Adriatic League gets underway
The 2014/2015 Adriatic League tipped off today with two games making up the first day of Round 1 at the start of the Regular Season. The rest of Round 1 will be completed on Saturday, October 4th with the remainder of the teams getting their campaigns underway.
Tonight Crvena Zvezda Belgrade crushed Adriatic League newcomers Levski Sofia at home, while reigning champs Cibona Zagreb fell at home to Union Olimpija Ljubljana.
Cibona vs. Union Olimpija, 80-85
A riveting contest between these two experienced Adriatic League clubs started well with the teams trading buckets through the opening minutes. At the first buzzer Cibona had opened a slender 21-19 lead, but the story of the first quarter was Union Olimpija debutant Hristo Nikolov, who scored 17 of his teams opening 19 points! The close game opened up in the second quarter as the visitors started to best Cibona all over the court, outscoring them to a run of 12-24, enough for a 33-43 lead at halftime. The defending champions responded in the third quarter as the Zagreb club got its scoring back to a consistent level, winning the stanza 25-22 (58-65). The strong play at the basket continued in the last frame as a hit for hit game emerged, Cibona won the frame and made it nervy, but Union Olimpija held on for the win.
Crvena Zvezda Belgrade vs. Levski Sofia, 85-55
Levski Sofia is making its first appearance in the competition and the Bulgarian team was given a lesson by one of the powerhouse teams. Crvena Zvezda welcomed Levski to Serbia and showed their experience in putting together a hot second half to cruise to a 30 point win. The game was actually close through the opening half though, with the teams tying the first quarter 17 apiece after going blow for blow. The Belgrade powerhouse slowly started to pull away in the second stint and carved out a 25-18 quarter for a 42-35 lead at the long break. That was all the space the hosts needed as they moved through the gears in the third quarter, scoring 23 but getting mean in defence to only conceded 12 points (65-47 through 30 minutes). The miserly defensive play continued in Q4 as the Belgrade perimeter cut the space and the players mixed it in the paint. Levski managed just 8 points in the closing 10 minutes as Crvena Zvezda Belgrade romped to victory.