HKK Zrinjski Mostar managed to get their first win of the season in the EUROHOLD Balkan League. This happened in their visit to KK Ulcinj in Round 7 in Group A, as the Bosnian side celebrated a 69:82 win in the end of the game.
KK Ulcinj got off to a good start, leading 4:0 with 1.20 played, and after that 6:3, but Diego Kapelan (190-G-87, college: McNeese St.) made five straight points giving his team a 6:8 lead.The game was tied at 8:8, and after that HKK Zrinjski got ahead and didnt let their laed slip away until the end of the first quarter. They led by 8 - 10:18 with 3.08 left, and after the end of the first period they were already up by double digits - 15:26
Luka Klarica (192-SG-89) scored a three to increase Zrinjskis lead to 14 - 15:29, but KK Ulcinj would go on a seven-to-nothing run, getting the difference back to single digits - 22:29 with 6.37 left in the first half. The home team had their momentum running, and the difference was just 4 points - 27:31 with 5.40 left. Zrinjski scored 10 points in the next three and a half minutes against just 3 for the home team and led 30:41 with two minutes left. Halfway through the game HKK Zrinjski still had the lead - 34:41, as KK Ulcinj managed to erase four points from the difference in the second period.
The visiting side started the second half with five unanswered points - a 2-pointer by Luka Klarice and a three by Diego Kapelan, extending their lead to 12 points - 34:46. The score was 35:48 in favor of HKK Zrinjski, when KK Ulcinj took a timeout. The visitors maintained their lead, as 1.49 before the end of the quarter they were up by 15 - 44:59. After 30 minutes Zrinjski held a 12-point lead - 51:63.
Nothing changed in the first minutes of the closing quarter, as Zrinjski first increased their lead to 15 - 51:66 just a minute after the start of the fourth, and after that they maintained their advantage. Ulcinj managed to bring the gap down to under 10 points - 60:69 with around four and a half minutes to go, but Zrinjski quickly broke ahead again - 62:74 with 3.09 left. Zrinjski didnt let the lead go until the end, as at one point they had a game-high advantage 16 points, before the final score was settled at 69:82.
Diego Kapelan scored a game-high 22 points for HKK Zrinjski, while Marcel Jones (203-F-85, agency: David Lee services, college: Oregon St.) had another impressive double-double - 21 points along with 17 rebounds. Luka Klarica scored 20 points, while Branimir Masic added 8. Ivica Petric (196-F/G-88) added 6 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists.
Radoje Djurkovic led Ulcinj with 19 points and 6 rebounds. Alen Djelosevic came off the bench scoring 14, and Boban Medenica added 10. Sinisa Tepavcevic scored 8 points and grabbed 10 boards against his former club.
HKK Zrinjski outrebounded KK Ulcinj - 40 rebounds against 36, and also shot a better percentage from long range - 35% against just 16% for the home side.
Zrinjski moved up to the fifth spot in Group B, as they share the same balance as KK Ulcinj - 1 win and 6 losses, but they have advantage in the direct match-up.
Courtesy of www.balkanleague.net
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The criticism of Ognjen Kuzmic not warranted or deserved! - May 16, 2013
The criticism of Ognjen Kuzmic not warranted or deserved!
It has been announced that Ognjen Kuzmic will play in the NBA Summer League instead of representing BiH in Eurobasket Slovenia this summer. This has set off a firestorm of criticism against him that he misled BiH and KSBiH officials.
The criticism isnt deserved, first of all because he has offered to play with Bosnia before and was rebuffed, twice [read more]
The criticism of Ognjen Kuzmic not warranted or deserved! It has been announced that Ognjen Kuzmic will play in the NBA Summer League instead of representing BiH in Eurobasket Slovenia this summer. This has set off a firestorm of criticism against him that he misled BiH and KSBiH officials. The criticism isnt deserved, first of all because he has offered to play with Bosnia before and was rebuffed, twice. Last year he joined the National Team but it became apparent early on he wasnt going to be given a shot to play significant minutes with the team and his agent told him he would be better off working out by himself and getting ready for the season. He then left the team and had the best season of his career in the best league outside of the NBA. Again he was approached about representing BiH and his agent asked for a guarantee of 20 minutes a game, a condition that KSBiH and Petrovic wouldnt guarantee that everyone needs to compete for their jobs. This seems a bit disingenuous considering some players on the team are guaranteed to start and play big minutes on the team, including Mirza Teletovic and Nihad Dedovic. Kuzmic may prove to be a better professional than both of these players as hard as it is to believe at this point. Kuzmic was never invited to the Bosnian U16, U18, U20 teams and was never treated as integral part of the future for Bosnia. He wasnt given the same opportunities as Nihad Dedovic, Mirza Teletovic or even Elemedin Kikanovic. Or as a core centerpiece of the future like Adin Vrabac, Nedim Buza and Jusuf Nurkic were last summer. Instead he was treated like Mirza Begic, Emir Preldzic, Nedzad Sinanovic and so many others before him who were never treated as a valuable commodity to be respected. It is time to give Kuzmic the benefit of the doubt, he is well on his way to establishing himself as a legitimate NBA player unlike previous NBA rejects Ratko Varda, Mile Illic and Aleksandar Radojovic who also were Bosnian players. Kuzmic and his agent are doing whats best for him first, something you cant fault him for considering his previous treatment by Bosnian officials and fans. It is time to embrace Kuzmic, wish him luck and hope that once he establishes himself he will rejoin Bosnia and represent her internationally and not push him farther away. Kuzmic has established himself as one of the best centers in Europe, a very good athlete for his size who can rebound, defend and guard the basket. You dont have to run any plays for him and he can backstop a defense for you. He is a bit like a poor mans Omer Asik, not a bad compliment considering Asik has developed into one of the best centers in the NBA.
Elvis Begic becomes an overnight sensation!
A video of Elvis Begic has made its way through the internet and Facebook has created quite the stirring sensation. In the video number 12 is seen head and shoulders above the competition, dribbling from the outside, blocking shots and knocking down long jumpers all over the court. It has made Begic the darling of the day and gives Bosnia two excellent high school prospect big men in Samir Sehic and now Elvis Begic [read more]
Elvis Begic becomes an overnight sensation! A video of Elvis Begic has made its way through the internet and Facebook has created quite the stirring sensation. In the video number 12 is seen head and shoulders above the competition, dribbling from the outside, blocking shots and knocking down long jumpers all over the court. It has made Begic the darling of the day and gives Bosnia two excellent high school prospect big men in Samir Sehic and now Elvis Begic. Elvis stands 210cm at only 15 years old being born in 1997. Some are projecting he could grow into 220-223cm in length. He does show a high skill level, however one needs to be cautious in watching internet videos of highlights. You can clearly see he isnt be challenged in his current setting and needs to take his game to another level if he is to become an elite level prospect. Still it gives Bosnia another potential option in the future for a team that already has a lot of options. The future is bright for BiH basketball and just became a bit brighter.
Siroki WWin and Igokea reach the Final series - May 15, 2013
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Mladost - Siroki WWin 53-70 (0-2)
The game was mostly controlled by HKK Siroki WWin. Mladost managed to win second period 20-15. But it was not enough to take a lead and get a victory that evening. They dominated on the defensive end, holding Mladost to just 6 points in first quarter. HKK Siroki WWin made 20-of-25 free shots (80.0 percent) during the game. Croatian forward Zeljko Sakic (204-88, agency: Beo Basket) orchestrated the victory by scoring 16 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists [read more]
The game was mostly controlled by HKK Siroki WWin. Mladost managed to win second period 20-15. But it was not enough to take a lead and get a victory that evening. They dominated on the defensive end, holding Mladost to just 6 points in first quarter. HKK Siroki WWin made 20-of-25 free shots (80.0 percent) during the game. Croatian forward Zeljko Sakic (204-88, agency: Beo Basket) orchestrated the victory by scoring 16 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Naturalized Croatian Ivan Ramljak (203-90) contributed with 13 points and 7 rebounds for the winners. Four HKK Siroki WWin players scored in double figures. Montenegrin power forward Igor Bijelic (207-88) replied with 15 points and 6 rebounds and point guard Drasko Knezevic (185-93) added 12 points in the effort for Mladost. Top scorers: Mladost: I.Bijelic 15+6reb, D.Knezevic 12+1reb+2ast, P.Ivanic 10+1reb+1ast, N.Milosevic 5+2reb, D.Stojkanovic 5+2reb, M.Kezic 4+1reb+2ast Siroki WWin: Z.Sakic 16+6reb+4ast, M.Sutalo 14+2reb+3ast, I.Ramljak 13+7reb+2ast, B.Barac 13+5reb+1ast, J.Jones 8+1reb+2ast, K.Vragovic 3+1reb
Igokea dominated down low during the game scoring 66 of its points in the paint compared to Bosna ASA BHT's 32. Igokea forced 24 Bosna ASA BHT turnovers. Croatian guard Sinisa Stemberger (195-79) scored 17 points to lead the charge for the winners and forward Aleksandar Radukic (206-91) chipped in 11 points during the contest. Four Igokea players scored in double figures. Power forward Nermin Buza (206-91) responded with 19 points and 6 rebounds (on 8-of-9 shooting from the field) and swingman Sindis Demic (192-83) scored 18 points. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Top scorers: Bosna: N.Buza 19+6reb+2ast, S.Demic 18+4reb+2ast, R.Rizvic 7+1reb+3ast, S.Leric 6+4reb+2ast, M.Vukovic 4+1reb+1ast, D.Hodzic 3+5reb+3ast Igokea: S.Stemberger 17+3reb+1ast, Z.Kljestan 13+2reb, N.Sulovic 12+2reb+1ast, A.Radukic 11+3reb+1ast, M.Bocka 8+1reb+5ast, F.Adamovic 6+2reb+4ast
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