Zadar beats Krka to open up Round 17

AdmiralBet ABA League Round 17, Friday, 19 January 2024:

ZADAR - Krka (23:12, 11:16, 19:13, 17:12)

PHOTO GALLERY
POST-GAME COMMENTS

Game recap: Zadar has opened the weekend off with a Round 17 win at home against Krka. 

Zadar was terrific to open the game, they were clearly the better team in the opening minutes, following a Lovro Mazalin dunk to beat the buzzer Zadar held an 11-point advantage after the first quarter. The blue-and-whites started the second quarter in terrific fashion, they held a game-high 20-point advantage (32:12) midway through the quarter but following that advantage Krka started to make a comeback, by the halftime break they would outscore Zadar 16:2 and cut the deficit to just 6 at the break. 

Following the halftime break Zadar didn't let go of the lead, they went back up by double digits following the third quarter (53:41). Krka could not overcome Zadar in the final quarter thus Danijel Jusup's squad got another win but this time without two of the best players, Marko Ramljak and Luka Božić.

Key moments: Zadar opened the final quarter with a crucial 10:3 run which was topped off by a Lovro Mazalin and-one to end the run. This locked up the win for Zadar as Krka could not overcome the big deficit in the final five minutes of the game. 

Man of the Match: Lovro Mazalin was terrific tonight for Zadar, he finished the game as their top performer with 16 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and a 27 valuation. 

Can't trick the stats: Krka had a weak 2-point game tonight, they hit just 8 shots from inside the arc on 9/20 shooting from 2-point range, Zadar was much more efficient from, they hit twice as many shots inside the 3-point line shooting 20/27. This was the biggest difference between the two teams tonight and helped Zadar get the win.