ABA League Round 10 Recap
There was some amazing and exciting basketball action that took place in Round 10 of the regular season in the ABA League over the last few days. From the weekend up to December 4th, ABA League teams played hard and in the end, Montenegro’s Buducnost retained the league’s top spot with an impressive 9-1 record. Just a game behind, Serbian powerhouse Crvena Zvezda MTS Beograd (8-2) keeps hold of second place.
December 2nd
Buducnost vs. BC Partizan, 86-79
The league leaders, Buducnost faced a tough challenger in BC Partizan. They capitalized on their rebounding advantage and also pounded the rock in the low post. Their aggressiveness was rewarded with frequent trips to the line. Buducnost’s Nemanja Gordic scored eight of his team-high 19 points from the charity stripe. Their defense was also excellent. Buducnost blocked five shots, compared to none by Partizan.
KK Cedevita vs. MZT Skopje, 77-65
Third-ranked KK Cedevita Zagreb (7-3) had an easy win over MZT Skopje, keeping them at the bottom of the league standings with a 2-8 record. Cedevita’s Dzanan Musa led three other teammates to score in double figures with 18 points. Their dominance in the paint allowed them to maintain control of the game throughout the majority of its duration.
December 3rd
Olimpija Ljubljana vs. FMP, 73-64
This was an exciting game that had important consequences in the league standings. The win by Olimpija got them to 5-5, tying FMP. The swing was critical. Olimpija leapfrogged them and bounded their way to fourth place in the standings, while FMP dropped to sixth place. Jordan Morgan dropped a big, 18-point, 12-rebound double-double performance for Olimpija, anchoring their offense in the low post. He did most of his damage in close range and could not be contained by FMP.
Mornar Bar vs. KK Cibona, 78-82
The Croatian club edged out Mornar Bar for this huge win. The game result left both teams with identical 4-6 slates, but Cibona climbed in the standings to ninth place, while Mornar Bar slid to seventh. Cibona’s Luka Zoric and Ivan Novacic each exploded for 23 points apiece to pace the guests in this victory.
December 4th
Crevna Zvezda vs. Igokea, 85-80
Red Star were up to their old tricks. They played solid defense and parlayed it into some transition baskets and it allowed them to come away with the victory. Taylor Rochestie delivered for Crvena Zvezda with an efficient scoring game, hitting all of his shots from 2-point range and from the free throw line, en route to his team-high 20 points. Igokea was no pushover though. Their balanced attack allowed for a competitive game overall. Igokea’s Robert Rikic was an unstoppable force in the paint, making 10-of-11 shots from close range.
Mega Bemax vs. KK Zadar, 71-73
This was the closest game of the round, with Zadar dropping Mega Bemax down to 11th place in the league, handing them their seventh loss of the 2017-18 season. Zadar’s win brought their record up to 4-6, landing them in eighth place for now. Zadar’s Josh Bostic was a perfect 12-of-12 from the line as he punished Mega Bemax’s defense for their fouls.