Adriatic League: Buducnost Takes Solo Lead
We’re now 10 rounds into the 2015-16 regular season of the Adriatic League and Montenegrin powerhouse KK Buducnost Voli Podgorica sits atop of the standings. They sport an impressive 8-2 record and have been solid so far, and came away with a 65-55 win over MZT Skopje this weekend. This is the first week in some time that they will claim the top spot by themselves. The window opened when Crvena Zvezda Telekom Beograd (Serbia-KLS) suffered its third loss of the season at the hands of visiting BC Igokea Aleksandrovac (Bosnia-Division I), 81-87. At 7-3, they’re still very much in the hunt. They’re currently in a three-way tie with Cedevita Zagreb and fellow Serbian club Mega Leks. Igokea’s big win over Red Star bumps them up to sixth place with their even 5-5 slate and trail Krka Novo Mesto, which sports the same record.
Buducnost vs. MZT Skopje, 65-55
Buducnost did not have too much trouble handling the ninth ranked MZT Skopje. Buducnost retained control of the game for most of it’s duration, getting to a solid start. Both teams struggled in the second frame, but after the break Buducnost steadily moved on and cruised to victory.
Tadija Dragicevic led Buducnost with a game-high 19 points. Both Aleksandar Maric and Robert Rikic each chipped in 10 points.
MZT Skopje need to turn things around. They shot a poor 17-of-50 from two-point range and an awful 3-of-18 from downtown. Their offense was just not in sync and changes need to be made if they want to add more ticks in their win column.
Crvena Zvezda vs. Igokea, 81-87
One of the most important, if not more surprising games of Round 10 of the Adriatic League was between the defending champions, Red Star Belgrade and BC Igokea. Igokea’s starters played fiercely and they were produced exemplary results. Both Vuk Radivojevic and Milos Komatina dominated the game and delivered 18 points each for Igokea. This victory was hard fought, with the guests overcoming an early lead by their hosts. Crvena Zvezda was up 27-18 at the end of the first quarter.
The second half of the game was all Igokea. They rallied on some excellent plays and Red Star just imploded. Red Star has had similar situations in the past and will need to work on their consistency moving forward. Marko Simonovic led Red Star with 17 points.