Cedevita reached the Finals
Cedevita have outscored Partizan NIS at home court in the decisive third game of the semi-final series and became the first team to qualify for the finals of the 2016/17 ABA League season.
Cedevita team (Photo: Cedevita/Marin Susic)
ABA League Playoffs, Semi-Finals, Game 3, Sunday, 2.4.2017:
CEDEVITA – Partizan NIS 87:78 (20:14, 27:22, 22:27, 18:15)
Game recap: Cedevita have become the first ABA League finalists for the 2016/17 season, as they have edged out Partizan NIS in the decisive third game of the semi-final series in amazingly loud atmosphere in packed Dom sportova and therefore eliminated the Belgrade rivals with 2:1 in victories. The home side have escaped from the visiting team by 11 points already by half time and have managed to maintain their advantage in the second part of the game. It must be mentioned that Cedevita did it despite the injuries of their important team members Ryan Boatrght (early in the first quarter) and Marko Arapović (during the third), which had to leave the hall due to injuries.
This is the fourth season of a regional competition with the Finals appearance for the Zagreb powerhouse and the first one after a year of break. What remains to be seen is whether it will be the first season for them to claim the championship trophy.
Key moments: After they have gained the initial 6-point lead in the opening quarter (20:14), Cedevita have definitely pulled away in the second quarter, thanks to fantastic performance by youngster Džanan Musa, who scored 14 points (more than half of his team during this period) in only 8 minutes on court in the second period. Cedevita’s lead reached 13 points of margin (44:31) in the final minute of the first half and at that point it was clear that a comeback for Partizan NIS would be extremely difficult if not impossible. As it turned out later, it was the latter one.
The guests continued to fight, though, but Luka Babić has blasted their hopes away in the dying seconds of 39th minute with a 3-pointer for 81:73.
Man of the match: Džanan Musa is definitely the hero of the game for the home side, as he hasn’t only led the way for his team when it was the most important, but he was also the top scorer of the game for his team with 16 points while adding 2 rebounds and an assist for a valuation of 16 and he did it in only 16 minutes spent on court.
Can't trick the stats: Cedevita have demonstrated what the teamwork means, as they have beaten Partizan NIS 20:14 in assists and this is what affected the final outcome decisively.
