Liga OTP banka Round 3 (Regular Season): Ilirija loses to Krka

After 3 rounds played we can already see who rules in the Liga OTP banka and who belongs to weaker ones. Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The most crucial game of the last round was a loss of Ilirija (2-1) in Ljubljana on Wednesday night. Hosts were edged by Krka (3-0) 83-82. It was a great evening for American point guard Diante Baldwin (182-1994, college: UNCG, agency: Slash Sports) who led his team to a victory scoring 20 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists. Guard Jaka Klobucar (199-2003) helped adding 14 points and 5 rebounds. The best for the losing side was Serbian forward Stefan Todorovic (203-2002, college: Pepperdine) with 20 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Both coaches used bench players in such tough game. Krka is looking forward to face Helios Suns (#8) in Domzale in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Ilirija will play on the road against Zlatorog (#5) in Lasko and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
The game between Top Four teams took place in Kranj. host Sencur Gor. (3-0) defeated Hopsi Polzela (2-1) 96-81. It was an exceptional evening for Latvian Ricards Vanags (204-2002) who led the winners and scored 36 points (!!!). Luka Majstorovic accounted for 11 points and 9 rebounds. Sencur Gor.'s coach Gasper Sluga allowed to play the deep bench players saving starting five for next games. American point guard Kameron Hobbs (178-2002, college: Morgan St.) came up with 35 points (!!!) for Hopsi Polzela in the defeat. Sencur Gor. will play against Nova Gorica (#6) on the road in the next round which should be theoretically an easy game. Hopsi Polzela will play against Sentjur and hopes to get back on the winning track.
The game in Rogaska Slatina was also quite interesting. Nova Gorica (2-1) played at the court of Rogaska (0-3). Nova Gorica defeated Rogaska 80-67 on Saturday. The best player for the winners was Jaka Klobucar who scored 24 points and 6 assists. At the other side the best for losing team was Jan Dornik who recorded 11 points and 6 rebounds. Nova Gorica will meet at home Sencur Gor. in the next round and it will be for sure the game of the week. Rogaska will play against Triglav (#7) in Kranj and hopes to get finally their first victory.

In the last two games of round 3 winless Helios Suns were destroyed by Triglav on the opponent's court 79-60. Zlatorog managed to outperform Sentjur in a home game 86-73.
The most impressive stats of the last round was 24 points and 8 rebounds by Mahmoud Bangura of Zlatorog.



Ilirija - Krka 82-83:
The most crucial game of the last round was a loss of Ilirija (2-1) in Ljubljana on Wednesday night. Hosts were edged by Krka (3-0) 83-82. It was a great evening for American point guard Diante Baldwin (182-1994, college: UNCG, agency: Slash Sports) who led his team to a victory scoring 20 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists. Guard Jaka Klobucar (199-2003) helped adding 14 points and 5 rebounds. Four Krka players scored in double figures. The best for the losing side was Serbian forward Stefan Todorovic (203-2002, college: Pepperdine) with 20 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists and American guard Cameron Shelton (188-1999, college: LMU) scored 17 points and 6 assists. Both coaches used bench players in such tough game. Krka is looking forward to face Helios Suns (#8) in Domzale in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Ilirija will play on the road against Zlatorog (#5) in Lasko and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Krka: B.Diante 20+8reb+7ast, K.Jaka 14+5reb+1ast, M.Blaz 11+2reb+5ast, O.Urban 10+5reb+4ast, S.Galin 8+3reb, R.Jan 7+1reb+1ast
Ilirija: S.Todorovic 20+6reb+5ast, C.Shelton 17+4reb+6ast, E.Muric 11+3reb+1ast, M.Cibej 8+3reb, L.Boisa 8+5reb, V.Hrabar 6+1reb+1ast

Triglav - Helios Suns 79-60:
Triglav used a home court advantage and crushed the opponent from Domzale 79-60 on Friday night. Triglav dominated down low during the game scoring 50 of its points in the paint compared to Helios Suns' 26. They outrebounded Helios Suns 39-28 including 28 on the defensive glass. Triglav looked well-organized offensively handing out 24 assists comparing to just 10 passes made by Helios Suns' players. The best player for the winners was point guard Nejc Klavzar (187-1999) who scored 18 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Center Matic Mikus (207-2003) chipped in 9 points and 6 rebounds. At the other side the best for losing team was Maks Ciperle (200-2008) who recorded 22 points and 6 rebounds and point guard Filip Pirs (190-2005) added 10 points respectively. Both coaches tested many bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Triglav will meet at home Rogaska (#9) in the next round. Helios Suns will play against Krka where they are definitely not considered as a favorite in this game either.
Top scorers:
Triglav: K.Nejc 18+7reb+6ast, O.Anej 15+1reb+2ast, Z.Gasper 10+6reb, M.Matic 9+6reb+3ast, S.Leon 7+8reb, B.Nal 7+1reb+3ast
Helios Suns: M.Ciperle 22+6reb, M.Ciperle 11+2reb, F.Pirs 10+1reb+3ast, J.Flerin 7+5reb, D.Gueye 3+6reb+1ast, L.Lovro 3+3reb+2ast

Sencur Gor. - Hopsi Polzela 96-81:
The game between Top Four teams took place in Kranj. host Sencur Gor. (3-0) defeated Hopsi Polzela (2-1) 96-81. It was an exceptional evening for Latvian Ricards Vanags (204-2002) who led the winners and scored 36 points (!!!). Serbian center Luka Majstorovic (207-1996, college: Embry Riddle) accounted for 11 points and 9 rebounds for the winning side. Vanags is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top international summer league in the market. Four Sencur Gor. players scored in double figures. Sencur Gor.'s coach Gasper Sluga allowed to play the deep bench players saving starting five for next games. American point guard Kameron Hobbs (178-2002, college: Morgan St.) came up with 35 points (!!!) and ex-international power forward Dino Muric (201-1990) added 12 points and 10 rebounds respectively for Hopsi Polzela in the defeat. Sencur Gor. will play against Nova Gorica (#6) on the road in the next round which should be theoretically an easy game. Hopsi Polzela will play against Sentjur and hopes to get back on the winning track.
Top scorers:
Sencur Gor.: V.Ricards 36+1reb+2ast, S.Grosic 15+4reb+3ast, L.Xavier 11+4reb+2ast, L.Majstorovic 11+9reb+2ast, N.Jan 6+5reb+7ast, B.Lovro 6+2reb+2ast
Hopsi Polzela: K.Hobbs 35+3reb+3ast, D.Muric 12+10reb+1ast, Z.Fifolt 8+4reb+1ast, D.Vujasinovic 7+3reb+6ast, N.Baric 6+3ast, F.Lovro 6+1ast

Rogaska - Nova Gorica 67-80:
The game in Rogaska Slatina was also quite interesting. Nova Gorica (2-1) played at the court of Rogaska (0-3). Nova Gorica defeated Rogaska 80-67 on Saturday. They outrebounded Rogaska 35-24 including 22 on the defensive glass. Nova Gorica looked well-organized offensively handing out 22 assists. The best player for the winners was the former international Jaka Klobucar (198-1987) who scored 24 points and 6 assists. Leon Jereb (192-2007) chipped in 14 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists. Four Nova Gorica players scored in double figures. At the other side the best for losing team was forward Jan Dornik (200-1998, college: Loyola, MD) who recorded 11 points and 6 rebounds and Rok Kozel (195-2008) added 13 points respectively. Nova Gorica will meet at home Sencur Gor. in the next round and it will be for sure the game of the week. Rogaska will play against Triglav (#7) in Kranj and hopes to get finally their first victory.
Top scorers:
Nova Gorica: K.Jaka 24+1reb+6ast, A.Menic 16+7reb+2ast, J.Leon 14+6reb+7ast, S.Igor 13+8reb+1ast, D.Nejc 8+2reb+4ast, J.Kilibarda 3+8reb+2ast
Rogaska: R.Kozel 13+2reb+2ast, J.Dornik 11+6reb, J.Reynolds 11+3reb, J.Benjamin 9+2reb+1ast, B.Markovic 7+3reb+1ast, P.Tabak 7+1reb+8ast

Zlatorog - Sentjur 86-73:
Rather predictable result in Lasko where Zlatorog (2-1) defeated Sentjur (0-3) 86-73 on Sunday. The best player for the winners was American forward Mahmoud Bangura (201-2003, college: UNCP) who scored 24 points and 8 rebounds. His fellow American import guard Artese Stapleton (190-2001, college: EIU, agency: 6th Man Basketball Agency) chipped in 16 points and 4 steals. Four Zlatorog players scored in double figures. Zlatorog's coach Hrvoje Radanovic used a ten-player rotation which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. At the other side the best for losing team was the former international Urban Durnik (204-1997) who recorded 19 points and 9 rebounds and swingman Ozbej Glavan (198-2001) added 11 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists respectively. Zlatorog will meet at home Ilirija (#3) in the next round, which may be the game of the day. Sentjur will play against Hopsi Polzela (#4) and looks forward to get finally their first victory.
Top scorers:
Zlatorog: B.Mahmoud 24+8reb+1ast, S.Artese 16+4reb+2ast, L.Stojic 14+2ast, P.Taij 14+2reb+1ast, S.Josip 6+5reb+1ast, D.Patrik 6+7reb+2ast
Sentjur: U.Durnik 19+9reb+2ast, S.Malone 18+2reb+1ast, O.Glavan 11+5reb+5ast, Z.Nejc 9+1reb+3ast, M.Domen 8+2reb+5ast, M.Dolinsek 5+5reb+1ast