Battle for 2nd place heating up as Cedevita beat Partizan
Battle for the second place in the standings after the end of the regular season is definitely heating up, as Cedevita have beaten Partizan NIS and now three teams are tied at second place. The Zagreb side have also secured themselves a place in the Playoffs with the win over black and white.
Dzanan Musa, Stefan Bircevic (Photo: Cedevita/Marin Susic)
ABA League Regular Season, Round 22, Sunday, 12.2.2017:
CEDEVITA – Partizan NIS 79:67 (16:18, 21:12, 22:12, 20:25)
Game recap: What a dramatic situation we have right below the very top with four rounds remaining in the season! Cedevita have beaten their direct competitor Partizan NIS for the second time this season and have now tied themselves with Partizan and Budućnost VOLI at the second spot. At the same time, the side led by Veljko Mršić have secured themselves a spot in the ABA League Playoffs this season, as the fifth placed Cibona cannot get in front of them anymore.
Budućnost VOLI, Cedevita, Crvena zvezda mts and Partizan NIS are now confirmed as four ABA League Playoffs members this season.
Key moments: In the 14th minute, Cedevita were still ahead by only 2 points, but then a 13:4 run that gave the hosts a double digit lead (37:26) followed over the next five minutes. This is when Cedevita pulled away and never allowed the guests to get back into the fight for a couple of points.
Man of the match: Ryan Boatright did not have a huge playing time, but the time that he spent on court surely made the difference. He ended the game as the team’s top scorer with 21 points, while adding 5 rebounds and 3 assists, ending the 40 minutes with a valuation of 25. He is our man of the match!
Can't trick the stats: When looking at the stats you realize that Cedevita did not outplay Partizan NIS in any of the statistical categories, but was slightly better in almost every one of them. This is what separated the teams in scoring this night.
