Zvezda again crowned as ABA League champions
Crvena zvezda mts have celebrated on the road in Zagreb against Cedevita in the third game of the ABA League Finals, swept the series and became the best team of the regional club basketball for the third time in a row.
Crvena zvezda mts team, champions (Photo: Cedevita/Marin Susic)
ABA League Playoffs, Finals, Game 3, 13.4.2017:
Cedevita – CRVENA ZVEZDA MTS 61:77 (18:22, 21:24, 9:19, 13:12)
Game recap: The celebration time has come for Crvena zvezda mts. The red and white of Belgrade have beaten Cedevita for the third time in the Finals and after sweeping the series they were crowned as the best team of the region for the third time in a row! The celebration comes fully deservedly for Zvezda, which have won 30 of their 32 games this season in the ABA League and have been a dominant force of the league since the beginning of the season.
In the third game, Zvezda have celebrated despite the injury of their starting point guard Stefan Jović, which was sidelined from the very beginning of the series in the Finals. Cedevita, without their sidelined best scorer Ryan Boatright, as well as Marko Arapović, were behind by 7 points already by half time, but the game really went Zvezda’s way in the opening two minutes of the second one, when they fell behind by 14.
Key moments: Zvezda led by 7 points at the break, but then also opened the second half with a 7:0 run over the first two minutes, which gave them a 14-point lead (53:39). With 18 minutes left to be played it became clear that a comeback for Cedevita would be extremely unlikely.
Man of the match: He wasn’t in the limelight many times this season, but this time around, Deon Thompson was the most efficient in the red and white squad. He led Zvezda in scoring with 14 points, 4 rebound, 2 assists and a steal and an overall valuation of 24. He is our man of the match.
Can't trick the stats: Just like in so many times this season, Zvezda were dominant on the glass. They grabbed 35 rebounds and Cedevita had only 29 and this was the main reason for their victory.
