Impressive Unicaja overpower listless KK Zagreb 99-85 - Euroleague Recap
Unicaja is the team to watch out for in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague 2011.
After being crushed by Panathinaikos in their first outing, they have not looked back since. Last week, they edged past the Brose Baskets in a thriller and just a night ago, they overpowered KK Zagreb 99-85 to claim their third
consecutive win of the tournament.
KK Zagreb started the game with a blaze and dominated the first quarter, however a 14-0 run at the start of second quarter by Unicaja not only helped them in reducing the lead, but took them ahead and provided them the psychological
edge that proved critical in the end.
Six players from the winning team managed to end with scores in double figures. Luka Zoric led them with 14 points including 7 for 11 from the glass and was assisted well by Joel Freeland, who ended with 13 points and 6 rebounds.
Jorge Garbajosa and Earl Rowland scored 12 each while Berni Rodriguez chipped in with his 11.
Mario Kasun was the most outstanding player of the game and scored 23 points - on 9 to 16 from paint and an accurate 5 for 5 from free throw line - along with 7 rebounds but unfortunately his heroics couldn’t win his team the game.
Damir Mulaomerovic completed a double-double with 13 points and 10 assists while Krunoslav Simon and Sean Gregory May chipped in with 10 points each for the losing team.
The first two minutes of the game were all about KK Zagreb.
Sean Gregory started the proceedings by scoring through a three-pointer in the first minute and was followed by Mario’s three point play. Another three-pointer by Gregory completed the 9-0 run for KK Zagreb.
Kristaps Walters was the one who finally put Unicaja on the scoring sheet through a driving layup but KK Zagreb continued with the onslaught and extended the lead to 10 points 22-12 in the 9th minute with the help of
a downtown strike by Josh Heytwelt.
By the end of the quarter, Unicaja were trailing 27-19.
Unicaja put up a brilliant show in the start of second quarter and pulled off a 14 point run courtesy of three 3-pointers by Garbajosa to get ahead of Zagreb 33-27 midway through the second quarter. The lead didn’t stop growing
and extended to 10 points 42-32 by 7th minute however Damir and Krunoslav came to rescue and scored in quick succession to cut the lead to 6 points in the last minute of the first half.
A late layup from Rowland however ensured that Unicaja entered the second half with a significant lead of 49-41.
Things got even worse for Zagreb in the third quarter as the lead climbed to 14 points 67-53 after the first six minutes. From there on, Zagreb never managed to comeback in the game as by the end of half, Unicaja were leading 72-57.
Zagreb were impressive in the last quarter and managed to score 26 points however the third quarter slip up never allowed them to get in the game. Berni’s three-quarter in the dying seconds acted as the last nail in the coffin
and Unicaja won it easily.
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