Partizan cruise to an opening day win against Cibona in ABA League / News - Basketnews.com

Partizan went on an 18-2 run in the second quarter to solidify their lead, while all 12 players appeared on the court with 10 of them scoring at least 7 points.

Credit: Cibona/Marin Susic Credit Cibona/Marin Susic

Partizan NIS Belgrade (1-0) went on an 18-2 run in the second quarter en route to dominating against Cibona (0-1) 105-81 (25-26, 33-15, 24-19, 23-21).

Although Cibona were the overwhelming underdogs in the matchup, the home team started the game much better despite it. After Marko Bakovic's alley-oop, Cibona's lead increased to 8 points already (24-16) with three minutes to go in the first quarter.

Partizan then immediately pushed back, narrowing their deficit to just a single point (26-25). The momentum continued into the second quarter as Partizan went on a decisive 18-2 run and instead of trailing by 6 (31-25) now led by 10 (43-33).

Following the run, Partizan controlled the game throughout the rest of the evening. All 12 players appeared on the court, with only Zach LeDay and Gregor Glas not managing to score.

All other players scored at least 7 points, while seven players scored in double digits. Tristan Vukcevic, Kevin Punter, and Uros Trifunovic led the team with 14 points each.

Cibona's Kresimir Ljubicic was the top scorer of the match with 19 points on 9-for-11 shooting in his account.

Partizan: Kevin Punter 14 (5/5 FG), Tristan Vukcevic 14, Uros Trifunovic 14, Ioannis Papapetrou 11, Dante Exum 10 (5 AST), Mathias Lessort 10, Danilo Andjusic 10.

Cibona: Kresimir Ljubicic 19 (9/11 2PT), Nikola Malasevic 10, Lovro Mazalin 10, Borna Kapusta 5 (1/6 3PT, 15 AST).

Full game highlights:

Like what we are doing? Support us by becoming BN+ member.