Partizan NIS grabbed 17th win against Zadar
Partizan NIS have defeated Zadar at their home court and celebrated their 17th win of the season, which keeps them in the race for the final second place in the standings. Zadar remain at the bottom of the standings together with Krka and Mornar.
Uros Lukovic, Mislav Brzoja (Photo: Partizan NIS)
ABA League Regular Season, Round 23, Friday, 24.2.2017:
PARTIZAN NIS – Zadar 87:86 (23:20, 24:24, 18:17, 22:25)
Story of the game: It took them a while, but Partizan NIS managed to crack the resistance of Zadar at home court in the 23rd round of the season and to celebrate their 17th triumph on their way towards the final second place in the standings, which remains a realistic desire for the black and white. On the other side, the Dalmatian squad remain with only seven wins on their record so far this season, which means that they will continue their struggle to avoid relegation from the regional competition. They stay placed at the very bottom of the standings together with Krka and Mornar.
Key moments: It has been anybody’s game throughout the 40 minutes and the decision came no earlier than in the final seconds. With 10 seconds remaining on the clock Maj Kovačević scored his second three-pointer in the final minute to take Zadar in front 86:85. However, the guests were not focused on the last offensive possession of Partizan and Uroš Luković decided the winner with a dunk. Kovačević failed to score a triple for the third time in the dying minute and the game was over.
Relive the key moments of the game:
Man of the match: Stefan Birčević simply dominated the court of Aleksandar Nikolić Hall this time as he had 26 points this time (5/8 for 3), 6 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks and 1 assists. He ended the game with a game high valuation of 33 and of course he is our man of the match.
Take a look at some of the best plays by Stefan Birčević from the game:
Can't trick the stats: Turnovers were the thing that took away the win from Zadar this time from statistical point of view. While Zadar lost 17 balls, Partizan NIS lost 5 less and this turned out to be decisive this time around!
