CroHoops

Cibona's players in front of their arena (photo by Glubus.hr)

In it’s first Euroleague qualification game Cibona was able to win Cholet (France) by 77:70 (39:40) thanks to it’s second half defensive effort.

Cibona was paced by off-season acquisitions SG Antwain Barbour (16 points) and PG Demonte Harper (13 points) while Croatian NT forward Damjan Rudez added 11 points to go along with 6 boards.

“We expected a hard game because we are a completely new team. In the beginning, it was hard but we played much better after the halftime break. Especially on the defensive end. I think it was the key to our victory. Obviously, we would like to play Buducnost in the next round because Lietuvos Rytas would have the homecourt advantage.” – head coach Josip Vrankovic (source: Euroleague.net)

On Saturday Cibona will face tough Lietuvos Rytas team which was able to eliminate Buducnost Podgorica (Montenegro) with 83:64 victory.

Cedevita's head coach Drazen Anzulovic (photo by kkcedevita.hr)

Thanks to the play of it’s newly acquired PF Chris Owens (17 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocked shots) who scored 12 points in his team’s 19-4 rally late in the game, Cedevita lost the first game of it’s Eurocup qualifications vs Chalon (France) by 78:73 and has kept alive it’s hope for Eurocup berth.

Rematch will be played on October 4th in Zagreb.

Croatian basketball jewels: Dario Saric & Bojan Bogdanovic (photo by CroHoops.com)

With Zagreb CO awaiting potential acquisition of Sean May, C Mario Kasun displayed his top form while scoring as much as 35 points (24 at the halftime) vs Turkish powerhouse Fenerbahce in a friendly game which was played in the old Zagreb CO basketball hall Trnsko.

Zagreb CO European phenom Dario Saric finally got real minutes on the small forward position. Zagreb CO definitely played with more energy and passion when Saric was on the floor.

He held his own vs Bogdanovic defensively, collected a couple of boards, moved well in transition and had a couple of great assists to the wide open teammates underneath the basket.

If he continues to play and develop his performance, like he did tonight, he could become one of the most pleasant surprise stories of the upcoming Euroleague season.

Josh Heytvelt (19 points) provided some late game heroics for the host team with the huge three-pointer from 10 meters/30.5 feet distance. But he was not able to convert the additional free throw and his potential game tying lay-up has been proclaimed to be late by referee crew.

2011 Nets draftee Bojan Bogdanovic had as much as 28 points for Fenerbahce, while SF Emir Prelidzic hit all four of his free throw attempts in the last 2 minutes to secure the outcome.

This game was a clear strengths/weaknesses indicator for Zagreb CO strategist Ivica Buric and provided a huge confidence boost for his squad prior to the start of their Euroleague campaign.

Last weekend Cibona’s forward duet Damjan Rudez and Tomislav Zubcic joined foces with other Zagreb’s famous faces to help paint the walls in one of the city’s most ruined underpasses.

From Thursday on Rudez & Zubcic will join forces in Cibona’s attempt to reach Euroleague through qualification cycle which will take place in Lithuania from September 29th until October 2nd.

EIGHT TEAMS will compete for only ONE SPOT. On Thursday, Cibona will face Cholet (France).

"Nocni Hakl" Streetball Tournament - U.S. Marines vs RTL TV (photo by CroHoops.com)

Remember the name: Mosa Fowiki. This is the name of the streetball squad from Zadar with international ambitions which showed flashes of brilliance on their way to 2011 “Nocni Hakl” streetball tournament title.

2011 “Nocni Hakl” final tournament took place on the Zagreb’s main square. In the final game of the competition Mosa Fowiki edged the local squad Natural Wealth.

After spending last season with Bosna Sarajevo versatile ex-Cibona swingman Filip Kruslin (200cm/1989) has reportedly signed the deal with KK Zabok.

Member of Croatian A1 league is situated just outside the Zagreb City. Kruslin is likely to play an important role within the team’s backcourt rotation.

TIP-OFF: Mario Kasun (Zagreb) vs Miro Bilan (Cedevita)

Cedevita Zagreb won the first edition of Drazen Petrovic Cup co-organized by Croatian Basketball Federation (CBF) and Museum-Memorial Center “Drazen Petrovic”. Cedevita faced local rival Zagreb CO in three categories (cadets, juniors, seniors) and needed to achieve victories in at least two categories.

After Cedevita’s cadets led by Sabic (23 points) won the first game of the day by 74:63, Zagreb Co was able to equalize the score with the 78:65 victory of their junior team led by European phenom triangle of Saric-Hezonja-Mavra which combined for 53 points.

In the decisive game of the day, after nervous and rough start by both teams, Cedevita was able to lead throughout the complete game and convincingly beat Croatian champion Zagreb CO by 78:61.

Cedevita was paced by F Vedran Vukusic’s 18 points, while F/C Matjaz Smodis added 13 points. For the losing side SG Kruno Simon had 21 points, while C Mario Kasun added 13 points.

General impression is that Cedevita has done much better job in the off-season by bringing in more experienced and compatible reinforcements while Zagreb has done very questionable job and could be on it’s way to experience trouble in the upcoming Euroleague competition.

Although he was on his team’s bench in the final game in which his team trailed by as much as 21-points, phenom Dario Saric didn’t enter the game due to a coach Buric’s decision.