ABA League: Buducnost and Partizan Belgrade Edge Wins

Buducnost voli Podgorica continued to set the early ABA league pace, but needed to dig deep to pass Igokea Aleksandrovac on the road. The Montenegrin club edged this contest by a single point, 92-93 to remain top of the ABA League through five weeks.

Victory means Buducnost remains untouched through the early stages of the Adriatic league. Harder tests against the leagues Giants will follow, but the Podgorica outfit has started in fine form and is 5-0 in the standings.

The visitors took the early advantage through the first quarter and moved to a 24-21 lead after ten minutes. The second quarter followed a similar patter as Buducnost plundered 25 points and stopped Igokea at 21 points. During the long break the guest were sitting pretty on a 49-42 advantage.

Buducnost built on its lead with a 21-22 third quarter to celebrate a 63-71 deficit. The hosts looked out of the game, but a rally in the fourth act almost changed the game. Igokea drained 29 points in Q4 but was not able to secure a comeback. Buducnost had weathered the storm and claimed the win.

Saud Sehovic topped the winners with 18 points. Marcus Williams and Peter Popovic followed with 13 points apiece, while Boris Savovic doubled up with 12 points and 10 boards.

James Robinson was outstanding for the losing effort as he amassed 26 points. Robert Rikish managed 14 points.
Partizan Belgrade vs. Union Olympija
Like Buducnost, Partizan Belgrade scraped by with a one point win and even needed overtime to see off union Olympija at home. The guests used a 20-22 first quarter to open a slender lead, but Partizan addressed the balance with a 21-20 second to make it 41-42 at halftime.

Union Olympija took another big step with a 17-21 third act, making it 58-63 at the final split. However, Partizan recovered in the fourth to tie the game 75-75 as regulation time closed. With the momentum, the hosts used the overtime period to pass the visitors and take the win.

William Hatcher set the scoring tone with 20 winning points, while Novica Velickovic added 13, and Vanja Marinkovic 12.

Nikola Jankovic took a game high 21 points in the loss, followed by Brandon Jefferson with 18 points.