CEDEVITA OLIMPIJA SCHEDULES DECIDER: Crvena Zvezda dropped +21 in Ljubljana and the opportunity to advance to the semifinals!

In the second game of the ABA League playoff quarterfinal series, Cedevita Olimpija defeated Crvena Zvezda on its home court 92:86 and equalized at 1:1.

The Red-and-Whites had everything in their hands. They had the play, they had a 21-point lead. And they built all of that in the first 15 minutes. The problem was that they were catastrophic in the remaining 25 minutes and allowed Cedevita Olimpija to turn the game around and ultimately resolve the end of the match almost routinely. Now the series is at 1:1 and a decider will have to be played.

Crvena Zvezda started excellently, both in defense and in attack. After only six minutes, they had a 10-point advantage – 16:6 after Butler’s basket with an additional free throw.

Zvezda held a double-digit lead until the finish, when Jared Butler missed two forced shots and committed a foul for a 2+1. He allowed the home team to even reduce the gap to five points by the end of the first quarter. But they missed the three-pointer, and by the end, Jordan Nwora managed to score at the buzzer to bring a still comfortable +11 after the first quarter – 29:18.

Zvezda started the second quarter like a hurricane. They made a 10-0 run and after two and a half minutes led 39:18. But from that moment on, Cedevita Olimpija woke up and responded with an 8-0 run, reducing it to 39:26. The run continued to 12-2 and Cedevita Olimpija reduced it to 41:30 three minutes before halftime.

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However, that run was stopped by Jordan Nwora’s three-pointer for 44:30. In the end, the second quarter finished 22:22, so the difference at halftime was 11 points – 51:40.

Zvezda’s poor play from the second half of the second quarter continued at the start of the third. The host made an 8-0 run and reduced the score after two and a half minutes to 51:48. Zvezda somehow stabilized and maintained the lead, but lost the third quarter 21:14, so they led 67:61 before the fourth period.

The entry into the fourth quarter was not as catastrophic as in the third, but the trend of reducing the gap continued. Thus, Cedevita Olimpija approached at 75:73 four and a half minutes before the end. And then, three minutes before the end, the inevitable happened; with Aleksej Nikolic’s three-pointer, Cedevita Olimpija took the lead for the first time in the game – 78:77.

Zvezda responded adequately to Cedevita Olimpija’s first lead. First, Nwora hit both free throws, and after a good defense, he assisted Nikola Kalinic for Zvezda’s lead of 81:78 two and a half minutes before the end. However, Cedevita Olimpija countered Zvezda’s turnaround with a 7-0 run and led 85:81 one minute before the end, reaching the threshold of victory. And when Jordan Nwora lost the ball, it was clear that the host would indeed reach the victory.

For the winners, Gibson had 26 points, eight rebounds, and five assists, while Stewart had 20 points. On the other side, Jordan Nwora stood out the most with 22 points, Butler recorded 15, and also in double digits were Bolomboy with 11 and Ojeleye with 10 points.

The third, decisive game will be played in Belgrade on Friday. The winner of the series awaits Partizan in the semifinals.