ABA Liga: Mega Bemax, Crvena Zvezda Stay Perfect
The ABA Liga wrapped up Round 5 of the 2018-19 regular season with two games on Sunday. It featured top-4 teams Mega Bemax, Mornar Bar, and Buducnost. Cedevita Zagreb stunned a struggling Budunost squad and prevailed 63-58 on home soil. This is the second loss for Buducnost in the ABA Liga this season but the club as has been struggling in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague where they are currently 0-4. Cedevita shakes off a slow start to the season with this win and is now 2-3 and they are now climbing up the league standings. Cedevita will be in for a test in the next round as they face off against Red Star. Will their newfound surge carry them against one of the ABA Liga’s Titans? It will be a game to watch for sure.
The other game was an important one, as league leader Mega Bemax faced off against a tough opponent in Mornar Bar, another top-4 team. In the end, Mega Bemax triumphed 80-84 after a see-saw game that had a couple of big momentum swings. Mega Bemax sticks with Crvena Zvezda Beograd as both clubs share the league leadership with identical 5-0 records. They dropped Mornar Bar to 2-3, which sends them to the middle of the pack where they are tied up with seven other teams. Crvena Zvezda notched their fifth win on October 27th, beating FMP 72-81.
Goga Bitadze powered Mega Bemax over Mornar Bar with his impressive 26 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks. He proved to be a pillar of consistency amid the wild aforementioned swings. Despite their racking up a 12-point lead at the end of the first quarter, Mega Bemax saw Mornar Bar battle back in the second period with a massive run of their own. Things ground down to a defensive battle later on as teams settled into their games. After all of that, Mega Bemax had a precarious 2-point lead after three quarters. Once they moved on with an 82-78 edge, Mornar Bar was no longer able to threaten the lead.
Here are the complete results of Round 5 of the ABA Liga 2018-19 regular season.
Cedevita 63-58 Buducnost
Mornar Bar 80-84 Mega Bemax
FMP 72-81 Crvena Zvezda
Petrol Olimipija 78-80 Cibona
Partizan 85-95 Zadar
Igokea 91-73 Krka