Crvena zvezda Merdianbet beat Zadar on the road to seal their place in the semi-finals
Crvena zvezda Meridianbet have successfully passed their first test in the 2022/23 AdmiralBet ABA League Playoffs as they eliminated Zadar in the quarter-finals.
(Photo: Zadar/Zvonko Kucelin)
AdmiralBet ABA League Quarterfinals Round 2, Monday, 8 May 2023:
Zadar – CRVENA ZVEZDA MERIDIANBET 63:74 (12:19, 21:16, 11:18, 19:21)
Game recap: Crvena zvezda Meridianbet have successfully passed their first test in the 2022/23 AdmiralBet ABA League Playoffs as they eliminated Zadar in the quarter-finals.
The reigning champions defeated Zadar on the road in Game 2 to win the series by 2-0 and seal their spot in the semis.
Unlike the first game in this series in which we saw plenty of points, this time it was the defense that made the difference down on the court. Crvena zvezda Meridianbet let Zadar score just 30 points for the entire second half, while some steals that the red-and-whites made in the 4th quarter definitely secured the win for the away side.
Crvena zvezda Meridianbet will play against Budućnost VOLI in the semi-finals and the reigning champions will have home-court advantage in that series.
Key moments: Crvena zvezda Meridianbet have been in front throughout the whole game, yet Zadar managed to reduce the gap to just 6 points – 61:55, with less than 5 minutes remaining on the game clock.
Zadar then even managed to defend their basket in the following play and to grab the ball, however then Stefan Marković made perhaps the crucial steal as after that the visitors made the key 8:3 run to regain a double-digit lead - 69:58.
Man of the match: Stefan Marković played the key role for Crvena zvezda Meridianbet in the 4th quarter. We have already mentioned that he made that big steal that led to decisive 8:3 run of the away team, while we should also mention that Marković scored two three-pointers during that 8:3 run.
Can’t trick the stats: At the end of the day, that Crvena zvezda Merdianbet’s defensive performance in the 2nd half was something that decided the winner in this match. When you stop the 6th best offensive team of the season to just 30 points for the whole 2nd half, then your defensive performance was indeed very good.
Stats
Players on court
| ZAD | Min | PtsP | RebsR | AssA | StS | FoulF | ValV | |
| 3 | Davis Jr J. | 26:44 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| 6 | Klarica K. | 02:25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -1 |
| 12 | Čampara S. | 29:35 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 29 | Božić L. | 35:31 | 17 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 26 |
| 55 | Šantelj L. | 05:39 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| CZV | Min | PtsP | RebsR | AssA | StS | FoulF | ValV | |
| 7 | Campazzo F. | 22:16 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 11 |
| 9 | Mitrović L. | 25:27 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 19 |
| 13 | Dobrić O. | 20:43 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 12 |
| 27 | Marković S. | 18:00 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 33 | Petrušev F. | 28:47 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 13 |
Last 5 actions
| Min | Score | Action |
| game finished | ||
| end of 4. quarter | ||
| 00:34 (Q4) | 9 MITROVIĆ L. assist | |
| 00:34 (Q4) | 63 : 74 | DOBRIĆ O. made 3 points (jump shot) |
| 00:49 (Q4) | 29 BOŽIĆ L. assist | |
| 00:49 (Q4) | 63 : 71 | 55 ŠANTELJ L. made 3 points (jump shot) |
Top players
| VALUE (INDEX) | ||||
| Božić L. | 26 | - | 19 | Mitrović L. |
| POINTS | ||||
| Božić L. | 17 | - | 13 | Mitrović L. |
| REBOUNDS | ||||
| Žganec K. | 8 | - | 6 | Campazzo F. |
| ASSISTS | ||||
| Božić L. | 5 | - | 4 | Campazzo F. |
