SCM winsed.swiss Mozzart Bet Timisoara – KK Ilirija 97:85 (20:19, 26:24, 28:27, 23:15)
Referees: Stanković, Miletić, Grubisić (all Croatia)
Attendance: 300
Scorers – Timisoara: Kesar 27, Gajić 25, Mirković 16, Dimitrijević and Mitrović each 8, Scott-Grayson and Petrescu each 4, Lazar 3, Nasturescu 2, Schipor 0
Scorers – Ilirija: Kures 19, Mačura 15, Barisić 12, Arslanagić 12, Mikuš 11, Ščekić 7, Klobučar 4, Padjen 3, Orel 2
Balance was the watchword. The hosts had a hard time breaking away but still managed to get their fifth win in as many games played and consolidate their first place in Group B. Igor Kesar and Nikola Gajić played a very good offensive game, and together they scored more than half of the total points of the Romanian team. On the other side, the young and talented players from KK Ilirija offered a solid response and managed to create problems, but the end belonged to Timisoara, which with this victory ends the first part of the group stage undefeated.
Post-game quotes:
Dragan Petričević, coach of Timisoara: “It was a very close game, and I expected it to be that way. I knew very well that Ilirija is made up of young and very talented players, a large part of them were previously part of Spanish squads in the past, even in the Euroleague. They had a very good basketball school there. We didn’t play a very good game. We led for a large part of the game, but went on the wire almost the entire time. The most important things are that we got another win and that no player got injured. We played the tour, we have five wins, but four of them were achieved at home. It will not be easy for us, neither in Zagreb nor in Ljubljana, nor in the two trips we have in the Czech Republic. It is clear that we are thinking about the semi-finals, but we are not a team that can be called a favorite. We will take each game step by step.”
Luka Mitrović, player of Timisoara: “It was a tough game. We didn’t play our best game, but it’s important to get the win and to go 5-0 in the Alpe Adria Cup. We are in a very good mood, we won all the games in November. Ilirija is a young team, they play very well. They are very talented and have big potential in rebounds and running. We had problems with this, but in the end, we won. We tried to measure the intensity of the game in the second half after a first half that was almost equal.”
Stipe Modrić, coach of Ilirija: “I want to congratulate our opponents, they deserved to win. We received too many points, 97 is way too much. We came here without two players, and it was a long trip, but the home team was better and took better decisions. We hope for better for the next games.”
Sergej Mačura, player of Ilirija: “We weren’t solid enough in defense, and we got too many easy baskets. We couldn’t defend the two players that were hot on the other team. The offensive part was solid, but everything else was not enough effort.”
