Almost two weeks have passed since the “Yellows” lost their place in the sunlight on the last day of the regular season in the Croatian HT Premijer Liga. KK Zadar had dominated most of the game and managed to steal points at Gripe with a convincing 81:95 victory.
Since then, Split won all three games against Cedevita and at Gorica during the championship round of HT Premijer Liga and pulled off a surprise win at Borac in the ABA League.
Zadar won its final game of the regular season against Zabok and won at home against Cibona in the championship round. After that, however, they lost at home in the ABA league against Ljubljana (77:92) and then again closely at Mornar (86:84).
Tonight Split dominated most of the game but failed to make the kill. At Gripe, 900 fans saw a good game from Split during the first half. The home team used their advantage under the basket. Zadar was missing Vuković and Bursać, two experienced big men. With space under the basket, the Yellows were able to set up a successful in-and-out game with easy baskets from the perimeter.
During the third quarter, guest coach Anzulović and his team were able to find answers. Zadar’s stolen talent from Podstrana, Tomislav Buljan, used his chance and gave his team the necessary extra energy. The U19 Finals’ MVP used his 11 minutes for 6 points and 4 rebounds and kept the home centers busy.
A few minutes before the end of the game, Split looked like the sure winner with a 71:62 lead and just less than 4 minutes to play. However, when it was needed, guest captain Mavra started making his outside shots again. With only seconds to go and the game tied, Shannon Shorter was blocked by Zadar’s Justin Carter. The American combo guard delivered a convincing game with 15 points, 11 rebounds, and two critical blocks. His last block sealed the victory.
The top scorer of the night was guest captain Dominik Mavra again with 19 points (5 of 7 three-point shots) and 8 assists.
Srđan Subotić had to leave the gym with his head bowed down. This game should not have been lost. Once again, the low free throw percentage (12 of 19 = 63%) cost his team a victory. Kovačević was the top scorer for the home team with 16 points (5 of 10 three-point shots)
Box score: https://fibalivestats.dcd.shared.geniussports.com/u/HKS/2072167/bs_en_AU.html
Referees: Hordov Tomislav, Radojković Josip, Gracin Franko
HT Premijer Liga format:
The Croatian basketball championship is played in 3 rounds. The twelve teams of HT Premijer Liga play each other twice to establish the top and bottom half of the league. The points are maintained in the second round, where the top 6 teams play each other twice in the championship round; the last 6 teams also play each other again twice in the relegation round. Then the top 6 teams and the best two teams of the relegation round play each other in the playoffs for the championship. The last-placed team at the end of the relegation round drops out, and the 11th faces the runner-up of the First League in a two-game match-up. The team that scores more in those two games earns the right to play in the higher league in the following season.
All photos by Burak Canboy
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