MEGA DROPPED UNREAL COMEBACK, KRKA WON IN NOVO MESTO

Mega with Petrusev’s unreal run catched minus 13 in the last quarter, missed free throws cost them victory.

In the game of the 20th round of the ABA league, Mega Soccerbet lost to Krka away in Novo Mesto with 76:71 (23:21, 18:11, 16:20, 19:19). Coach Vladimir Jovanovic’s team was 13 points behind in six minutes until the end, so that Mega would fully return to the match with 17 tied points by Petrusev and was only one point behind, but Cazalon missed from corner and Petrusev from free throws line, after which was called unsportsmanlike foul to Cazalon, so Krka reached a triumph.

The most efficient in the ranks of Mega were Filip Petrusev with 31 points and Marko Simonovic with 12. Milan Milovanovic stood out in the Krka with 16 points.

After 20 rounds of the ABA league, Mega Soccerbet has 13 wins and seven defeats, while Krka has a score of 6-13 with a match less. In the next round, Mega is free, since the match against Koper Primorska will be registered with the official result of 20:0, and the next match will be played on Friday, March 19, at 4 pm, away against Split.

Mega started the match with the following five: Smith, Tepic, Momirov, Simonovic, Petrusev. Slightly slower start of the game for both teams, so the result after four minutes of the play is 5:5. The home team takes the lead with threes, but on the other side, Smith and Simonovic answered with the same measure. With the result of 15:10 for Krka, Mega makes a series of 0:7. Mega had an advantage of three points in the finish, but with bad rebound protection and turnovers, it enabled Krka to finish the first quarter with an advantage of 2 points, 23:21.

Cazalon immediately returned the triple to Baric at the beginning of the second quarter, but after the new triple by Krka and the lead of the home team of 29:24, coach of Mega requested a time-out. After several mistakes on both sides, Krka took the lead with 34:26, but Mega soon responded with six points by Petrusev, four of which were after the dunk, and managed to get two points behind. After that, Mega completely stop with their play in the attack, a lot of shots ended up on the hoop, and although Mega’s defense was mostly at the level, Krka managed to increase the advantage to nine points, so the result at halftime was 41:32.

At the beginning of the second half, Mega missed the opportunity to reduce the difference with missed free throws and shots for three, and the third personal foul for Petrusev is also a problem. On the other hand, the Krka team did not manage to reach a bigger advantage of 11 points. After a sacrificial throw on the floor, Matković cuts Krka’s counter for easy points for Cazalon. Simonovic and Tepic hit threes, so Mega is five points behind, 53:48. Matkovic steals the ball for a great dunk in the counter, Krka misses the shot for three, but Mega did not protected the jump nicely, so from the second chance and Stipcevic’s lay-up the home team gained an advantage of 57:52, which was the result after the third quarter. 

The home team uses Mega’s mistakes and reaches plus 12, 64:52, and after Tepic’s point from the corner, Vucetic hit a three-pointer for Krka for a maximum plus 13 in six minutes until the end. An incredible run of Mega followed in the direct of Petrushev, who tied 17 points for Mega from all positions, so Mega approached to a point behind, 72:71 with minute and a half until the end. New good defense of Mega, but Cazalon does not hit from the corner for the lead. Petrusev catches a rebound with 11 seconds until the end after a Baric miss, and was fouled. Unfortunately, he misses both free throws, and after the rebound of the home team, the referees awarded an unsportsmanlike foul to Cazalon, after which the home team came to victory with free throws, 76:71.

Krka: Stergar, Camphor 15, Stipcevic 5, Vrabac 2, Baric 9, Kosi, Skific 11, Skedelj, Lapornik 13, Rebec, Vucetic 5, Milovanovic 16.

Mega Soccerbet: Miskovic, Smith 3 (9 assists), Petrusev 31 (8 rebounds, index 29), Tepic 9, Kljajevic, Momirov, Simonovic 12, Cerovina 2, Matkovic 9 (7 rebounds), Cazalon 5, Langovic.

Photo: Krka/Drago Perko/kosarka.si