All news
FIBA Europe Cup: Cibona successfully opens European season with victory over Bashkimi
Cibona successfully returned to the European scene with a victory in the first round of the FIBA Europe Cup. At the Dražen Petrović Hall, the Vukovi defeated the Kosovar Bashkimi with a score of 93:79
Although the visiting team showed in the first quarter that their place in the main stage of the competition was no fluke (they eliminated Poland’s Anwil in the qualifiers), Cibona found their true rhythm as the game went on. After the visitors closed the opening quarter with a 22–18 lead, the Wolves turned it around by halftime to 47–41. The key moment came in the third quarter, when the Wolves completely pulled away, built a double-digit lead, and entered the final period at 74–56. In the closing minutes, they calmly saw the game through and deservedly celebrated the start of their European campaign.
The most efficient player for Cibona was Justin Roberson with 21 points and six rebounds. Krešimir Radovčić added 16 points and four assists, while Žan Mark Šiško contributed 15 points, five rebounds, and as many as ten assists. Matej Rudan also played a solid role with eight points (3/3 shooting from the field) and six rebounds.
The visitors were led by Kyan Anderson with 22 points, while Jan Palokaj, a former Bosco and Zadar player, added 16 points and four assists.
In the second round of the FIBA Europe Cup, Cibona will once again play in front of their home crowd, hosting strong French side Dijon in Zagreb on Tuesday, October 21.
Ivan Rudež, head coach of KK Cibona: “Thank you all for the support. First of all, I congratulate my players, and I also want to thank our fans – that sense of connection and shared energy was truly felt and meant a lot to us. We knew we were facing a very tricky and athletically strong Bashkimi team. I think we showed a high level of focus for most of the game. We knew where help needed to come from and from whom, and in that aspect of the game we made a certain step forward. In the third quarter, when we increased the tempo, many situations opened up with a numerical advantage – four-on-three, three-on-two – which we were able to capitalize on thanks to good movement and unselfish play”.
The statistics can be viewed HERE.
Keep reading
