Ilirija brez odgovora proti nekdanjemu trenerju, Budućnost z zmago iz Stožic

Slovenian basketball clubs failed to secure a victory in the fifth round of the Adriatic League, known as Liga ABA, with all three domestic teams suffering defeats this weekend. Cedevita Olimpiya lost at home to Montenegro’s Budućnost, while Perspektiva Ilirija fell away from form against former coach Stipe Modrić’s Zadar. Additionally, Krka from Novo mesto continued its winless streak after a loss to Cibona. These results left the Slovenian representatives struggling for points in their respective groups within the competition. The match between Cedevita Olimpija and Budućnost took place on Saturday afternoon in the Stožice arena in Ljubljana. It was a contest with historical weight for the hosts, who had not beaten the Montenegrin side since November 2023. Since that last victory, Olimpija had accumulated five consecutive losses against Budućnost. The team entered the season poorly, having lost the Super Cup clash to Krka in late September and suffered four defeats in European league play. However, their start in the ABA League had been better, with two wins in the first three matches before this fourth game resulted in their second loss. They have not defeated Budućnost at home for five years. Budućnost established a double-digit lead in the first quarter, leading 18 to 8 early on. After a three-point shot by Jake Blažič, who played despite back issues, Olimpija narrowed the gap to 13 to 21 at the end of the first period. Although the Ljubljana team closed to within two baskets during the second quarter, they headed into halftime trailing by 15 points, 34 to 49. Rihards Lomažs led the scoring for Olimpija with 11 points at the break, followed by Matthew Hurt with nine and Noah Kirkwood with six. New signing Osayi Osifo, who had not made a major impact in previous games, delighted the small crowd in Stožice with one attractive dunk. In the third quarter, mixed performances prevented Olimpija from finding a rhythm, and they trailed 60 to 75. The Montenegrins scored heavily on easy fast-break opportunities. In the final quarter, the deficit grew to 18 points at one stage. The final score was 81 to 95 in favor of Budućnost. Lomažs finished with 18 points, Hurt added 15, and young player Urban Kroflič contributed 10. Six players for Budućnost reached double figures, with Justin Smith and Iverson Molinar Jones each scoring 16. Other scorers for Budućnost included Magee with 12, Đorđević with 11, and both Kovilar and Morgan with 10. Earlier in the round, on Friday, Cibona hosted Krka in the Dražen Petrović Hall. Both teams were winless in their first three appearances of the ABA League campaign. Cibona emerged as the deserving winner with a 99 to 84 victory. The Zagreb club had recently dismissed head coach Ivan Rudež following a series of losses. His assistants, Neven Nikolić and Andrej Štimac, temporarily took over leadership and extracted a combative, fast-paced performance from the squad. Krka had no answer for this intensity. Cibona won the second quarter decisively, 33 to 18, and maintained a comfortable lead throughout the second half. For Krka, Diante Baldwin scored 22 points, while Blaž Mahkovic and Galin Smith each tallied 15. This defeat marked Krka's tenth official game of the new season across all competitions. While they remain unbeaten in the national championship after five games and won the Slovenian Super Cup against Cedevita, they have yet to find success in the ABA League. Perspektiva Ilirija faced Zadar in another key fixture of the round. The two teams entered the match with identical records in Group B, having each recorded one win and two losses. Zadar was managed by Stipe Modrić, a former Slovenian international who had previously coached Ilirija. Modrić had guided Ilirija to promotion in the ABA League and kept them in the Adriatic elite the previous year before moving to Zadar in the summer. He expressed confidence in his team's ability to beat his former club, particularly after Zadar’s recent loss to Mega, a team Ilirija had defeated. Gašper Okorn, the current coach of Ilirija, acknowledged Zadar as the favorite. Ilirija started the game poorly, falling behind by 13 points in the ninth minute. They recovered slightly in the remaining ten minutes of the first half, narrowing the gap to three points, but still went into halftime down by five. The absence of captain Edo Murić and top scorer Stefan Todorović, who averages 21 points per game, was keenly felt. In the third quarter, Zadar pulled away significantly, leading by 20 points with one minute remaining in that segment. The visitors lost 19 balls during the game, conceding 29 points off turnovers. Zadar dominated the paint, scoring 46 points inside the arc. Lovro Buljević and Dario Drežnjak each scored 15 points for the winners. For Ilirija, Cameron Shelton matched them with 15 points, Vit Hrabar added 14, and Bine Gabrijel contributed 12. Despite hitting more three-pointers and shooting a higher percentage from deep (36% compared to Ilirija’s 27%), Ilirija struggled from mid-range, shooting just 42% on two-point attempts, whereas Zadar hit 67%. Following these results, the standings reflect the struggles of the Slovenian clubs. In Group A, Cedevita Olimpija stands with two wins and two losses, sitting in fifth place alongside Slovan Bratislava and FMP. Krka is last in Group A with zero wins and four losses. In Group B, Zadar has improved to two wins and two losses, placing them in fourth position. Perspektiva Iliria remains in eighth place with one win and three losses. Their next challenge in the competition will be an away game against Studentski Centar on Sunday. The other results from the round included Široki beating Slovan Bratislava 91 to 98, Cluj defeating SC Derby 100 to 78, Borac winning against FMP 95 to 87, Igokea losing to Crvena Zvezda 80 to 81, Bosnia falling to Dubai 83 to 93, Vienna losing to Mega 88 to 94, and Spartak dropping to Partizan 80 to 82.