Cibona beat Zadar and continue their battle for Playoffs spot

Sunday, 27. November 2016 at 20:58

In the big local derby, Cibona were simply too strong for Zadar at home in Dražen Petrović Basketball Centre, Zagreb. There was no dilemma about the final outcome already by half time, when Cibona were up by 19 points.

Nebojsa Joksimovic (Photo: Cibona/Zeljko Baksaj & Gordan Lausic)

In the big local derby, Cibona were simply too strong for Zadar at home in Dražen Petrović Basketball Centre, Zagreb. There was no dilemma about the final outcome already by half time, when Cibona were up by 19 points.

ABA League Regular Season, Round 11, Sunday, 27.11.2016:

CIBONA - Zadar 82:73 (24:17, 18:6, 20:19, 20:31)

MATCH STATISTICS

PHOTO GALLERY

POST-GAME COMMENTS

Game recap: In the big local derby, Cibona were just too strong this time for Zadar, at home in Dražen Petrović Arena in Zagreb and they have proven it by half time, when they were up by no less than 19 points. To make things more impressive, they have done it without sidelined Ante Žižić on their roster.

Damir Mulaomerović’s squad have now tied themselves with city rivals Cedevita in the standings with seven wins grabbed in 11 opening rounds and they share the fourth place, which still leads into Playoffs at the end of the regular season, with them. On the other side, Zadar, led by assistant coach Franko Sterle this time following Ante Matulović’s resignation, continue with four triumphs on their account so far.

Key moments: The winner of this game was decided no later than half time, when Cibona were leading by 19 points, thanks to 16 turnovers by the visiting team in the opening 20 minutes. To be more precise, Cibosi made the crucial difference between 6th and 12th minute, with a 21:5 run, which converted their 12:8 deficit into a 29:17 lead. The Dalmatians never recovered enough to threaten their lead until the end of the game.

Man of the match: Once more Scottie Reynolds has proven himself to be a valuable reinforcement for Cibona. He ended the game in Zagreb with 21 points, 5 assists, just as many steals and 2 rebounds. Together, he grabbed the game-high valuation of 29 and he is our man of the match.

Can't trick the stats: As previously mentioned, the decisive factor that pushed Zadar into a defeat was their number of turnovers in the opening half – 16. In the second half they have only turned over 5 points, to be honest, but it was too little and too late for a major comeback.

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