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Cibona juniors team advances to the final tournament of the Croatian championship
The semi-final tournament for juniors was held from Friday to Sunday, in which Cibona, as expected, made it to the top four teams
Besides the cadet team of Cibona, the finals tournament taking place at the end of this month in Dubrava (Zagreb), will also feature the junior squad, which competed in Križevci this weekend.
The opponents in Group 1 of the junior semifinal tournament were Radnik, Alkar, and Dubrovnik. In the end, Cibona finished in 1st place with all 3 wins and a maximum of 6 points.
The first victory came against the host team Radnik, with the final score being 98–63. Cibona were led by Zdravko Perić and Ivan Delalija, who both scored 20 points.
The second win came against Alkar from Sinj, with the game ending 98–61. The standout performers were Borna Burek with 20 points, Perić with 19, and Patrik Dorotić with 18 points.
The third triumph came against Dubrovnik, finishing 109–62. The top scorers were Dorotić with 19 points, Ante Garac with 17, and Ardian Seba with 16 points.
“In this group we were announced as the favorites, and in the end we justified that with three wins in three games and secured qualification for the Croatian Championship finals. We only had limited information about our opponents’ characteristics since there are no official statistics or game recordings for regional junior competitions, so we adapted on the fly and prepared for each upcoming opponent as the tournament progressed. I would like to congratulate my players on qualifying, as well as our opponents in this group for the fair and sportsmanlike competition throughout these three days”, said Cibona junior team coach Edi Rački.
In the semifinals, the opponent will be either Split or Kvarner, while the other semifinal matchup will feature Zadar and Cedevita Junior. Coach Rački added:
“That’s right. The first semifinal pairing is already known, and it’s Zadar against Cedevita Junior. At the moment I’m giving this statement, I still don’t know who our opponent will be, but we do know it will be the winner of the game between Split and Kvarner. We’ll wait for them to play and then find out who we face in the semifinals. Over the next two weeks we’ll prepare for them and try to reach the final”.
Matej Kalem for BC Cibona
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