May 28, 2021 - KK Split fought but was missing the necessary edge and luck to make a difference at 73:58 (28:28).

In the first game of the Croatian National Basketball Championship Finals, Zadar convincingly celebrated a victory against Split (81:53). Zadar dominated the entire match and with their dedication, they took the first step towards lifting the trophy for the third time. The main reason for the Zadar celebration was their defense. Coach Veljko Mršić’s squad played with high intensity and aggression. Zadar had 10 rebounds more than the guests and forced Split to 17 turnovers.

During the first match, Antonio Jordano was extremely successful from the three-point range, hitting three of his 6 attempts.

"We played a really good game but we have to leave that behind because the series is long. I think that in the next game we have to play as aggressively and focused as possible because that is the only way we will be able to fulfill some of the goals we agreed on. We have to be at a high level in defense and attack, I think that is the key for tomorrow's game. We have shown that we play as a team, we play as a team, and that is the most important thing," said Antonio Jordano last night.

At the same press conference, Veljko Mršić said that one should be careful after the first game. "I expect a good Split, it is still a team that beat Cibona twice in the semifinals. We have no right to relax after yesterday's victory, regardless of the fact that we have beaten Split four times in a row. We have to continue like this, because this is only the first third of the road, we have two more steps to win the title, that is our wish. We are going step by step, tomorrow is a new game and we are just thinking about that," said Veljko Mršić.

The normally very relaxed guest coach Mile Karakaš became very emotional during the second half of the game and stayed in Zadar with his team to fully focus on finding a way to crack the Zadar defense. He was able to start with his full roster including Perković who had missed the last game. 

The game started with slight advantages for the home team. Towards the end of the first quarter, Split brought the game to Marin Marić who could not be stopped. However, Zadar was able to pull away again with the last two attacks of the first quarter including a buzzer-beater by Carter for an 18:13 lead. 

Burak Canboy

The Yellows were able to shake off the first loss and the issues of the first quarter and continued to put pressure on Zadar's big men. Despite a low shooting percentage, Split stayed in the game and put up a good fight for the rebounds. With Marić scoring 11 points in the first half, the guests tied the game 28:28 at halftime. 

Burak Canboy

Milan Karakaš had to watch his team's luck run out in the second half. His team kept fighting against the constantly delivering home team but neither free throws nor important outside shots found their way into the basket.

Burak Canboy

Zadar out-rebounded the guests in the second half by 21:8 while Split could not even score from the free-throw line. A mere 3 shots out of nine found their target.

Burak Canboy

Burak Canboy

Despite his team having the upper hand, Zadar's top scorer Chinanu Michael Onuaku (19 points) showed some unsportsmanlike conduct in several situations towards the end of the game leading to a verbal dispute with Luka Babić after the final whistle. Maybe he sparked the fire that Split will need to get back into this series.

The next two games will be played in Split on Monday and Wednesday. Zadar only needs one more win to finish the season with their third title.

Referees: Luka Kardum, Tomislav Vovk, Alfred Jovović

Box score: https://fibalivestats.dcd.shared.geniussports.com/u/HKS/1884507/

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May 26, 2021 - Game 1 of the Croatian basketball finals was played tonight in Zadar. Split was without any chance at an 81:53 (48:21) loss to Zadar. 

It has been 13 years since KK Split had a shot to win the national basketball championship trophy. They succeeded with the help of veteran Dino Rađa who had put on the yellow jersey before he retired his career. 

Three people remember those days very well. Srđan Subotić, Roko Leni Ukić, and Mateo Kedžo all were part of the last Split team to make it to the finals and win eventually. Today Subotić is the assistant coach, Kedžo is the team captain and Ukić returned to the team mid-season to have another shot at the title. They beat Cibona Zagreb in two straight games and one day more rest than the hosts.

FOTO: KK ZADAR / ŠIME ZELIĆ

In the Dalmatian derby, it is their opponent KK Zadar, however, who played the more convincing season. The two-time Croatian champion, ABA League Champion, and eight-time Croatian cup winner finished the regular season at the top and has a homecourt advantage in the Best-Of-Five finals. They start the series with two home games before the games go to Split for up to two games. Should no team have three victories by then, the final game will be played in Zadar again.

Burak Canboy

Zadar surprisingly needed 3 games to beat Gorica to make it to the finals but started into the game well tonight. Coach Veljko Mršić's team was very focused in the first quarter and outscored the Yellows 17:7. The guest team from Split did not look good in the aerial battles and could not hit the open shots. Zadar had several offensive rebounds for additional tries and even stopped Split's last two attacks with blocks. 

Burak Canboy

It got worse for Split Coach Mile Karakaš who had to watch his team being outscored in the first 4 minutes of the second quarter by 13:3. Zadar was up 30:9 before Ukić showed a sign of life by nailing a 3 point shot. Mesiček added another one to get to 30:15.

Burak Canboy

Any hope that came up for Split did not last long. Zadar dominated the game at both ends of the court and a dunk from Onuaku to make the 48:21 just 2:28 into the second half pretty much ended the game already. The hosts increased their lead to up to 31 points at the beginning of the final quarter before letting the reigns a bit looser for the last minutes. 

Burak Canboy

Split will need to come back with some kind of response in the game on Friday if they want to stay in this battle for their second Croatian national title.

The top scorer of the game was Zadar's captain Dominik Mavra with 17 points. Chineanu Michael Onuaku scored a double-double with 10 rebounds and 12 points. Split's Blaž Mesiček was the only guest player to score double-digits (14 points).

Referees: Tomislav Hordov, Denis Hadžić, Josip Jurčević

Box score: https://fibalivestats.dcd.shared.geniussports.com/u/HKS/1884506/ 

Croatian Basketball Championship Finals schedule: 

Game 2: KK Zadar - KK Split will be played on May 28, 2021, in Zadar at "Krešimir Ćosić" hall, Splitska 3, starting at 18:00 with a live broadcast at Arena Sport.

Game 3: KK Split - KK Zadar will be played on May 31, 2021, in Split, at the "Split" Basketball Hall, Ulica slobode 16 b, starting at 21:00, with a live broadcast at the Arena Sport HRT.

Game 4: KK Split - KK Zadar will be played on June 2, 2021, in Split, at the "Split" Basketball Hall, Ulica slobode 16 b

Game 5: KK Zadar - KK Split will be played on June 5, 2021 in Zadar, at "Krešimir Ćosić" hall, Splitska 3

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May 22, 2021 - On Thursday, KK Split managed to stay in the ABA League. Less than 24 hours later, they qualified for the Croatian basketball championship finals. 

In the second game of the semifinals, Split defeated Cibona 93:71 in Zagreb and thus went 2-0 in the series. They will play against the winner of Zadar and Gorica which is currently 1-1.

After the first quarter, Cibona had a 28:27 advantage, but at halftime, KK Split was up by 7. Split's excellent game continued in the third quarter when they led by 19, and in the fourth, the advantage only grew to confirm a spot in the finals.

Roko-Leni Ukić scored 18 points as the most efficient KK Split player, and Marko Luković added 16 points. Darko Planinić led Cibona with 16 points.

After 13 years, Split entered the Croatian championship finals, and the Yellows recorded their seventh victory against Cibona this season.

In the first semifinal game, Split celebrated convincingly 95-80.

Because of the tight schedule and Split's ABA League relegation game on Thursday, there was tension between Cibona and Split. KK Split wanted to move the date of the second semifinal match against Cibona to May 22, to which the Croatian Basketball Federation agreed, but they also needed Cibona's consent. The Zagreb club ultimately refused. 

"I think two things were important in today's game. One is that we didn't give ourselves any excuse given what we've been going through the last few days and to realize that today was the biggest chance to win," the KK Split coach Mile Karakas said and added that Cibona did not surprise them with their game.

"After 6:0, the reality was that Cibona would come out as strong as possible at the beginning. When we rejected that first and second blow, we knew that they would fall and that our quality would come forward," added Karakas, who is thrilled to be in KK Split's first Croatian final after 13 long years.

KK Split was welcomed home to Gripe with a flare spectacle which you can see below. 

Source: HRT, Gol.hr

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May 20, 2021 - KK Split leaves Sarajevo without a chance in the final relegation game for the ABA League 1 - 90:60 (47:26).

The third game of the ABA League had to bring the final decision after Spars Sarajevo surprised everyone with a close victory in the series opener at Gripe last week to put Split under pressure. The Yellows then had to win in Sarajevo on Saturday to keep their chances alive for another season in the 1st division. KK Split did tie the series with a strong appearance and followed up by winning the opener of the national playoff semi-finals on Tuesday against Cibona Zagreb.

All eyes were on Spars' coach Modrag Kadija and his young talented squad to see if they could come up with a strategy to pull it off one more time against Split's large and experienced roster as a highly favored side. Big man and rising star Kenan Kamenjaš had to work hard for his 11 points tonight. 

In Sarajevo and against Cibona the Yellows had massive support for their inside players from their outside shooters who displayed excellent marksmanship and pulled the opposite defenders far out of the zone to give the big men more space to play one on one. 

Today it was team captain Mateo Kedzo who decided the game already in the first half by scoring 13 points in only 7 minutes and 23 seconds without missing any of his attempts. 

The experienced leaders Kedzo and Ulić gave the team the necessary self-confidence which they had lacked in game one. 

With the large lead at half-time, Split coach Mile Karakaš was able to rotate all his players through in the second half and the team did not lose any tension. Split's talent Perković, Bajo, and Čampara kept scoring for the favored team to further increase the lead.

The team was able to apologize for last week's loss to veteran Toni Kukoč who was honored before the game after having been nominated to join the Basketball Hall of Fame earlier this week. 

Not being able to close the series in two games now puts the Yellows into a tight schedule, however. The second game in the national semifinals will be played in Zagreb tomorrow. The hosts objected to giving Split an additional 24 hours to rest. Quite a remarkable show of sportsmanship or better the lack thereof. But with Split having gained this much momentum during the last 3 games, it may well prove to have been the wrong approach by Cibona. The game will start at 18:00 at Dražen Petrović Hall.

Referees: Saša Pukl, Sašo Petek, Mario Majkić

Boxscore: https://www.aba-liga.com/match/3/20/8/Overview/q1/1/home/split-spars/

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May 15, 2021 - An 84:64 (39:35) away game victory for Split brings the decisive final ABA relegation game back to Gripe. 

The relegation series between the Yellows from Split and Spars Sarajevo remains undecided. After the surprise loss at home on Wednesday, KK Split kept its chances alive to play in the first division of the ABA League again next season.

Many news agencies did not hold back with negative reports when KK Split, with one of the biggest purses, if not with the biggest budget in the Croatian league, failed to decide the first game at Gripe in its favor. Having club legend Toni Kukoč witness the loss in one of his rare visits to his former home gym was called a disgrace or even a slap in the face. 

Today coach Mile Karakaš was able to motivate his team to strike back and leave no doubt that this mini-series is not over yet and has shown clearly why it was the favored team, to begin with. 

Spars Sarajevo was merely able to compete with the Yellows in the first quarter. At the end of ten minutes, they were up by 18:17 before Split shifted gears and pulled away to 39:35 at half time and then increased the lead to 58:51 by the end of the third quarter.

Sarajevo was not able to find any way to counter and was shown its place by Split. The guest team outscored the hosts with 26:13 in the last ten minutes to tie the mini-series at 1 victory each. 

Pavle Marčinković was able to play again for Split after missing the last game due to injury, and Marin Marić was able to show his importance under the basket. Spars' rising star Kenan Kamenjaš scored 16 points and was tied for the top scorer position with his teammate Nedim Buza and Split's Marin Marić. The decisive factor, however, was the accuracy the Yellows showed from beyond the 3-point-line. 15 of 32 attempts found their target for an impressive 46.9% success rate.

The final game to decide who gets to play ABA League 1 next season will be played at Gripe in Split on Thursday. 

Referees: Milivoje Jovčić, Radoš Arsenijević, Aleksandar Milojević

Boxscore: https://www.aba-liga.com/match/2/20/8/Overview/q1/1/home/spars-split/ 

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May 13, 2021 - Split could not use home-court advantage against Spars in the 70:76 (46:49) defeat in the first ABA relegation match on Wednesday. 

Jugoplastika veteran Toni Kukoč was present on the VIP stands and witnessed a bitter defeat for his former team in the battle to stay in ABA League 1. The guest team Spars from Sarajevo was able to take away the home-court advantage and could already finish this mini-series with another win at home on Saturday. The team to win two games first will get to play in ABA league 1 next season; the other team will play in the 2nd division.

The Yellows from Split ended up playing in the relegation because their impressive run ended abruptly when they had to take a Corona-break from games and practices just before the end of the season. The previous success that came with new coach Mile Karakaš lost steam, and eventually Split lost their positions in the national league and in the ABA league. While recapturing the second position in the national league, they fell to the last position of the ABA League 1. With Primorska already having withdrawn from the league earlier, the Yellows' did not drop out of the league directly. Still, they had the right to play relegation against the runner-up in ABA League 2, which turned out to be Sarajevo.

Spars Sarajevo had just lost the championship in Division 2 of the ABA league against Studentski Centar Podgorica. After the regular season, they had qualified for the finals as runner-up. Then Spars lost the two final playoff games against Studentski Centar, who then qualified directly for ABA League 1, while Spars kept the chance to play the relegation games against Split.

The game was conducted under Covid measures, and KK Split had a better start into the game. Sarajevo coach Miodrag Kadija saw his team fight back and take control of the second part of the first quarter and most of the second quarter to secure a slight 46:49 lead at halftime.

Both teams returned eager to fight this game till the last second, and the second half became an intensively fought defensive battle. Just 90 seconds before the final whistle, Split scored for 70:71 that put them in reach of victory. What followed was a wild back and forth where both teams lost the ball several times. The Yellows couldn’t turn the game around and had to watch Lithuanian Orelik Gediminas hit a three-pointer to seal the visitor’s victory.

Sarajevo’s rising star Kenan Kamenjaš was the top scorer and most valuable player of the night with 19 points. Should Split manage to win in Sarajevo on Saturday, the final game would be played in Split again.

Box score:  https://www.aba-liga.com/match/1/20/8/Boxscore/q1/1/home/split-spars/ 

Referees: Miloš Koljenšić, Igor Dragojević, Radoš Savović

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April 2, 2021 - TCN contributor Burak Canboy sits down for an interview with KK Split coach Mile Karakaš.

The wait for the next game continues for KK Split as a new case of Corona on the team means the cancelation of the national league game in Gorica on Saturday. The rescheduled ABA league game against Krka will probably also need to be canceled again, and it is not even clear when the next game will be played.

Mile Karakaš was the head coach of the Split junior team for five years. He was the U16 Croatia national team coach, which won the gold medal at the U16 FIBA EuroBasket 2018. Since February, he is the head coach of the ABA League team KK Split. He took the time to give us an interview during this unusual time. 

First of all, thank you for agreeing to this interview. You must be having a very chaotic time now after you had one of your players test positive for COVID 19 a few days ago. How does a case of Corona on the team affect the routine exactly?

I cannot say too much about that as it is still not a clear situation. We had a case of Corona on the team before the Krka game. Unfortunately, it has spread out, so we are not sure how we will be able to play the remaining games and the postponed games in time. The Gorica game has now been postponed. Maybe the Krka game will also be postponed again.

There is no daily routine right now. All I can tell the players is to stay at home and to stay safe. We wait for answers from epidemiologists, crossing fingers that there will be training possible again. Now we already had 5 or 6 days without practice and hoped to start again. On Tuesday night, we received the test results, and we have another positive player. I can only give out individual programs for the players so that they will be in shape.

How do you feel about working in sports during Corona, especially comparing your work to people in hospitals working overtime and restaurants and other places being closed?

We all are thinking mostly very selfish and about ourselves first and tend to forget that it is not easy for everyone. There is constant stress that many people have to deal with.

After the first blow of staying at home and total cancellation of sports, at least something is happening right now, but it is not normal work. However, compared to other people who depend on tourism or work in bars and restaurants and are laid off and let go, we are still the lucky ones. We can’t even compare ourselves to people working in hospitals now. We really are still fortunate to be able to do our work in sports. 

You have taken over a team that had just lost the final of the Krešimir Ćosić Cup, was deep in the relegation of the ABA League, and had only won 1 game of 10 in the ABA league since the middle of November. After taking over the coaching position from Ivica Skelin, your team has won all 7 games in the National League and 2 of the last 4 games in the ABA League. What has changed with you as a coach?

I cannot talk about the coach before, only about myself. First, I talked to all the players and people in the club about all kinds of things but especially about the emotional situation that everyone was in. We tried to evaluate what was working well and what was not working well. Additionally, to change the things that did not work, I tried to put in my own ideas. However, that was not easy because I never had any time to introduce something big. We never had more than 4 days between games, so most practices can only be used for regeneration or preparation of the next game.

I believe that all players have to be ready and will all have their opportunity. Everyone has to understand their role on the team. In Doc Rivers' words, “be a star in your role."

Ten players can not all have the most minutes and the ball all the time. When all understand that then good things happen.

I still want to play faster, but it cannot be all done at once. With more time, the team will understand more of how I would like us to play.

How much time do you have for that? Can you share the length of your current agreement?

I only have a contract till the end of the season.

Would you like to continue next season?

Of course, I want to continue after the season. At this point, we are only thinking about this season. I have the most respect for clubs that allowed their head coaches to work for long periods of time. For example Bill Belichick [NFL New England Patriots, since 2000], Alex Ferguson [Premier League, Manchester United 1986 to 2013], Greg Popovich [NBA San Antonio Spurs, since 1996]. I cannot compare myself to these iconic trainers, but my dream is to have a lot of time to work like they were. I believe that is the best way for a club as it allows for long-term success.

What are the management’s goals for this year?

The goals are to stay in ABA 1 league and to win the national league. These were not presented as hard goals to me, like "either you do it or we need to find someone else for next season," but that clearly is everyone's expectations. 

Assistant Coach Srđan Subotic was also a candidate as the new coach of the team. How does it feel to be working with someone who may have ambitions himself to take over your job someday in the future?

In the first meeting with Srđan and Ante [Marović] I asked them quite clearly if they have any problem working with me. They confirmed that they want to help me, the team, and the club. Without them, it would not have been possible to achieve the success that we have. They helped me tremendously because they know the team much better than I do. I have no problems at all with them and do not think twice about their opinions and recommendations.

When talking to your former teammates and coaching colleagues, you are described as a person who dedicates himself to the sport of basketball with all his heart. You have proven that you are a great coach winning the gold medal with the U16 Croatia national team at the U16 FIBA EuroBasket 2018. What made you choose to start playing basketball, and what made you decide to make it a profession?

It was my Dad. He truly made me fall in love with sports. I have great memories of sports in Yugoslavia. We were always going to all the Jugoplastika games with Rađa, Kukoć, Perasović, and so many others. Also, we went to Hajduk games, but it was more basketball. 

I especially remember how the national team with Drazen [Petrović], Toni [Kukoć], and Dino [Rađa] played the final against USSR with Sabonis [1988 Olympic Games Seoul].

After finishing High School, I went to study kinesiology. At the end of the playing career, I had an opportunity to work as a coach in Trogir. And a serious level of game or money was not in sight as a player. At that time, I was not very ambitious, but with time, I really loved it and realized I am actually quite good at it and always received great feedback from the players and club managers.

It never felt hard for me to work as a coach. I can spend 6 hours in the gym, and it does feel like seconds. I have done many jobs. You name it; I have done it. But those things were only jobs to pay for bread, not making me happy. Being a basketball trainer, for me, it's not a job. It's love.

Even though as an adult player, you have played in the close vicinity of Split. Adriatic, Solin, Mislav, Alkar, Kaštela, and Trogir after being a youth player at KK Split. How did it feel being asked to work in the same gym again in which you have spent so much time growing up?

It was a great honour because somebody recognized my work in Adriatic and Trogir. It was Dino Rađa who asked to become an assistant coach to Burić. It was financially a tough time with a very insecure future of the club. At that time, I was living from the paycheck, and my job at Adriatic was pretty safe, but my wife asked me if I was crazy to even think about it twice. She convinced me that it was a great opportunity and regretted it later if I didn’t take that opportunity. Of course, she was right. Everything turned out great, and here we are now. 

During the game against Mega Belgrade, Roko Leni Ukić was the top scorer. He is only two years younger than you. The same as team captain Mateo Kedžo. What is the biggest difference between working with a U16 player versus coaching players that are probably already thinking about what to do after their active playing days?

There are many different players, but kids under 16 are looking at you like a god. They have their own opinions, but they will not push that like Roko or Kedžo. You need to have a different approach. I don't want to sound arrogant, but it is easy for me. I was a player myself, even not on a high level, but I understand what a player thinks and wants. At all times, the best approach is to be honest and open.

I don't see any situation that can happen where I will not know what to say. It is important to care for them and to respect them. If they feel that, they will give the respect back.

Most foreign readers at Total Croatia News may not know about basketball in Croatia, especially basketball in Split. What would you like them to know?

I am not sure if they will hear about basketball in Split for the first time, but they should know that Jugoplastika Split was named the best team of the 20th century by FIBA.

The team was 3x consecutive European Champions and won several cups and national titles in Yugoslavia.

This region is specific; people are crazy and stubborn, only titles count. Even if compared to other cities, it is a small town; they expect large success here.

Think of greats like Toni Kukoć, Dino Rađa, Goran Ivanisević, Blanka Vlasić. Nobody will stop them and ask for an autograph. Even though they think it's nice to see them, they will mostly treat them like "who to hell are you."

But great success doesn't come just talking about it; you have to go day by day and game by game.

So far, KK Split has won just one Croatian championship. Hopefully, this year, we will win one more.

Good luck with that; I hope your players will soon recover to continue that quest, and many thanks for this interview!

You are very welcome. Let me know anytime you want to hear more. 

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March 25, 2021 - The next three games in ABA and Premier leagues have been canceled

The Split basketball team has been hit by a case of COVID-19. The club's press speaker Ozren Marsić confirmed that one player tested positive on the senior team. KK Split canceled tomorrow's ABA league match against Krka in Novo Mesto and the HT Premier League matches at Adria Oil Škrljevo on Sunday as well as the Sonik Puntamika home game on Tuesday. 

After winning 9 of their last 11 games, this is quite a blow to the team of coach Mile Karakaš. Following the ABA league victory against Mega Soccerbet Belgrade, the "Yellows" were successful in the HT Premier League twice. The overtime victory in Šibenik on Sunday was followed by a 77:74 home win against Zabok on Tuesday. 

Hopefully the infected will recover quickly and can return to full speed as soon as possible. In the meantime, the club is waiting for the epidemiologist's instructions.

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March 19, 2021 - KK Split continues to ride a wave of success in the ABA league!

It has only been 4 weeks since coach Mile Karakaš took over his position on the sidelines from Ivica Skelin but what a difference he has made so far. Before today’s game, the Split basketball team was to be looked for somewhere in the middle to bottom third in the tables of their competitions.

Burak Canboy

However, a fresh wind is sweeping through between the walls of Sports Center Gripe lately. In the Croatian Premijer Liga, the team from Split has risen to the second rank behind Zadar and with this evening’s 7th win in the last 9 games, they have made quite a statement in the ABA league.

This week the ABA league was all over the news after dismissing three referees for their weak performance during Saturday’s Cibona-Buducnost game. KK Split however created some good news today and promoted the sport with an impressive upset against the highly favoured team from Belgrade. Mega Soccerbet Belgrade had decided the first meetup of the two on December 6th with 91:75. The topscorer back then was Filip Petrušev with a dominating 31 points.

Burak Canboy

The “Yellows” plan however was to ignore Belgrade’s top scorers’ performance and concentrate on keeping all other players from getting into the game. Not only did they succeed in keeping the guests at 65 points but they also were able to contain Petrušev to 22, while Roko Ukić was able to put in 29 points for the winning side.

Burak Canboy

The game was close for most parts and both teams were keeping the other at arm’s length. While the guests from Serbia were clearly better when it came to field goal percentage and rebounds they failed to score from the perimeter. Only two of 22 3-point attempts were successful. The hosts on the other hand sank 12 of their 32 attempts and were able to enforce 21 turnovers while only losing the ball 11 times themselves.

Burak Canboy

After a close first half, both teams picked up the intensity during the third quarter, and during the fourth quarter Split made the decisive shots and was able to lock down Belgrade to 8 points. The victory allows them to take a deep breath and gives them hope that they will be able to leave the fight against relegation very soon

Burak Canboy

ABA League 

20210319 16:00 

S.C. Gripe

KK Split Mega Soccerbet Belgrade

Results by Quarters

Q1 24:30 Q2 18:10 Q3 18:17 Q4 14:8

KK Split

Top scorers:

Ukić R. 29

Luković M. 16

Đoković I. 11

Marčinković P. 9

Coach: Mile Karakaš

Mega Belgrade

Top scorers:

Petrušev F. 22

Simonović M. 15

Jović N. 10

Matković K. 6

Coach: Vlada Jovanović

Referees: Sašo Petek, Uroš Nikolić, Bojan Kruljac

Full Boxscore available HERE.

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January 11, 2021 - An incredible result for KK Split, which celebrated thanks to a 66-point lead in their game against Hermes Analitica on Sunday, earning them a spot in Croatian basketball history.

Gol.hr reports that the day after they topped Podgorica team Buducnost with a three-pointer in the ABA league, the KK Split basketball team achieved an unreal result in the Croatian Championship.

In the 17th round match of the Hrvatski Telekom Premier League, Split defeated Zagreb's Hermes Analitica at Gripe with an incredible 125:59 result.

The 66-point difference is the biggest victory in the history of basketball competitions in independent Croatia. The previous record was held by Cibona when they defeated Dona 104:43.

Since the games were played one after another, i.e., KK Split had only 20 hours between the ABA league and HT Premier league, coach Ivica Skelin gave more minutes and a more significant role to talented young players from the Split basketball school and those who are not usually part of the strongest starting five. They certainly proved that they earned their spot among the best.

Roko Gizdavčić scored 19 points, and Ivan Perasović 13. The most effective for Split was Toni Perković with 24 points and Darko Bajo with 22.

Roko Leni Ukić, who returned to Split this week, still does not have the right to play in the domestic championship, and apart from the injured Marko Luković, Pavle Marčinković did not play either.

Dalmatinski Portal reported that this is Split's most convincing victory in history compared to other rivals in elite competitions. When this club was called Jugoplastika, they defeated Lesonit from Ilirska Bistrica with a score of 95:32 in 1965, and five years later, they were more successful than Maribor 122:63.

In the 1985/1986 season, Jugoplastika topped Pristina with a score of 133:74, and then in the Champions Cup in the 1989/1990 season, they defeated Scottish team Livingston 122:65.

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