Cibona wins 18th A1 title
Cibona Zagreb recorded a third straight win over Zadar in the Croatian A1 finals on Tuesday to win the title for the second consecutive year. The team secured the championship after another comfortable display against Zadar and the win meant the club has now won 18 Croatian league titles since 1991.
Cibona and Zadar entered the finals series as the two best teams throughout the A1 Regular Season, with Cibona topping the league and Zadar finishing in second. This trend would continue into a finals series dominated by the Zagreb club as Zadar could not match their rivals over the three games. Game one went in Cibona’s favour by a score of 84-68 while the second went much the same way with Zadar slipping to a 76-92 defeat.
The emphatic nature of Cibona’s victories in game one and two was in evidence again in game three as Cibona marched to the title with a comfortable 101-83 win. The hosts were in the mood from the opening tip off, and in the first quarter Cibona racked up 35 points to Zadar’s 22 to open up a 13-point lead at the first break.
The second period went much the same way as Cibona sensed the title was in sight and pushed to yet another gear. The fact Zadar could only muster small rallies in return meant that that extra gear was merely cruise control, and by the half time buzzer Cibona was seven clear with a 49-42 lead. At the interval, the Zadar players and coaches may have thought that a seven point lead was assailable, but in the third Cibona once again took the initiative.
American point guard Jerel Blassingame (175 cm, UNLV’05), who recently extended his contract with Cibona was in great touch, notching up a total of 20-points during the game. With Cibona turning the screw, victory became a foregone conclusion, and the 29-points hit by Cibona in the 4th only confirmed the inevitable. With Zadar finding little in response, the scoreboard read an emphatic 101-83 at the final buzzer.
The victory means Cibona is once again at the top of Croatian Basketball, and Cibona fans will point to the contribution of several players in game three. The already mentioned Blassingame lead the scoring with his 20-point haul, but fellow Cibona players Dario Saric (19 points) and D.J Strawberry (18 points) also put in noteworthy performances. For Zadar, Ante Delas with 17 points and Toni Prostran with 14 points can hold their heads high despite defeat.