SuperSport Premier League: Cibona routinely confirms second place

Cibona started with the lineup: Palokaj, Lončar, Serdarušić, Šiško, and Roberson. Kvarner opened the game with: Bašić, Barnjak, Jukić, Vučić, and Jambrović.

The home team came out determined to secure the win, and their biggest lead in the first quarter was +9 after a two-pointer by Šiško (13:4). The visitors managed to stay close, cutting the deficit to -4 once (8:4), and to -5 on three occasions (15:10, 17:12, 19:14). After the opening ten minutes, Cibona led 22:14.

In the second quarter, the home side maintained a double-digit advantage, with their biggest leads being +13 (40:27) and +14 (42:28). However, the visitors held on well and kept the deficit under ten points, with a three-pointer by Barnjak bringing them within six points at 42:36. The teams went into halftime with Cibona leading 44:37.

The second half opened with made free throws and a basket by Roberson (48:37). Miličević answered to make it 48:39, but Serdarušić and Bart responded for Cibona (53:39). A three-point shootout followed — first Miličević scored from beyond the arc, then Bart replied (56:42). Miličević managed to bring the Rijeka side within single digits again (56:47), but Roberson, Radovčić, Bart, and Katanović pushed the Cibos to a +23 lead (70:47). That was part of a 14:0 run, ended by Ogrizović and Vučić (70:51). The home team entered the final quarter with a commanding 76:51 lead.

The fourth quarter was played mostly for prestige, as the winner had effectively been decided in the third period. Cibona finished second and will face KK Dubrava, who finished seventh, in the quarterfinals. The top scorers were Roberson with 19 points and Miličević with 15.

Ivan Rudež, Cibona head coach: “I think the result is good and satisfying. We closed out the regular season strongly. Congratulations to the players and everyone in the club for finishing in second place, and now the most exciting part of the season begins. We’ll be ready, and we invite all our fans to come support us”.

Vigo Bart, Cibona player: “We started the game well from the opening tip. We knew Kvarner was not a team to underestimate. They managed to close the gap a bit, but we came out strong again in the third quarter and comfortably finished the game. Congratulations to Kvarner for their fair-play performance, and now the playoffs await us — we’re going for the championship title”.

The statistics are available HERE.