Nazor and Lalić to face their Zadar in 18th round opener
In the opening game of the 18th round, MZT Skopje Aerodrom are set to host Zadar in Jane Sandanski Arena. It will be an emotional clash for the home side's head coach Ante Nazor and big man Jure Lalić, which will play against their former teams… but the one that must be won!
Ivan Marinkovic (Photo: Zadar/Zvonko Kucelin)
In the opening game of the 18th round, MZT Skopje Aerodrom are set to host Zadar in Jane Sandanski Arena. It will be an emotional clash for the home side's head coach Ante Nazor and big man Jure Lalić, which will play against their former teams… but the one that must be won!
ABA League 18th round, Friday, 13.1.2017:
Where? Jane Sandanski Arena, Zadar
When? 20:00
Story of the game: The opening game of the 18th round will be extremely important for both competitors, as MZT Skopje Aerodrom will host Zadar in the battle of two sides that are in the lower half of the standings, fiercely battling to avoid relegation. While MZT are currently occupying the last place in the standings with four wins grabbed so far, Zadar have won two more and are far from a secure place right now.
The two sides have met once already this season, when Zadar were better at home in Višnjik with the score 71:65. If that game would have gone the other way, the two rivals would be tied right now in the standings and that speaks enough about how unpredictable this matchup is.
It will be an emotional encounter for MZT head coach Ante Nazor and center Jure Lalić, as they will get to face their former teams, but… there will be no place for these emotions once the clash begins, since the outcome is of vast importance for both sides.
The home side will not be able to count on services of Souleyman Mouloukou Diabate, who is injured, while it is still not certain whether Jure Lalić, Adem Mekić and Stojan Gjuroski would be able to appear this time around. Zadar are coming to Skopje without Lovre Bašić, while Jakov Vladović and Ivan Vraneš might not be able to play as well.
Match-up in focus: Perhaps the most exciting encounter this time might be the one between the two “ABA League veterans” – Đorđe Drenovac on one side and Ivan Ramljak on the other – both have emerged as leaders of their teams so far this season and their matchup could easily be the one to decide the winner in the end.
Head to head in regional league: In total 4:5; In Skopje 3:1.
