Cibona stun Crvena zvezda Meridianbet in Zagreb
Cibona have defeated reigning AdmiralBet ABA League cahmpions Crvena zvezda Meridianbet at home court!
(Photo: Cibona/Marin Susic)
AdmiralBet ABA League Round 20, Sunday, 5 March 2023:
CIBONA - Crvena zvezda Meridianbet 85:81 (22:24, 17:16, 22:27, 24:14)
Game recap: Cibona have defeated reigning AdmiralBet ABA League champions Crvena zvezda Meridianbet in Zagreb!
The Wolves grabbed the biggest win of the season in a thrilling ending in which their three guards Borna Kapusta, Ivan Majcunić and Krešimir Radovčić played the key roles. Kapusta dished some key assists, while Radovčić and Majcunić scored some incredibly tough shots to lead their team toward the victory.
Cibona have therefore put an end to their losing streak against Crvena zvezda Meridianbet. After losing the previous 17 games, the Zagreb giant have finally defeated their Belgrade rivals and rejoined the race for this year’s Playoffs.
Key moments: Crvena zvezda Meridianbet were up by 7 points in the middle of the 4th quarter – 66:73, but then Cibona made a 12:0 run to take over the lead – 78:73.
Zvezda reduced the gap to 78:75, but then Ivan Majcunić scored a very tough 3-point shot to give Cibona a 6-point lead – 81:75, with just over a minute remaining on the game clock.
The visitors refused to surrender and they managed to come just 1 point behind their hosts – 81:80, with 20 seconds still to be played.
But, in the remaining time, Cibona squad hit 4 free throws to seal the win in this thrilling match – 85:81.
Man of the match: Borna Kapusta was simply brilliant today. Cibona point guard scored 24 points, while he also had 4 assists and 3 rebounds. His overall index rating was 23.
Can’t trick the stats: Cibona had a pretty good shooting night as they were 21/37 for 2 points and 8/18 for 3-points. On the other side, Crvena zvezda Meridianbet forced 3-point shots too much. They had 41 attempts from behind the arc, while they made just 15 shots.
Stats
Players on court
| CIB | Min | PtsP | RebsR | AssA | StS | FoulF | ValV | |
| 3 | Radovčić K. | 24:56 | 17 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 20 |
| 9 | Smajlagić S. | 05:32 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | Mazalin L. | 24:40 | 15 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 18 |
| 17 | Aranitović A. | 28:03 | 9 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 24 | Baković M. | 35:04 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 7 |
| CZV | Min | PtsP | RebsR | AssA | StS | FoulF | ValV | |
| 1 | Vildoza L. | 29:03 | 14 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 12 |
| 7 | Campazzo F. | 25:41 | 12 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 17 |
| 26 | Nedović N. | 27:11 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| 27 | Marković S. | 20:50 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| 33 | Petrušev F. | 19:51 | 15 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 19 |
Last 5 actions
| Min | Score | Action |
| game finished | ||
| end of 4. quarter | ||
| 00:00 (Q4) | SMAJLAGIĆ S. rebound (defensive) | |
| 00:02 (Q4) | 26 NEDOVIĆ N. missed 3 points (jump shot) | |
| 00:05 (Q4) | SMAJLAGIĆ S. substitution (in) | |
| 00:05 (Q4) | 44 KAPUSTA B. substitution (out) |
|
Top players
| VALUE (INDEX) | ||||
| Kapusta B. | 23 | - | 19 | Petrušev F. |
| POINTS | ||||
| Kapusta B. | 24 | - | 15 | Petrušev F. |
| REBOUNDS | ||||
| Aranitović A. | 8 | - | 7 | Lazarević S. |
| ASSISTS | ||||
| Kapusta B. | 4 | - | 6 | Campazzo F. |
