Krka survive late drama to clinch huge home win vs. SC Derby
This time, Krka have managed to defend their lead in the final minutes of the game and to score their 2nd win of the season.
(Photo: Krka/Drago Perko/kosarka.si)
2024/25 AdmiralBet ABA League Round 5, Sunday, 20 October 2024:
KRKA - SC Derby 97:91 (15:22, 26:24, 26:20, 30:25)
Game recap: Krka have scored their 2nd consecutive win in the 2024/25 AdmiralBet ABA League regular season as they defeated SC Derby at home court – 97:91.
The boys from Novo mesto made the key run in the middle of the 4th quarter when they managed to increase their lead from 82:80 to 91:83.
However, when SC Derby managed to reduce the gap to just 2 points – 93:91, with just 36 seconds remaining on the game clock, everyone in the Leon Štukelj Sports Hall started remembering the match vs. Spartak Office Shoes from two weeks ago when Krka lost the match after an incredible comeback made by the visiting side.
Still, this time, Krka have managed to stay in front. The home team made 4 free throws in the remaining time to seize this precious home-court win – 97:91.
Krka and SC Derby now both have the overall score of 2-3.
Key moments: Krka had a comfortable 8-point lead – 93:85, with minute-and-a-half left on the game clock, and at that moment it seemed that the home team would easily finish the game. However, SC Derby then made a 6:0 run in less than a minute to reduce the gap to just 2 points – 93:91.
The following play was probably the key one in this match. SC Derby players made foul on Tibor Mirtič, who managed to score both free throws and put Krka back on a 4-point lead – 95:91.
After that, SC Derby point guard Eric Neal missed a 3-pointer, while on the other side of the court Tayler Persons made two more free throws for Krka to make the final score – 97:91.
Man of the match: Krka's summer signing Marc Garcia struggled in making some open shots in the previous 4 rounds, but this evening he finally showed off all of his excellent scoring skills. Garcia made 19 points, while he missed just 2 three-pointers and 1 free throw for the entire match (3/3 FG2, 3/5 FG3, 4/5 FT).
Can't trick the stats: It's not just Garcia that was scoring points tonight for Krka as the entire team was pretty good in making their long range shots. Krka was 12/27 (44.4%) for 3 points this evening, while on the other side SC Derby was just 7/22 (31.8%) from behind the arc.
Stats
Players on court
| KRK | Min | PtsP | RebsR | AssA | StS | FoulF | ValV | |
| 3 | Mirtič T. | 22:04 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 21 |
| 7 | Bačvić N. | 19:57 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 12 |
| 11 | Persons T. | 20:58 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 9 |
| 20 | Cerkvenik M. | 32:40 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 14 |
| 22 | Skeens B. | 25:03 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 15 |
| SCD | Min | PtsP | RebsR | AssA | StS | FoulF | ValV | |
| 1 | Neal E. | 28:24 | 19 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 18 |
| 19 | Nikolić Z. | 32:32 | 21 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 27 |
| 22 | Drobnjak I. | 27:49 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 16 |
| 44 | Bogavac L. | 30:59 | 12 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 14 |
| 70 | Mirković D. | 23:03 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
Top players
| VALUE (INDEX) | ||||
| Garcia M. | 23 | - | 27 | Nikolić Z. |
| POINTS | ||||
| Garcia M. | 19 | - | 21 | Nikolić Z. |
| REBOUNDS | ||||
| Mirtič T. | 4 | - | 6 | Nikolić Z. |
| ASSISTS | ||||
| Persons T. | 7 | - | 5 | Bogavac L. |
