Cibona prevail over Mornar, Ante Žižić is the hero

Thrilling basketball night in Zagreb. Ante Žižić scored 2 key free throws in the final seconds of the match and brought an important win to his Cibona over Mornar.  

ABA League, Round 2, Tuesday, 4.10.2016:

CIBONA - Mornar 91:89 (28:16, 20:21, 23:28, 20:24) 

MATCH STATISTICS

PHOTO GALLERY

POST-GAME COMMENTS

Story of the game: No one thought that this will be another epic ABA League match after Cibona escaped on 12:0 already at the start. However, Mornar did not want to surrender and they managed to get this game into a dramatic finish. Eventually, players of Cibona were more focused in the key moments, while one offensive rebound and one missed shot decided the winner.  

Key moments: On less than 10 seconds before the end, Mornar were in front by 89:88, but Cibona player Petar Marić had 2 free throws. He scored the first one for 89:89, while he missed the second one... Still it turned out to be an even better outcome for the home team, as Ante Žižić grabbed the ball and got fauled by Mladen Pantić! Two free throws for Žižić brought two points for Cibona - 91:89, while Mornar had 5 seconds to do something.

Their coach Pavićević called for a time-out, so his team could start the last play from half court. The ball was passed to Cole Dickerson, who was far the best player of Mornar this evening... However, he was in the very corner, with his guard just in front, so he tried a fade-away shot... The ball only hit the rim and bounced into the hands of Cibona players.

Man of the match: It's a tough call to choose between two players. Željko Šakić scored 27 points and had the overall index rating of 26. But, Ante Žižić did made that crucial offensive rebound and scored those 2 game-winning free throws. Young center finished the match with 19 points and with the overall index rating of 30.

Can't trick the stats: Mornar had 21 (18+3) rebounds for the whole match, while Cibona had 33 (27+6). And, one of them decided the winner at the end.