FMP Meridian maintain impressive form as they beat MZT Skopje Aerodrom in thrilling Round 7 opener

Friday, 18. November 2022 at 17:59

FMP Meridian have scored their 6th win in the 2022/23 AdmiralBet ABA League regular season as they defeated MZT Skopje Aerodrom in the opening game of Round 7. 

Paulius Valinskas (Photo: FMP Meridian)

AdmiralBet ABA League Round 7, Friday, 18 November 2022:

FMP MERIDIAN – MZT Skopje Aerodrom 101:97 (33:24, 22:29, 24:13, 22:31)

PHOTO GALLERY

POST-GAME COMMENTS

Story of the game: FMP Meridian have scored their 6th win in the 2022/23 AdmiralBet ABA League regular season as they defeated MZT Skopje Aerodrom in Round 7 opener.

The Panthers were quite impressive offensively in this match as they scored no less than 101 points, while they had 6 players with double digits on their scoring record tonight.

FMP Meridian have therefore kept marching toward the Playoffs as they now have the overall score of 6-1, while MZT Skopje Aerodrom are in quite the opposite situation as their current season score is 1-6 after tonight’s defeat in Belgrade.

Key moments: Despite entering the 4th quarter with a 13-point lead, FMP Meridian almost dropped everything in the final 10 minutes. The persistent MZT Skopje Aerodrom crew showed a fantastic team character in the final quarter in which they scored 31 points and were on the verge of forcing the overtime. However, with 11 seconds remaining in the game clock, Michael Caffey missed the huge opportunity to tie the score.

At that moment, FMP Meridian were up by 2 points – 97:95, but MZT Skopje Aerodrom’s top scorer from tonight’s game Michael Caffey had 2 free throws to level the score. Caffey made the first one – 97:96, but he then missed the second free throw. FMP Meridian grabbed the defensive rebound and in the remaining time they scored all 4 free throws to stay in front and seal their win tonight.

Man of the match: FMP Meridian sharp shooter Paulius Valinskas has played his best game so far in the 2022/23 season. Valinskas was the top scorer of the winning team with 19 points, while he also made 5 rebounds and 5 assists. His overall index rating was 30.

Can’t trick the stats: The home side was absolutely dominant inside the paint. FMP Meridian have made 37 rebounds, which is 15 rebounds more than MZT Skopje Aerodrom have made in this match.

Stats

FMP Soccerbet
00:00 Q4
101 : 97
MZT Skopje Aerodrom

Players on court

FMP Min P R A S F V
1 Frazier T. 34:47 16 3 9 0 4 15
2 Beech III L. 19:56 5 3 2 1 3 8
7 Stepanović A. 18:19 6 3 0 1 3 0
22 Jenkins C. 25:25 10 4 1 2 2 10
66 Valinskas P. 26:39 19 5 5 1 1 30
MZT Min P R A S F V
4 Micovic S. 32:33 18 5 2 1 2 16
9 Magdevski A. 21:25 10 2 6 4 1 15
10 Mekić A. 06:48 2 0 0 1 2 1
11 Ivey III B. 29:14 11 3 4 1 2 13
20 Stojanovski V. 18:50 15 1 1 1 3 13

Last 5 actions

Min Score Action
game finished
end of 4. quarter
00:00 (Q4) 9 MAGDEVSKI A. missed 3 points (jump shot)
00:02 (Q4)101 : 97 66 VALINSKAS P. made free throw (2 of 2)
00:02 (Q4)100 : 97 66 VALINSKAS P. made free throw (1 of 2)
00:02 (Q4) 20 MEKIĆ A. substitution (in)

Top players

VALUE (INDEX)
Valinskas P. 30 - 23 Yigitoglu S.
POINTS
Valinskas P. 19 - 18 Micovic S.
REBOUNDS
Janković N. 6 - 5 Micovic S.
ASSISTS
Frazier T. 9 - 8 Caffey M.
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