Olimpija beats Lokomotiv for first win

U18 Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana notched its first victory at the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Belgrade as it defeated U18 Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar 67-71 in Group B. Nil Jovanovic poured in 18 points for Olimpija, which finished with a 1-2 record and will take on U18 Maccabi Tel Aviv on Sunday for fifth place. Vice Zanki scored 17 points, Andre Skelin had 16 points and 10 rebounds and Andrija Jelavic finished with 14 points in the win. Lokomotiv remained winless and will face U18 U-BT Cluj Napoca in the seventh-place game. Danil Sheianov scored 19 points, Iaroslav Niagu had 18 points, 7 rebounds and 4 blocks and Nikita Evdokimov had 10 points, but they were not enough.

Zanki and Jovanovic made three-pointers for Olimpija early on and then Zanki added another triple with Skelin also hitting a three-pointer in building a 9-22 lead. Lokomotiv scored the final six points of the first quarter to make it 15-22. The Russian side added the first four points of the second quarter to get within 19-22. Evdokimov picked up five points as Lokomotiv eventually tied the game 30-30 and Mikhail Vedishchev’s three-pointer put Lokomotiv ahead 33-32. Olimpija responded with a 2-10 run to close the first half with a Skelin three-point play and Jovanovic three-pointer as the score was 37-44 at the break.

Lokomotiv came close to catching Olimpija in the second half, cutting the deficit to 45-47 and then 49-50 before Sheianov pushed the Russian side ahead 53-52. His next basket made it 57-54. Zanki answered with the final five points of the quarter and Olimpija was up 57-59 after 30 minutes. Lokomotiv needed more than 2 minutes to score in the fourth quarter and Olimpija didn’t score in the first 4 minutes but did not lose the lead. Lokomotiv failed to score its second basket until less than 4 minutes to play and then Skelin and Zanki both knocked down triples and the gap was 61-70 with 100 seconds left. Lokomotiv could not get closer than four points the rest of the way.