Mitrovic-Kalinic help Zvezda overtake Cedevita in ABA League semi-finals / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Ivica Veselinov Credit Ivica Veselinov

Crvena Zvezda mts made the most out of their home-court advantage, getting their first win against Cedevita Olimpija in the semi-final playoff series and third overall in the season by (26-23, 27-25, 18-15,

3-pointers this season

33%7,1Points made:7,1Accuracy:32,6%Place in standings:17Record max:14Record min:3Most made 3FGs:Ognjen DobricTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

The series is being played in the best-of-3 format and Game 2 is scheduled for next Sunday, May 16 in Ljubljana (18:30 CET).

With this win, Crvena Zvezda kept their unbeaten home run in the season (14-0), while also extending their undefeated home record in the ABA League Playoffs to 12 games.

Luka Mitrovic paced the hosts offensively in the first half, scoring 13 points, before racking up another 8 in the second part to lead all scorers with 21.

Nikola Kalinic and Aaron White produced 8 and 9, respectively. But Cedevita managed to stay close thanks to Jaka Blazic and Alen Omic, who combined for 25 points.

As Mitrovic and Kalinic were keeping Zvezda up in the scoreboard, the Slovenian side was struggling on the offensive end. Nikola Ivanovic was the player who broke the game open for the Serbs in the fourth quarter, going for 8 straight points that made it 81-67 with seven minutes left. Edo Muric forced Radonjic to call a time-out after the Slovenian international scored five unanswered points to bring the guests closer (85-74).

Blazic and Omic tried to trim the deficit to single digits, but Red Star reacted and comfortably snatched the victory.

Crvena Zvezda: Luka Mitrovic 21 (6/9 FG, 9/11 FT, 7 REB), Nikola Kalinic 17 (7/16 FG, 1/1 FT, 4 REB, 6 AST), Nikola Ivanovic 16 (6/8 FG, 2/2 FT), Nate Wolters 10 (5 REB, 5 AST), Aaron White 10 (6 REB).

Cedevita Olimpija: Jaka Blazic 20 (7/13 FG, 3/5 FT, 5 REB, 5 AST, 3 TO), Edo Muric 14 (5/10 FG, 2/2 FT), Alen Omic 11 (5/10 FG, 1/3 FT, 8 REB, 4 AST), Zoran Dragic 12 (5/12 FG), Jacob Pullen 10 (4 AST).

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