#ABAFutureStars: U19 Mega MIS & U19 SC Derby secure their spots in the final four
On the second day of the ABA Future Stars, U19 SC Derby and U19 Mega MIS have booked their tickets to the final four following their wins today.
(Photo: ABA League j.t.d./Dragana Stjepanovic)
2023/24 U19 ABA League Championship, Regular Season, Round 2, Wednesday, November 22, 2023:
Group A:
U19 Partizan - U19 MEGA MIS 69:92 (22:23, 11:25, 22:22, 14:22)
U19 Mega MIS have secured their ticket to the U19 ABA League Championship final four following a win against U19 Partizan to remain undefeated following their group stage journey.
It was a close game for just the first 10 minutes when U19 Mega MIS held a 1-point lead after the first 10 minutes. In the second quarter, U19 Mega MIS ran away with the game, they outscored U19 Partizan 69:92, and from that point on it was a one-way street. Mega MIS managed to run away with the lead and secured a spot on top of group A.
Bogoljub Marković was the top performer for Mega MIS, he finished the game with 20 points and 7 rebounds. Savo Drezgić led U19 Partizan with 24 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals.
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Group B:
U19 BORAC MOZZART - U19 Falcons Academy Dubai 88:76 (15:20, 27:26, 22:11, 24:19)
U19 Borac Mozzart scored their first win in the 2023/24 U19 ABA League Championship as they defeated U19 Falcons Academy Dubai by 88:76 to stay in the race for the top spot.
In this match we saw one of the best individual performances of any player so far in the competition as U19 Borac Mozzart player Pavle Nikolić recorded an index rating of 42!
Nikolić scored 29 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to help his team score this important win.
We must also mention Marko Tofoski from U19 Falcons Academy Dubai as this 17-year-old player has once again showed his amazing talent. Tofoski almost completed a triple-double today as he finished the match with 14 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists.
U19 SC DERBY - U19 Crvena zvezda 75:59 (16:13, 24:15, 12:17, 23:14)
U19 SC Derby secured a spot in the final four of the ABA Future Stars after they beat U19 Crvena zvezda to remain undefeated in group play.
The youngsters from Montenegro took control of the game in the first half, by the halftime break they would build a 12-point advantage. In the third quarter, U19 Crvena zvezda would try and cut into the U19 SC Derby advantage but U19 SC Derby would run away with the game in the final quarter, outscoring U19 Crvena zvezda 23:14 in the final quarter. Vladimir Sudar had a great all-around game for U19 SC Derby, he finished the night with 17 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists. Ognjen Lukić was the top scorer for U19 Crvena zvezda, he dropped 16 points to go along with 5 rebounds.
In the final matches of Group B, U19 SC Derby will be taking on U19 Falcons Academy Dubai while U19 Crvena zvezda will be battling it out against U19 Borac Mozzart.
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Group C:
U19 IGOKEA M:TEL - U19 Zadar 91:74 (27:20, 22:20, 19:19, 23:15)
U19 Igokea m:tel started their U19 ABA League Championship journey with a convincing win against U19 Zadar.
U19 Igokea m:tel held control of the game from the get-go, they built a 7-point advantage after the first quarter, and by the halftime break they built their lead to +10. In the final quarter, U19 Zadar managed to cut the U19 Igokea m:tel lead to just 6 in the final quarter but following that U19 Igokea m:tel went on a big 15:4 run to lock up the day 2 win.
Andrej Ačimović had a monster game for U19 Igokea m:tel, he finished the game with 22 points and was one rebound shy of a double-double. Manuel Dundović was the top scorer for U19 Zadar, he finished the night with 21 points and 7 rebounds.
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Group D:
U19 Split - U19 CIBONA 66:112 (13:36, 19:33, 16:26, 18:17)
After pulling off that incredible comeback against U19 Cedevita Olimpija in the opening round, U19 Cibona have put on another fantastic performance in as they defeated U19 Split by 112:66 in Round 2 of the group stage.
The winner was decided already in the first half in which U19 Cibona showed off all of their offensive power, so they had a 37-point lead at halftime – 69:32.
Once again the Zagreb side presented an excellent team performance as they had 6 players with double digits in scoring, while their best scorer was Borna Katanović with 20 points.
On the other side, Mateo Tomašević was by far the best player of U19 Split in this match as he scored 30 points and had 6 rebounds.
U19 VOJVODINA MTS - U19 Cedevita Olimpija 80:74 (16:20, 14:19, 21:11, 13:14, 16:10)
U19 Vojvodina mts remain perfect after two games of the ABA Future Stars following the overtime win against U19 Cedevita Olimpija.
U19 Cedevita Olimpija held control of the game during the first 20 minutes, late in the second quarter the young dragons had a 10-point lead. U19 Vojvodina mts opened the second half with an important 9:0 run which put them in the lead and forced U19 Cedevita Olimpija to call a timeout - 41:39. From that point on it was a back-and-forth affair, the finish was a thriller as U19 Cedevita Olimpija tied up the game at 64:64 following a Jure Sok bucket to force overtime. In the overtime period, U19 Vojvodina mts had enough energy to pull away and secure their second win in group play. Rade Zečević was terrific for U19 Vojvodina mts, he scored 15 points, grabbed 4 rebounds, dished out 6 assists, and had 3 steals in the winning effort. Marko Bukvič was the top scorer for U19 Cedevita Olimpija, he scored a game-high 18 points to go along with 4 rebounds.
Tomorrow U19 Vojvodina mts will take on U19 Cibona in a match that'll decide which team from group D will be heading to the final four. U19 Cedevita Olimpija will face U19 Split in the final day of group play.
