BARAĆ: “I’M SURE WE’LL COME OUT STRONGER FROM GAMES LIKE THIS”

The basketball players of Mega MIS delivered a strong performance against the defending champions, Crvena Zvezda, but were unable to pull off an upset. In the 8th round of the ABA League, they lost 76:81 (23:16, 21:22, 19:24, 13:19) at the Ranko Žeravica Sports Hall.

Marko Barać’s team started the game well, gaining a double-digit lead early on and maintaining it until the middle of the third quarter, when the opponent made a comeback. Mega briefly regained the lead and even pulled ahead at the start of the decisive fourth quarter, but the game went down to the wire, with the visitors eventually securing the win. After eight rounds, Mega MIS has a 4-4 record, while Crvena Zvezda is 6-2.

Mega MIS head coach, Marko Barać, shared his thoughts at the post-game press conference:

“Congratulations to Zvezda on the win. I have mixed feelings, but I have to be satisfied with the way we played today from the very beginning. The guys showed that they were very focused throughout the week, that they embraced everything that happened in the preparation for the game, and that my belief in them makes sense. We showed perhaps our best basketball in the last two games against two of the best teams in the league, but both games went their way. It was the same today—an entirely open game until the very end, tied with two minutes to go. Simply, the Zvezda players used their experience in those moments to get to the free-throw line and gain confidence, scoring many easy points when it mattered. These are the things we need to learn from to become better. In the end, it came down to the fact that we didn’t make our shots in the fourth quarter. We had plenty of open looks, and if we had made one or two of those, I believe the game could have gone in a different direction. I told the guys in the locker room that I have enormous trust in them, both in those shots and in their overall talent. I’m sure that we will come out stronger from games like this, and that in the future, we’ll be able to turn these games in our favor. Once again, congratulations to Zvezda, and I wish them success in both competitions. As for us, we’ll continue with our good work, the good basketball we’re playing, and we hope it will be rewarded in one of the upcoming games”, said Barać.

In their next ABA League game, Mega MIS will visit Cedevita Olimpija in Ljubljana in the 9th round, with the match scheduled for Saturday, November 16, at 19:00.

Photo: Mega MIS/Ivica Veselinov