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MVP Matjaz Smodis takes the Kresimir Cosic Cup trophy from Zagreb major Milan Bandic (photo: www.kkcedevita.hr)

Led by Slovenian international Matjaz Smodis’ 27-point MVP performance Cedevita Zagreb was able to edge Zagreb CO by 72:74 in front of their crowd, and win the first major trophy in team’s history.

C Miro Bilan, Cedevita (photo by index.hr)

Both Croatian representatives in Eurocup AGAIN lost their respective games.

Cibona lost the home stand vs Hapoel Jerusalem by 78:86. Interestingly enough Cibona’s best players were PG Brian Chase (15 points, 3 threes) and C Jure Lalic (12 points in 17 minutes, 7 received fouls) which are both rumored to be among priorities on the team’s transfer list.

After Saturday’s superb performance vs Partizan in Adriatic league, Cedevita lost it’s final Eurocup game @ Bayern Munich by 80:65. PG Dontaye Draper had another solid outing with 15 points and 3 steals, but was not able to pace the team which hit just 1 out of 17 three-point attempts. C Miro Bilan had 11 points and 5 boards in just 19 minutes of playing time.

Regular Season, Game 6, December 20

GROUP A [analysis] Results BC Donetsk vs. BCM Gravelines 80-69 KK Cibona vs. Hapoel Jerusalem 78-86

GROUP B [analysis] Results VEF Riga vs. BC Khimki 68-79 Cholet Basket vs. PAOK BC 69-66

GROUP C [analysis] Results GasTerra Flames vs. CEZ Nymburk 75-92 Aris BSA vs. Rudupis 96-86

GROUP D [analysis] Results Telenet Oostende vs. Valencia B. 87-83 Asvel Basket vs. Lukoil Academic 69-68

GROUP E [analysis] Results G. Canaria 2014 vs. Fraport Sky. 71-58 Banvit BK vs. Lokomotiv Kuban 79-55

GROUP F [analysis] Results BC Azovmash vs. Lietuvos Rytas 67-74 Krka Novo Mesto vs. Le Mans 68-65

GROUP G [analysis] Results Spartak SPB vs. Benetton Basket 97-77 FC Bayern Munich vs. Cedevita 80-65

GROUP H [analysis] Results Buducnost Voli vs. Alba Berlin 57-72 Dexia Mons-Hainaut vs. PGE Turow 98-97

Paced by the solid performance of PG Dontaye Draper (17 points, 4 steals) Cedevita was able to achieve 75:57 W vs 3rd placed Partizan team and keep the 2nd place in the overall AL standings.

In the much expected local battle Zagreb’s frontcourt strength prevailed over Cibona’s eagerness to prove that Drazen Petrovic arena should always be considered as their home court.

Zagreb CO won the game 82:77 led by the great performance of it’s captain SG Kruno Simon who finished the game with 29 points (3-4 threes, 12-12 free throws), 7 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals.

C Mario Kasun added 13 points and 14 boards for Zagreb, while SF Damjan Rudez had 23 points and 8 boards for Cibona which now shares 7-5 AL record with Zagreb.

SG Antwain Barbour, Cibona (photo by ABA)

Both Croatian representatives lost their Eurocup games yesterday.

Cedevita managed to keep close until the closing minutes but eventually lost 68:73 to the competitive Spartak St.Petersburg squad which is coached by Slovenian basketball legend Jure Zdovc.

Center Miro Bilan paced the home team effort with 16 points and 8 boards in just 23 minutes of action. Croatian NT PG Dontaye Draper had another pale evening with only 6 points, 2 assists and 5 turnovers in 28 minutes of action. G/F Marino Bazdaric added 7 points, 6 boards and 4 assists.

Cibona was also able to hold on through out the first three quarters but at the end lost it’s away game vs Gravelines (France) by 81:77. Head coach Danijel Lutz  got another strong performance from his frontcourt anchors, Andrija Zizic (20 points, 8 boards) and Goran Suton (13 points).

Interestingly enough Cibona’s players received only 12 personal fouls and were thus rewarded just 4 free throws in the game (Zizic went 4-4 from the line).

Starting today at 20.45 CET, Croatian Champion Zagreb CO (2-6) will play it’s last Euroleague home game  vs Unicaja Malaga (3-5), Spanish powerhouse which features potential Croatian NT members F Hrvoje Peric and PF/C Luka Zoric.

Regular Season, Game 5, December 13

GROUP A [analysis] Results Hapoel Jerusalem vs. BC Donetsk 68-74 Gravelines vs. KK Cibona 81-77

GROUP B [analysis] Results BC Khimki vs. Cholet Basket 76-70 PAOK BC vs. VEF Riga 76-81

GROUP C [analysis] Results CEZ Nymburk vs. Aris BSA 78-72 Rudupis vs. GasTerra Flames 97-70

GROUP D [analysis] Results Lukoil Academic vs. Telenet Oos. 77-83 Valencia Basket vs. Asvel Basket 96-88

GROUP E [analysis] Results Lok. Kuban vs. G. Canaria 2014 73-51 Fraport Skyliners vs. Banvit BK 56-62

GROUP F Results Lietuvos Rytas vs. Krka N. Mesto 82-72 Le Mans vs. BC Azovmash 75-67

GROUP G Results Cedevita vs. Spartak SPB 68-73 Benetton Basket vs. Bayern Munich 92-66

GROUP H Results PGE Turow vs. Buducnost Voli 73-78 Alba Berlin vs. Dexia Mons 83-63

F Tomislav Zubcic, Cibona Zagreb

Croatian teams achieved perfect 3-0 record in the 11th round of the regional Adriatic league.

On Friday, after three straight losses Cibona(7-4) led by Tomislav Zubcic’s 14 points (3-6 threes) managed to win the game over Crvena Zvezda Beograd by 87:73. This W gives 2-3 record to the new head coach Danijel Lutz.

On Saturday, Croatian champion Zagreb CO(6-5) led by excellent SG Kruno Simon (26 points, 7 boards, 4 asists, 11-12 from the line) managed to handle Maccabi Tel Aviv it’s first loss of Adriatic league campaign. Zagreb CO won the game by 81:74  and managed to cross 50% winning margin for the first time in this season.

Later on Saturday, Cedevita(9-2) orchestrated by Croatian NT PG Dontaye Draper (11 points, 5 boards, 4 assists) managed to win talented Siroki squad led by Zagreb native F Zeljko Sakic (11 points, 4 boards, 3 steals) by 74:60.

Both Croatian representatives in 2011-12 Eurocup lost their respective games yesterday. Cibona lost to BC Donetsk by 76:78 and Cedevita lost to Benetton Treviso by 68:82.

Cibona managed to stay close during the complete course of the game. With the score 76:78 in the closing seconds Antwain Barbour passed the ball to the cutting PG Hrvoje Kovacevic but his left-handed shot from the paint at the buzzer came up short.

Although Cibona was again paced by the frontocurt duet of PF Goran Suton (13 points, 6 boards) and Andrija Zizic (16 points, 12 boards) it was outrebounded by 36:31 and shot only 39% for two points.

After trailing as much as 26:7 after 1st quarter Cedevita was again beaten by Benetton Treviso, this time even more convincingly. SG Chris Warren paced Cedevita’s offense  with 14 points and 5 boards while receiving 7 personal fouls.

Cedevita’s PG Dontaye Draper had trouble dealing with future NBA-er E’Twaun Moore who had 17 points on 7-9 shooting from the floor. Draper also finished with 17 points but had only 2 assists and 4 turnovers for the visiting team.

Drazen Anzulovic coached his team to a convincing win over the local rival (photo by kkcedevita.hr)

Game between local rivals Cedevita and Cibona really was no contest from the beginning.

Cedevita won the game by 95:69 in a convincing fashion. All twelve of it’s players scored, five in double digits and all but one of it’s players got at least one rebound!

With obvious intention to save strenght for the upcoming Eurocup match-up vs Benetton Treviso Cedevita’s head coach Drazen Anzulovic rotated all of his players to the maximum while keeping his team’s pace at the very high level throughout the complete game.

Cedevita’s intensive defense neutralized Cibona’s primary offensive options who were able to score mainly on 1-on-1 isolation plays. PF/C Andrija Zizic had 15 points and 5 boards, PF Goran Suton had 10 rebounds, 7 boards and 2 blocked shots, while PG Davor Kus added 11 points and 4 assists.

Cedevita shot 12-27 (44.4%) from beyond the arc while Cibona was 3-15 (20%) in the same segment.