Adriatic League: No. 1 Igokea falls to Partizan

With only three weeks of regular season to play in the Adriatic League and with eight teams still having a shot at making the playoffs prior to the Week 24 games, every point of every game for those eight teams in critical. Igokea and Red Star Beograd have clinched a spot in the playoffs, but Buducnost, Radnicki, Partizan, Union Olimpija, Skopje and Cedevita all had a shot at the last two spots in the Final Four prior to stepping foot on the hardwood this week.

With four of the top eight teams losing this week so far, and with Red Star and Cedevita playing tomorrow, the playoff race has tightened up a bit. With a loss to No. 13 Szolnoki Olaj, Skopje is eliminated from contention, but Cedevita still has a road game on Monday with Krka and a win keeps them with an outside shot at getting in. If they win, they stay in the race as they win tie-breaks over Buducnost and Radnicki, but lose to Partizan. Union’s loss to Cibona this week hurts them greatly, but they still can get in with wins over their last two opponents: Siroki WWin and Buducnost VOLI and a lot of help from other teams. Union wins a tie-breaker over Radnicki, loses to Partizan and is three points up on Buducnost VOLI, their Week 26 match-up. Buducnost has the toughest road to the playoffs at this point, having to play No. 2 Red Star and No. 6 Union. One win out of the last two games by two of the No. 3 teams, Buducnost, Radnicki and Partizan, will eliminate Union and Cedevita, should they win on Monday, if they lose, they are eliminated.

Igokea has been in the top spot for a number of weeks, and they will move on to the playoffs, but Red Star has an outside shot at taking the regular season title from them. Igokea traveled to Beograd on Sunday to square off against Partizan, and fell heavy, 73:64. With games against No. 11 Krka and No. 9 Cibona remaining, their road to the title isn’t that difficult. Having been beaten in both contests by Igokea, Red Star has to win both of their remain contests with No. 3 Buducnost VOLI and No. 4 Radnicki, no easy task and the implications on the top four will be massive.

Radnicki didn’t help their standing this week with a loss to No. 10 Zadar, but sits at 15-9 and tied for the No. 3 spot heading into the final two weeks. They have games remaining with No. 12 Split, and No. 2 Red Star. Partizan is in the best position since they win tiebreakers over Buducnost VOLI, Radnicki, Union, and Cedevita; they play No. 7 MZT Skopje and No. 13 Szolnoki Olaj. Their win over Igokea Sunday was a big boost to their hopes to advance to the next round.

It’s been a week of home club victories as all five matches contested so far have gone to the locals, with two games to be played on Monday: Siroki WWin vs. Red Star Telekom; and Krka vs. Cedevita.

Partizan mt:s – Igokea, 73:64

Zadar – Radnički, 75:68

Cibona – Union Olimpija, 74:62

Budućnost VOLI – Split, 66:47

Szolnoki Olaj – MZT Skopje Aerodrom, 81:72

Monday, March 11, 2013
Široki WWin – Crvena zvezda Telekom
Krka – Cedevita

Adriatic League

This Week’s (Week 24) Adriatic League Matches[matches league_id=1 match_day=24 template=summary dateformat=”M. j, Y”]

Adriatic League Standings[standings league_id=1 show_website=false template=nolink]

Week 25 Adriatic League Matches[matches league_id=1 match_day=25 template=sumnoscore dateformat=”M. j, Y”]

Week 26 (Final) Adriatic League Matches[matches league_id=1 match_day=26 template=sumnoscore dateformat=”M. j, Y”]