In the first leg of the Croatian Basketball League semi-finals, Cibona won in Šibenik, and Cedevita beat Split
Croatian basketball came home this season, as the Dalmatian basketball halls, Baldekin and Gripe were packed for the first leg of the semi-final series of the playoffs, but once more, wealth proved more important than the love for the game on May 7, 2017.
Dražen Petrović’s hometown hosted the Šibenik - Cibona game, and the home team put up quite a battle against the favoured guests. The score was leveled throughout the match, and it was just at the very last minute of the game that Luka Žorić, an experienced ex-national team center, scored four consecutive points which proved to be crucial for the win.
The final result was 70-67 for the guests, and the Cibona coach, Damir Mulaomerović, had nothing but compliments for the atmosphere:
“I want to praise the home crowd and this fantastic basketball atmosphere. It is not easy to get a win against the home team which puts out 120% having this kind of support. I have to congratulate my team for the incredible energy and motivation they showed despite all the problems and fatigue we experienced today.”
The second leg of the Šibenik - Cibona series is scheduled for Wednesday in Zagreb.
In the other semi-final clash, Split's basketball hall was packed with fans in a festive atmosphere, as Split was celebrating its patron’s day.
Cedevita was not impressed, and although the young home team put it all out there, the difference in quality was a mountain that proved to be too high for them.
Filip Krušlin, an ex-Split player, had no mercy for his former club, scoring 21 points with amazing 63% efficiency from a three-point range. After the match, he told the press that his team had something to prove in this game:
“We lost two games to Split this season, they are an excellent team, with an excellent coach, so we are quite satisfied to prove that we can play great basketball even though it was not easy to play in this atmosphere. This is just the first step, we have the home game on Thursday, and we want to end the series there.”
