BARAĆ: “THEY SCORED A HUGE NUMBER OF POINTS IN ONE-ON-ONE SITUATIONS WHEN THE GAME WAS DECIDED, WE COULDN’T SOLVE THAT”
The Mega MIS basketball team once again fought until the last ounce of strength, holding their ground on a tough away game, but they couldn’t defeat Cedevita Olimpija on their home court, losing 82:93 (21:24, 25:22, 20:18, 16:29) at the Tivoli Hall. Coach Marko Barać’s team constantly kept close to the hosts in the first half. It was a tough battle, with the lead changing multiple times, and the game went into halftime with a tied score. Mega MIS was the better team in the third quarter and entered the final period with a two-point lead, but Cedevita Olimpija managed to regain the lead, then pull away in the final moments of the game to secure the victory. After nine rounds, Mega MIS has a 4-5 record, while the Slovenian team earned their third win (3-6).
Marko Barać, the head coach of Mega MIS, shared his thoughts at the post-game press conference:
“In preparing for this game, we knew how important it was for both teams, and that the hosts would be highly motivated. That threat in their one-on-one play from multiple positions, as we saw tonight, we couldn’t contain. Due to a lack of concentration, we allowed their best players to score easy points early in the game, either from stationary shots or driving to the stronger side, and in doing so, they gained confidence. In the second half, they scored a huge number of points in one-on-one situations when the game was on the line, from individual creations, many tough baskets, and I congratulate them on that. We couldn’t solve that tonight. This past week we had huge problems, and it showed in the final quarter, where we ran out of energy. A large number of players were not in the training process, which unfortunately showed as a factor tonight. I do not want to take anything away from Cedevita Olimpija’s victory and their excellent play. I congratulate them again on their well-deserved win and wish them, as well as coach Zvezdan, good health, and much luck to coach Adžić in the continuation of the season,” said Barać.
In the next round of the ABA League, Mega MIS will visit Zadar, with the game scheduled for Monday, December 2, at 19:00 in the Krešimir Ćosić Hall.
Photo: Cedevita Olimpija/Filip Barbalic