18 Nov 2023 – In round 8, for the first time this season, the Croatian teams in the ABA League were able to get the maximum amount of points possible. Cibona Zagreb continued to grow its winning streak to 3 by defeating SC Derby in Morača 93:101. The spectators in Split witnessed how Luka Bozić recorded the third triple-double ever in ABA League history to lead his team to a 75:82 victory in the Dalmatian derby.
Source: www.aba-liga.com
SC Derby – CIBONA 93:101 (24:12, 20:32, 23:29, 26:28)
Photo: SC Derby/Filip Roganovic
On Friday night, Cibona have outgunned SC Derby on the road in Morača. This is the third win of Cibona this season and third in a row and with 3:5 record after 8 games played, they have escaped the danger zone at the bottom of the AdmiralBet ABA League standings.
SC Derby have been the team, that began the game in a better fashion, as they have been up by 12 points (24:12) after the opening quarter, but Cibona have bounced back in the second quarter and tied the game at 44:44 by the big break. In the second half, Cibosi continued to grind and the key moments came between 34th and 36th minute of the game, when they have converted their 3-point lead (78:81) into a double-digit one (78:88).
Stats:https://www.aba-liga.com/match/50/23/1/Overview/q1/1/home/sc-derby-cibona/
Split – ZADAR 75:82 (14:16, 28:19, 14:25, 19:22)
Photo: Burak Canboy
For the most part, it was a tight game throughout all 40 minutes, with both teams exchanging the lead. Split managed to pull away in the second quarter, the hosts closed the half with a 10:0 run after trailing by 3 before that. Danijel Jusup’s halftime talk clearly worked as Zadar took over the third quarter, they outscored Split 14:25 in the period and took a 4-point lead heading into the final quarter. In the final quarter, Split wouldn’t let Zadar run away with the game but couldn’t cut into the Zadar advantage to try and get the win.
Photo: Burak Canboy
Without a doubt, tonight’s man of the match is Luka Božić, last year’s MVP continues with unbelievable performance this season. He finished the night with a monster triple-double, he scored 28 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists with a ridiculous valuation of 47.
Photo: Burak Canboy
Stats: https://www.aba-liga.com/match/53/23/1/Overview/q1/1/home/split-zadar/
While Zadar managed to even its wins and losses at 4 and now leads the teams that are trying to reach the top 4 in the league, Split is in deep trouble with only a single win so far. Split Mayor Puljak and Deputy Kuzmanić who were present at the game, should be hoping to see some success in the upcoming 3 games against the other teams at the bottom of the table, otherwise their efforts to rebuild the club and prepare it for outside investment will have surely failed.
