In the 24th round of the regional competition – the ABA League, Mega defeated Crvena Zvezda on the road by 89:83.
For Crvena Zvezda, injured players Yago dos Santos, Javonte Smart, and Nikola Topic did not play, nor did Trey Thompkins, who is in the final stage of rehabilitation before returning to the court.
Nikola Djurisic and Uros Plavsic were extremely efficient at the start of the game. The game was fast-paced and efficient on both ends of the court, where Mega excelled, taking a lead of 22:15. Interestingly, of the initial 22 points, the visitors scored 16 from inside the paint.
Milos Teodosic interrupted Mega’s run with a three-pointer when they led by eight points. The end of the first quarter was marked by Joel Bolomboy’s impressive block, and the scoreboard at the Stark Arena showed 24:18 in favor of Mega after ten minutes of play.
In the following period, Andrija Jelavic played quite well, while at Crvena Zvezda, led by Nemanja Nedovic, they reduced the deficit to just one possession (36:34). Then, in the second half of the second period, we saw a complete turnaround, where the red-and-whites not only erased an eight-point deficit but also led 48:41 at halftime after a barrage of three-pointers, led by Adam Hanga.
Omercan Ilyasoglu was visibly in the zone at the start of the third quarter, scoring five points in a row. However, Nedovic continued with good shooting percentages, keeping Crvena Zvezda in the lead. Another interesting situation occurred after just three minutes of play in the second half when Timotej Malovec fouled out, causing a reaction from Marko Barac on the bench.
Adam Hanga and Nemanja Nedovic continued to hit long-range shots, bringing Crvena Zvezda their first double-digit lead (61:51). Stefan Miljenovic stepped up on the other side, not allowing the opponent to pull away convincingly. We also had the opportunity to see a friendly greeting between Milos Teodosic and Novica Velickovic during one of the breaks in the game. Nothing was over after three quarters, as the red-and-whites led 69:63 heading into the decisive quarter.
Powered by Plavsic, Mega reduced the deficit to 74:71 at the beginning of the fourth period. Ilyasoglu’s second three-pointer brought the game to a tie, and Filip Jovic’s fast break gave Mega the lead after a long time (78:77). We witnessed fast-paced play on both sides, with many misses and turnovers in the following minutes.
The red-and-whites regained the minimal lead through the inspired Hanga, but Mega didn’t give up. Through Plavsic, they created a new turnaround for an 82:80 lead with two minutes remaining. Jelavic scored with a foul for 85:80, and when Djurisic hit a three-pointer to extend the lead to eight points, it was clear that the guests would take the full spoils, which eventually happened in the end.
The top scorer in the winning team was Stefan Miljenovic with 18 points, while Uros Plavsic and Andrija Jelavic both contributed 16 points. In the losing team, Adam Hanga led with 22 points, while Nemanja Nedovic scored 16 points (4/18 from the field).
Crvena Zvezda maintains the top position in the ABA League standings with a record of 20-4. Mega is currently sixth with a record of 14-10. In the next round of the ABA League, the red-and-whites will play against Studentski centar in Belgrade, while Mega will host Split.