EXCELLENT MEGA CELEBRATED IN LAKTASI

After a great fight during all 40 minutes, Mega Bemax defeated Igokea in Laktasi with 82:89 (20:28, 14:26, 25:17, 23:18) within the 11th round of the ABA League. Players of Dejan Milojevic had a plus 20 in the halftime, the home team managed to lower the difference to 3 points, but Cančar and Bitadze were precise and concentrated at the key moments for the very important victory of Mega. The coach of Mega Bemax on this match because of injury could not count on Nikola Miskovic and Ognjen Carapic.

The most effective in the ranks of Mega Bemax were Vlatko Cancar with 21 points and Stefan Fundic with 14, and Goga Bitadze was excellent with 13 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks. In Igokea the best were Nikola Jevtovic and Vuk Radivojevic who both had 18 points.

After 11 games, Mega Bemax and Igokea have 4 wins. In the next round on Monday, December 18th at 18:00, Mega will play against Cibona in Zagreb.

Dejan Milojević started the match with Rebic, Ennis, Mushidi, Cancar and Bitadze. The good start of Mega who with points from the paint and with triple of Rebic leads with 8:12. Igokea equals the score and the problem for Mega is two personal fouls by Cancar and Mushidi. Mege’s players after offensive rebounds get to the advantage of 5 with minute and half to go. Bitadze and Fundic are doing well under the basket and the first quarter ends with the lay-up of Lazic for 20:28.

Mega continued with a good game in the second quarter where the defense limited the home team to two points in almost four minutes of play in second period, and on the other side, Lazic and Cancar scored for the already convincing 25:43 mid-period. Mega Bemax players especially pointed out in offensive rebounding, where in less than a minute of play had 4 of them. Igokea has no solution for the Mega’s attack, and the confirmation of the great game was an action from the out with a second to the end, where Rebic found Chancar for lay-up and 34:54 after the first 20 minutes of the game. In addition to the eight offensive rebounds, Mega’s players had brilliant 17-21 for 2 points.

The home team started better in the second half and managed to reduce the deficit to 14 points. After Milojevic’s time-out, Mega established control of the attack through the lay-ups of Enis and Rebic. Bitadze closes the paint, but Igokea does not allow with threes further growing of plus of Mega. Rebic hits mid-range field goal at the end of the third quarter for 59:71.

At the beginning of the last quarter, Bitadze is on the bench for the 4th personal foul, but Mega holds 10 points advantage over Fundic in the paint. Igokea’s new trio manages to lower the gap to 8 points. Mege’s players have problems in the attack, so the advantage continued to melt up to 78:81 for little over 2 minutes to the end. Bitadze hits extremely important points after offensive rebound but Jevtovic responds with points on the other side. Cancar takes responsibility in the offense and with two excellent layouts brings a calmer plus 7 at the entry in the last minute. By the end of the match, Mega’s players routinely retained the victory for the final 82:89.

Igokea: Ponjavic, Lee 12, Gajic, Glogovac, Nikolic, Milosevic 10, Jevtovic 18, Radivojevic 18, Ljubicic 8, Sibalic 8, Vukovic, Rikic 8.

Mega Bemax: Mushidi, Rebic 13 (5 rebounds, 5 assists), Sinovec 8, Cancar 21 (5 rebounds), Bitadze 13 (10 rebounds, 4 blocks) Jovicic, Lazić 9 (5 rebounds), Koprivica, Samardziski, Ennis 11 (7 assists, 3 steals), Fundic 14 (7 rebounds), Kapetanovic.

Photo: Igokea/Nenad Vuruna