Vrijednosnice Osijek played their first home game in the Favbet Premier League, in which they lost to KK Šibenka 78:89 (18:31, 12:22, 26:19, 22:17).
The value girls did not open the game well; they were terrible in defense, and already, in the first quarter, they conceded 31 points. The second quarter continued in the same rhythm, Šibenka controlled the game and via Vujičić and Junaković went to +23 by the end of the first half in 30:53. In the following, the host played a little better, but not enough to reduce the big deficit from the first half. The visitors were better in all segments. They had more energy and deservedly won with 78:89. At Vrijednosnica Osijek, the most points were scored by Tchoukuiegno 18, Grantsaan 17, and Rebić 16, while at Šibenka Vujičić led the way with 26 and Junaković with 21 points.
KK Zadar basketball players routinely did the job in KK Zabok and, in the end, celebrated with 31 extra points (54:85). Zabok fought as hard as they could, but Zadar is currently two levels higher than Zabok, especially in terms of physicality. The home team started fantastically, but very quickly, Zadar established a solid defense that opened the way to a convincing victory.
Zabok opened fantastically with three consecutive 3-pointers by Cinco and took a 9:0 lead after less than two and a half minutes of the game. Jusup responded with a minute of rest, after which the guests went on a 20:0 run. Zabok failed to score again until the end of the quarter, so after the first ten minutes, the scoreboard read 9:20. At the beginning of the second quarter, Cinac managed to break the unpleasant streak of the visitors with a problematic cross, and the same player dropped Zabok to -7 with a dunk (15:22). Still, very quickly Zadar made a series of 7:0. In the 16th minute the score was 15:29. . Zadar went to the “big break” with fifteen baskets in excess (27:42). By halftime, Cinac had already scored 15 points, while for the guests, Mihailović stopped at 9. At the beginning of the third quarter, Gegić played without any points, and after Ramljak’s three-pointer in the 28th minute, the guests’ advantage was greater than 20 points for the first time ( 39:60), to enter the last ten minutes with the score 43:64.
At the end of the last quarter, coaches Tomas and Jusup gave their “polestars a chance.” Two minutes before the end of the game, a cheerful Klarica gave the guests a 30-point lead (51:81), and the game ended with a score of 54:85. Dino Cinac led Zabok with 15 points, while Luka Cvitanovnić stopped at 11 points and seven rebounds. Vladimir Mihailović was the most effective, with 16 points for the guests, while Krševan Klarica scored 14. The guests had a significant advantage in rebounding, 49:23, of which they had 18 rebounds in attack. Interestingly, in the first half, Zadar had 11 rebounds in the attack, and Zabok had 11 rebounds in total. Similarly, Zabok had only three field goal scorers after the first half, while Zadar scored eight goals.
The Zagreb derby started with a flawless entry by KK Cedevita Junior, who kept KK Cibona to zero in the first five minutes of the game while they scored 12. With quick counter-attacks that came from a solid defense, they led Cedevita to the lead in the early minutes, 2:14. However, the hosts managed to reduce the deficit to -4 by the end of the quarter, after which the former coach of Cibona, Repeša, called a rest—the quarter ended 16:19.
The second quarter starts with a three-pointer by Cedevita, which was also the game’s first three-pointer. The continuation of the game is similar to the one in the first quarter. The visitors dominate and take a big lead, 18:33. Katanović interrupts Cibona’s post with a nice drive to the basket and an assist to Vuković for a dunk. In the following minutes, Cibona is slowly getting closer to Cedevita, 27: 36. By the end of the first half, Vukovi managed to come within just a basket behind, 35:37. The first points in the continuation of the game had to wait a little more than a minute when Buljan scored two throws for Cedevita. The scenario from the last two quarters seemed to repeat itself: Cedevita Junior would dominate the opening minutes, and Cibona would take over in the second half. However, the Wolves were more serious this time and had the opportunity to take the lead three minutes to the end, which they succeeded in the next attack with a layup by captain Radovčić. With a minute to go, passions heat up, and Radovčić and Krajnović receive technical penalties. The quarter ends with an equal score of 55:55.
The last quarter started with three 3-pointers, one by the home team and two by the guests (58:61). After four minutes of play, the score was still equal, and the score was 65:64. Two minutes later, Cedevita Junior took the first “bigger” lead with the penetration of Krajnović, who, with a scored basket, got one shot, 66:70. Towards the end, Cedevita managed to assert itself as a stronger team and thanks to a series of five points by Mislav Brzoja, it managed to win with a score of 68:75.
SOURCE: Croatian Basketball Federation
