Cibona stun Igokea m:tel on coach Repeša's debut

2023/24 AdmiralBet ABA League Round 12, Saturday, 16 December 2023:

Igokea m:tel – CIBONA 87:91 (20:21, 26:20, 20:23, 21:27)

PHOTO GALLERY

POST-GAME COMMENTS

Game recap: Cibona’s new head coach Dino Repeša could not have wished for a better debut in AdmiralBet ABA League as his team defeated Igokea m:tel on the road and therefore ended the 5-game winning streak of the Laktaši troops.

The Wolves stayed calm even when everything seemed lost for them in the 4^th quarter. They managed to come back from a 6-point deficit in the last couple of minutes of the game and to grab this extremely important away win.

Cibona have therefore improved their overall score to 5-7 and they have rejoined the race for the Playoffs. On the other side, Igokea m:tel, who were holding the 2^nd place on the standings before this round, dropped to 9-3.

Key moments: Igokea m:tel were up by 83:77, with three-and-a-half minutes left on the game clock, but then Cibona made a 7:0 run in a bit over a minute to take over the lead – 84:83.

Yet, the key moment happened right at the start of the final minute at the score 87:86 for Igokea m:tel when Cibona’s best player from today’s game Jakov Mustapić made the crucial lay-up for his team to put the Zagreb side back in front – 88:87.

In the following play, Igokea m:tel failed to score, while then Jakov Mustapić with two free throws and Tomislav Buljan with one made free throw sealed the win for the visiting side – 91:87.

Man of the match: Cibona’s game hero Jakov Mustapić recorded a career-high 22 points and a career-high 33 index rating. Also, he scored 10 points in the 4^th quarter to lead his team toward the win.

Can’t trick the stats: Igokea m:tel made too many turnovers tonight (19), while some of them came in the final moments of the game. The home team made two turnovers in the last minute of the 4^th quarter.