Buducnost and Zadar faced off in the third quarterfinal of the ABA Super Cup. In the end, Buducnost justified their role as favorites and emerged victorious with a score of 70:58.
Zadar played this match without the assistance of Luka Bozic. Despite the best player in the ABA League last season being in the lineup, he did not see any playing time.
Throughout the first half, Podgorica maintained the lead. Zadar stayed close and didn’t allow the Montenegrin champions to pull away significantly. After 20 minutes of play, Buducnost had a six-point lead.
Although Zadar had a strong start to the second half and evened the score at 36:36, Buducnost established a double-digit lead in the third quarter. The visitors didn’t give up and attempted to mount a comeback in the last ten minutes. However, the reigning champions of Montenegro comfortably sealed the victory.
McKinley Wright led Podgorica to victory with 11 points. Dario Dreznjak was the top scorer for the losing team with 14 points.
For a spot in the Super Cup final, Buducnost will play on Tuesday against the winner of the last quarterfinal, where FMP and Studentski centar will face off.
Both teams started the game at a rather slow pace. Buducnost was the first to find some offensive rhythm, establishing a six-point lead. Zadar kept pace and didn’t allow Podgorica to pull away significantly in the early stages of the match.
The end of the first quarter belonged to Zadar. Danijel Jusup’s team played significantly better, managing to catch up completely. After ten minutes of play, Podgorica had only a minimal lead.
At the start of the second quarter, the home team played better and took a 20:14 lead. By the end of the first half, Buducnost maintained their lead. They had a seven-point lead twice, and they went into halftime with a 33:27 advantage.
Zadar had a better start to the second half. Through solid defense, they managed to equalize, and with free throws by Marko Ramljak, they tied the game at 36:36. However, Buducnost responded promptly. With a 9:1 run, they pulled away again and established an eight-point lead.
Even a timeout called by Danijel Jusup couldn’t help Zadar. Buducnost continued to play better and secured a double-digit lead. After the third quarter, Podgorica held a ten-point advantage.
At the beginning of the final quarter, Buducnost found a good rhythm in their three-point shooting. With several successful three-pointers, they put any doubts about the winner to rest. There were no major surprises in the closing moments of the game, and the champions of Montenegro secured a spot in the semifinals.
BUDUCNOST – ZADAR 70:58 (15:14, 18:13, 17:13, 20:18)
Arena: Moraca, Podgorica;
Referees: Petek, Obrknezevic, Calic
Buducnost: Mihailovic 6, Ilic 4, Magee 6, Ross 10, Slavkovic 4, Grbovic 10, Jones 0, Jagodic Kuridza 0, Williams 10, Reynolds 2, Wright 11, Popovic 7
Zadar: Klarica 7, Sikiric 0, Zganec 4, Mazalin 11, Njegovan 0, Lakic 3, Mekic 3, Jambrovic 4, Dreznjak 14, Grbic 0, Bozic 0, Ramljak 12