DEFEAT OF MEGA MIS IN THE LAST SECONDS OF SERBIAN SUPER LEAGUE SEMI-FINALS

Mega MIS basketball players failed to overcome FMP SoccerBet in the Mega Factory hall at the start of the semi-final series, as the team from Železnik turned the score around in a dramatic finish and won, 72:75 (21:19, 19:14, 14:17, 18:25). Marko Barać’s rejuvenated squad, with only two players born before 2000, led for most of the match, but the guests fought for an uncertain finish. After several changes in the lead, the team from Železnik had more luck in the last minutes and came out victorious, taking a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series.

The most effective player in the Mega MIS team was Luka Cerovina with 17 points, followed by Matej Rudan with 14. Petar Kovačević added 13 points, while Aleksa Uskoković also scored in double figures with ten and six assists.

The talented Ognjen Srzentić (2007) and Petar Milosavčević (2006) also made their first team debuts.

Charlie Moore led FMP with 16 points, Ognjen Matović added 13, Ebuka Izundu 11, and Aleksa Stepanović scored 10.

Mega basketball players opened the game with a 5:0 run and kept the advantage until the middle of the quarter, when the guests turned around and gained a surplus for the first time. After the time-out, Barać’s players responded and retook the lead. After a slightly tougher end of the quarter, they met the break at 21:19. The FMP basketball players briefly retook the lead. Still, the home team responded with seven tied points, gained control, and met the halftime with plus-seven after captain Cerovin’s three-pointer with 17 seconds left (40:33).

Mega took a double-digit lead midway through the third quarter, but FMP responded. The team from Železnik tightened its defense and melted the deficit away. However, he did not manage to turn it around, so Barać’s team went to the last break with plus four (54:50). With an 8:2 run in the first three minutes of the decisive quarter, FMP reached a new turning point, but captain Cerovina returned the advantage to Mega with a three-pointer under a foul and an extra throw. And then he confirmed it with another precise shot from a distance. However, the team from Železnik responded, reaching a surplus once again. The game entered a dramatic finish, Mega had a shot for overtime, but the ball didn’t go into the basket, so FMP will have the match point to qualify for the finals at home.

The second match of the semi-finals is scheduled for Wednesday, June 7, from 6:00 pm in Železnik.

Mega MIS: Rudan 14, Uskoković 10 (6 as), Cerovina 17, Marković 1, Terzić 2, Paunović 5, Srzentić, Kovačević 13 (5 rb), Nikolić, Jović 7, Milosavčević, Mušicki 3 (4 st)

FMP: Moor 16, Stepanović 19, Šaranović 7, Simović 6, Izundu 11, Beech, Pavićević, Todorić, Matović 13, Vuković 8, Jenkins 3

Photo: Mega MIS/Ivica Veselinov