MEGA MIS LOST TO USC TROJANS AGAIN IN THE SECOND PREPARATORY MATCH IN MYKONOS

Basketball team Mega MIS faced the University of Southern California (USC) for the second time in 48 hours in Mykonos as part of their preparations for the upcoming season. After a 73-76 loss in the first encounter, they suffered another defeat in the rematch, this time with a score of 62-71 (9-18, 23-15, 16-17, 14-21). USC Trojans had a much better start, establishing a double-digit lead early on, but Marko Barać’s team started to rally towards the end of the first quarter and managed to catch up in the second. A significant turnaround occurred after the break, but the NCAA team responded with a strong run in the second half of the third quarter, regaining a lead going into the decisive 10 minutes. The battle remained close until the last few minutes when the Trojans pulled away again to secure the victory.

Once again, Uroš Plavšić was the top scorer for Mega with 19 points, followed by Nikola Topić with 12 points on his debut. Oleksandr Kobzistyi contributed nine points, while Andrija Jelavić added eight.

Mega had a slow start to the match, while the Trojans were in good form and built a significant lead with a 13-0 run. However, midway through the opening quarter, Barać’s players improved on both ends of the court, winning the remainder of the quarter 9-5 and reducing the deficit to nine points by the end of the first period. Uroš Plavšić became more influential in the second quarter, and Mega’s interior play and solid defense helped them narrow the gap further, with USC’s lead being reduced to just one point by halftime.

The Mega MIS players continued their strong performance in the third quarter, quickly taking their first lead of the match at 45-38 after several consecutive free throws by Plavšić. However, USC responded with a 12-3 run to regain the lead and went into the final break with a 50-48 advantage. The Trojans continued to play well, making shots from beyond the arc, and they established a new double-digit lead as they entered the last three minutes, which proved to be enough for the triumph.

Mega MIS: Ilyasoglu 2, Jelavić 8, Topić 12, Miljenović 1, Kobzistyi 9, Popović 4, Kovačević 2, Malovec 5, Plavšić 19

Photo: Filip Plavčić/Telegraf.rs