Zvezda score convincing win vs. Split at the start of the new season
The reigning champions have sent a clear message to all the other teams in the 1st round of the 2021/22 AdmiralBet ABA League season.
Nikola Ivanovic (Photo: AdmiralBet ABA League/Dragana Stjepanovic)
AdmiralBet ABA League Round 1, Friday, 24 September 2021:
CRVENA ZVEZDA MTS - Split 97:61 (22:16, 31:12, 22:13, 22:20)
Game recap: Crvena zvezda mts have started their 2021/22 AdmiralBet ABA League campaign with a convincing win vs. Split in Belgrade. Despite playing without several first team players, the red-and-whites have been dominating the court from the start until the finish and they eventually grabbed a well-deserved victory.
It was indeed a very powerful presentation made by the reigning champions who obviously wanted to send a clear message that they will once again be one of the main candidates for winning the title.
Key moments: The winner of this match was decided already in the first 20 minutes as the home side had a 25-point lead at the halftime – 53:28. Zvezda were especially good in the 2nd quarter in which they scored 31 points, while they let their opponents make just 12 points in that period.
And when the red-and-whites opened the 3rd quarter with a 10:0 run to increase their lead to 63:28, it was quite clear that the home team would score an easy win in this match.
Man of the match: Nikola Ivanović had a dream debut for Crvena zvezda mts as he finished tonight’s match with 20 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. His overall index rating was 35!
Can’t trick the stats: Crvena zvezda mts were simply a lot better than Split in every single game element. After all, just take a look at these two things - the home team made 17 assists and 10 rebounds more than their rivals this evening.
Stats
Players on court
| CZV | Min | PtsP | RebsR | AssA | StS | FoulF | ValV | |
| 1 | Gušić M. | 15:29 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 19 | Simonović M. | 17:23 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 20 | Ivanović N. | 25:21 | 20 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 35 |
| 32 | Kuzmić O. | 17:15 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 13 |
| 77 | Popović N. | 10:50 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| SPL | Min | PtsP | RebsR | AssA | StS | FoulF | ValV | |
| 6 | Perasović I. | 17:50 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 8 | Runjić L. | 27:56 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 11 |
| 11 | Vuko T. | 15:52 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| 17 | Bajo D. | 17:16 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| 97 | Barič N. | 26:52 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -6 |
Top players
| VALUE (INDEX) | ||||
| Ivanović N. | 35 | - | 13 | Žganec K. |
| POINTS | ||||
| Ivanović N. | 20 | - | 10 | Čampara S. |
| REBOUNDS | ||||
| Ivanović N. | 6 | - | 5 | Žganec K. |
| ASSISTS | ||||
| Kalinić N. | 6 | - | 4 | Runjić L. |
