MATCH OF THE ROUND: Cedevita Olimpija face local rivals Krka
Sunday night brings us the Green derby!
Luka Lapornik (Photo: Cedevita Olimpija/Ales Fevzer)
ABA League Round 1, Sunday, 4 October 2020:
Where? Arena Stožice, Ljubljana
When? 20:00
Story of the game: Ljubljana vs. Novo mesto. Cedevita Olimpija vs. Krka. Sunday night brings us the Green derby, the clash between two local rivals whose head-to-head games have always been quite thrilling.
These two teams faced each other two weeks ago in the 2020 Slovenian Super Cup Final and Cedevita Olimpija prevailed in that match – 78:67.
Both sides have significantly changed their rosters over the summer. Cedevita Olimpija have kept three major players from the last-season team - Jaka Blažič, Edo Murić and Mikael Hopkins, while they added no less than 10 new players to the 2020/21 roster, including Kendrick Perry (Mega Bemax), Alen Hodžić (Koper Primorska), Žiga Dimec (Koper Primorska), Dan Duščak (Real Madrid), Mangok Mathiang (Bahçeşehir Koleji), Rok Radović (youth team), Roko Leni Ukić (Sharks Antibes), Egor Sytnikov (youth team), Rion Brown (Tofas) and Jarrod Jones (Darussafaka).
On the other side, Krka have kept Luka Lapornik, Miha Škedelj and two youngsters Leon Stregar and Martin Jančar Jarc from the last-season roster, while they have also signed 10 new players during the summer, including Nejc Barič (Koper Primorska), Jan Kosi (Koper Primorska), Jan Rebec (Šentjur), Jairus Lyles (Löwen Braunschweig), Adin Vrabac (Spars Realway), Rod Camphor (Rosa Radom), Jure Škifić (Saint-Chamond), Rok Stipčević (Fortitudo Bologna), Milan Milovanović (Legia Warsaw) and Vasilije Vučetić (Penas Huesca).
As you can see there were plenty of changes in each team, but both sides have the same head coach as in the last season. Jurica Golemac is still sitting on the bench of Cedevita Olimpija, while Vladimir Anzulović is still leading Krka’s troops.
In the previous season, Cedevita have easily outplayed Krka at home court in Ljubljana. The score was 72:56 for the Dragons in that match.
Match-up in focus: We mentioned that Cedevita Olimpija and Krka played against each other two weeks ago in the 2020 Slovenian Super Cup Final and in that match the best players in each team were their new point guards. Kendrick Perry scored 20 points for Cedevita Olimpia, while Rok Stipčević made 19 points for Krka. This duel might decide the winner in the upcoming match.
Head to head in the regional league: In total 1:0; In Ljubljana 1:0.
