SuperSport Premier League: Zadar at +20 against Cibona

The visitors entered the game in good spirits and highly motivated, taking a four-point lead on two occasions (6:10, 9:13). Boris Tišma and Marko Ramljak kept Zadar level in the opening minutes. Strong defense created offensive opportunities for the home side, primarily thanks to the playmaking of Vladimir Mihailović, and by the end of the first quarter the advantage had shifted to Zadar (23:15).

Krševan Klarica opened the second quarter with seven points (including two three-pointers), before Tišma followed with a fine individual play to give Zadar a 14-point lead (32:18). Back-to-back threes by Radovčić and Serdarušić breathed life into Cibona (36:26), and the in-form Serdarušić continued his scoring run to cut the deficit to 38:33. Soon after, another three-pointer by Krešimir Radovčić completed the visitors’ comeback (39:36). By halftime, the gap remained the same (41:38).

With a block on Tišma at one end and a basket at the other, Serdarušić continued his excellent evening (41:40), before missing a close-range opportunity to give Zagreb the lead. After that, Zadar regained control of the game. Mihailović scored, followed by Ramljak and then Tišma to make it 47:40. Several scoreless minutes followed before Tišma returned the favor with a block on Serdarušić, and Ramljak scored to restore a nine-point lead for Zadar (49:40). Cibona then responded with a 7–0 run, capped by a Kamaka Hepa three-pointer (49:47). Ramljak stopped the visitors’ momentum, while Mihailović added six consecutive points to give Zadar a comfortable eight-point advantage after 30 minutes (57:49).

The final quarter began in spectacular fashion. Ramljak and Tišma hit three-pointers on Zadar’s first two possessions to extend the lead to +14 (63:49), and after an assist from Klarica, Karlo Žganec increased it to +16 (65:49). Those moments effectively broke Cibona’s resistance. With four minutes remaining, the lead stood at +21 (77:56), and a minute and a half later it was +23 (82:59), before the game ended 88:68.

Zadar’s top scorers were Mihailović with 24 points and Ramljak with 20, while Radovčić led Cibona with 17 points.

Ivan Rudež, Cibona head coach: “Congratulations to Zadar on the win. We matched them for a good 28 minutes. Fundamentally, you can see this is a team above everyone else, especially in their passing technique and, most importantly, their passing under pressure. Before the game we naturally emphasized Mihailović, but what Žganec does with his passing deserves public praise. I don’t think he gets enough credit for what he does. He’s a playmaker who punishes every late help defense and every lowered hand, and they simply passed us apart, with him playing a key role. Special congratulations to him. On the other hand, passing under pressure is a very difficult element for us. When Zadar spread the floor and clogged the paint, we struggled to find good solutions. That turned into the kind of basketball we don’t want to play — isolation basketball with poor shooting rhythm. Kamaka Hepa once again got into foul trouble early, and Zadar’s tactic was to attack him in the post. We didn’t show the level of toughness necessary to keep the game close until the end. I would also highlight Ramljak, who played a fantastic first half and hit some difficult shots at the end of possessions even when we defended well. This is a team with an obvious winning mentality regardless of who is missing — they always find solutions, maintain a good shooting rhythm, and balance inside and outside play well, something Zadar had and we did not”.

Marjan Čakarun, Cibona player: “From our side, the game was good for three quarters, but somehow we lost focus, both defensively and in some rushed offensive possessions. When you play against a team at Zadar’s level, that always gets punished, as it did with the big margin at the end. All that remains for us is to stay in the gym and keep working. We also have two new players, including myself. We need to work and try to match up with Zadar — we’ll definitely face them again. It turned out that I made my debut for Cibona in my hometown of Zadar; that’s fate”.

Statistics can be viewed HERE.