Zvezda losing in the semifinals – finished the game with 23 points (2/8 2p., 5/9 3p., 4/4 FT), 11 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 blocks and 5 turnovers, playing in all 40 minutes. Saric of course was also voted as the ΜVP of the final four. For Cibona, a tratitional Croatian powerhouse, this was its first ever ABA Liga title.
The other NBA prospect of the game, Cedevita’s Jusuf Nurkic, had 9 points on 1/5 shots, 7/12 free throws, 7 rebounds, 1 steal and 3 turnovers. Before the game it was announced that Levski Sofia from Bulgaria will participate in Adriatic league next season.