MEGA MIS CAME BACK FOR MINUS 18 BUT LOST TO BUDUCNOST IN A GREAT ATMOSPHERE IN FRONT OF ABOUT 2,500 SPECTATORS IN SREMSKA MITROVICA

Mega MIS once again rewarded the fans for securing the playoffs of the ABA League. They organized the meeting of the 25th round of the ABA League in Sremska Mitrovica and the PSC Pinki hall, which Mega called her home from 2014 to 2019. In a great atmosphere, in front of around 2,500 spectators, they showed once again that they never give up, as they overcame a deficit of 18 points in the third quarter but failed to defeat the favored Buducnost Voli team, 76:85 (24:24, 14:30, 26:14, 12:17).

Marko Barać’s team handled the Podgorica team on an equal footing until the middle of the second quarter and even had a seven-point advantage when the guests started to build an advantage. They led with 18 points, but Barać’s persistent players equalized at the end of the third quarter. However, the experience and qualities of the champions of Montenegro came to the surface; the visitors started the last quarter at a slightly slower pace and gained a double-digit advantage, which Mega could not reach in the end. With their 18th win (six losses), Buducnost secured third place in the table, while Mega awaits the last round of the league with a 12-13 score.

The young Croatian center Danko Branković handled the opponent’s center line brilliantly, finishing the match with 23 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks for the highest PIR of the game – 34. Matej Rudan followed him with 14 points, Nikola Đurišić with 12, and six assists.

In the team of former Mega coach Vladimir Jovanović, who was presented with a suitable gift by the club’s general manager Goran Ćakić before the start of the match, the most efficient was Eric Green with 17 points. J.J. O’Brien added one less, while Trae Bell Haynes scored 15. Kenan Kamenjaš scored in double figures with 14, as did Marko Jagodić Kuridža with 10 points.

The first part of the game was a fairly even fight. It was a pretty open game, with lots of room for attractive moves, so the teams met the first break with a draw, 24:24. Mega opened the second quarter with an 8:1 run, but Buducnost then took over the game. First, they evened the score, and then at the end of the quarter, through the experienced Green, they reached a double-digit surplus to go to the big break with 54:38.

Mega refused to give up, so after returning from the break, it started to melt away the deficit, and after a 10:0 run through Cerovina, Đurišić, and Braković leveled the score at 62:62 after 28 minutes of play. However, the guests consolidated and regained the lead in the last two minutes (68:64). The rhythm dropped in the last quarter, which the more experienced team of Budućnost used to return the double-digit surplus. Getting points on both sides was difficult, so the Podgorica team managed to preserve the advantage and register the victory.

In the last round of the ABA league, Mega MIS is visiting Cedevita Olimpija, and the meeting in Ljubljana is scheduled for April 15 from 5:00 p.m.

Mega MIS: Paunović, Branković 23 (8 rb, 34 PIR), Rudan 14, Cazalon 9, Đurišić 12 (6 as), Kovačević, Cerovina 7, Rorie 7, Grbović 4, Terzić, Mušikić

Future: Reynolds, Bell Haynes 15, Šehović, Atić 8, Kaba, Lazić 1, O’Brien 16, Jagodić Kuridža 10, Drobnjak, Popović 4, Green 17, Kamenjaš 14

Photo: Mega MIS/Ivica Veselinov