Cibona beat Zadar in the derby and moved closer to second place

The starting five for the home team were Palokaj, Lončar, Serdarušić, Šiško, and Hepa. For the visiting team, the lineup included Mihailović, Klarica, Tišma, Žganec, and Mekić.

The game opened with a three-pointer by Mihailović, but Serdarušić and Hepa responded in the same way (6–3). Cibona held the lead until 12–11, when Mazalin scored in an attractive fashion to give the visitors their second lead (12–13). Serdarušić restored Cibona’s advantage, but the visitors, through Mihailović and Buljević, moved ahead again (14–16). The first quarter ended with points from Hepa and Tišma, sending the teams into the break with Zadar holding a narrow lead (17–18).

The second quarter began with points from the captains of both teams, Radovčić and Ramljak (21–20). After Šiško scored for 23–20, visiting coach Jusup called a timeout. It didn’t seem to help, as Radovčić hit a three-pointer to give Cibona a +6 lead (26–20), and Roberson extended it to +9 with a two-pointer and a free throw (29–20). On the other side, Ramljak and Žganec responded with two consecutive three-pointers (29–26), prompting home coach Rudež to call a timeout. This proved effective, as Lončar scored three consecutive two-pointers (with Mazalin scoring in between). Radovčić then added an and-one play. The first half ended with Cibona leading 38–28. The top performers in the first 20 minutes were Radovčić with 10 points and Mihailović with 8.

The second half opened with a three-pointer by Palokaj, but Mihailović and Tišma cut the deficit to 41–33. Cibona managed to build a double-digit lead, with the largest being +14 (55–41). The final ten minutes began with Cibona ahead 60–48.

The last quarter started with points from Klarica, Kapusta, and Mazalin, bringing Zadar within five points, prompting Rudež to call another timeout. After that, Lončar scored, followed by Roberson (64–55). Žganec kept Zadar’s hopes alive with a two-pointer, but Roberson extended Cibona’s lead again (66–57). Mihailović made it a close game under the Tower (66–59), but Lončar, Radovčić, and Skorić sealed the win (Mihailović, Buljević, and Klarica scored in the meantime, but it was too late).

Cibona thus recorded their first win of the season against Zadar, returning to their arena in the best possible way and celebrating their 80th anniversary with a victory. The top scorers remained Radovčić with 19 points and Mihailović with 23.

“We value this win greatly because it marks the club’s 80th anniversary. As for the game, we played a full 40 minutes against Zadar and learned from previous lessons—especially regarding their physicality and rebounding. We adapted, and the improvement in our play since the start of the season is evident. I congratulate the players on the win, which will give us momentum heading into the playoffs”, said Cibona coach Ivan Rudež.

“I think we put on a great show for the fans and performed well from start to finish. We’ve won our last two big games, and I hope we can continue like this”, said Cibona player and captain Krešimir Radovčić.

The statistics are available HERE.