Cibona score their 3rd consecutive win as they prevail over Borac Mozzart in thrilling ending

AdmiralBet ABA League Round 5, Friday, 28 October 2022:

CIBONA – Borac Mozzart 87:85 (15:17, 21:15, 27:18, 24:35)

PHOTO GALLERY

POST-GAME COMMENTS

Game recap: What a game! Cibona prevailed over Borac Mozzart in a thrilling ending to grab their 3rd consecutive win in AdmiralBet ABA League.

Despite huge problems with injuries and with personal fouls in this match, the home side managed to defend their lead in the final moments and to extend thier winning streak. They also had a little help from the lady luck in the final moments of the game as Borac Mozzart player Radovan Đoković missed an open 2-point shot at the buzzer that would have taken this game into overtime.

Cibona now have the overall score of 3-2, while Borac Mozzart are still winless as they are now at 0-5.

Key moments: Cibona entered the 4^th quarter with a 13-point lead – 63:50, but that was almost not enough for the home side to close this game as on the other side Borac Mozzart had Hunter Hale. The American shooting guard scored 44 points tonight, which is the 4^th best single-game scoring record ever in AdmiralBet ABA League, while he made 15 points only in the 4^th quarter.

With Hale on fire, Borac Mozzart pulled off a major comeback, but at the end they fell short for just 2 points. As we have previously mentioned, in the final seconds of the 4^th quarter, Radovan Đoković had a big chance to tie the score and take this game into overtime, but he missed the key 2-pointer and Cibona triumphed by 87:85.

Man of the match: Borac Mozzart had Hunter Hale, while Cibona had Sven Smajlagić! In his first game in AdmiralBet ABA League this season, Sven Smajlagić scored 25 points, including 6 three-pointers. You should also know that Smajlagić has been struggling with injury lately and he was not even supposed to play this game, but considering all the problems the Zagreb crew faced today, Sven decided to step on the court and help his teammates. And he did a fantastic job. 

Can’t trick the stats: While Cibona made 24 assists tonight, Borac Mozzart had only 11. Simply, the home side played more as a team in this match and that is the main reason why they grabbed the win at the end.