In its 300th game in European club competitions, Crvena Zvezda Diva Belgrade improved to 2-0 in Group H by edging Cajasol Seville 93-95 in overtime on Wednesday. Zvezda became the exclusive leader atop Group H and Cajasol dropped to 0-2 and needs to bounce back right away to keep its Last 16 options alive. Igor Rakocevic paced the winners with 25 points. Rasko Katic added 16, DeMarcus Nelson had 15 while Mike Scott got 13 for Zvezda. Brian Asbury led Cajasol with 26 points. Tomas Satoransky added 21, Luka Bogdanovic had 15 and Roberto Dozier 13. Cajasol had a good start and a three-pointer by Bogdanovic gave the hosts a 20-17 lead after 10 minutes. An outstanding Satoransky helped Cajasol to boost its margin to 30-21 midway through the second quarter. It didn't last long, as Katic led a 0-14 run that bridged between both halves to put Zvezda ahead for good, 30-35. Rakocevic allowed his team to get its first double-digit lead, 36-46. Zvezda boosted its margin to 55-71 with 7 minutes to go but a rain of three-pointers, the last one by Asbury with 2 seconds left in regulation, allowed Cajasol to send the game to overtime in unbelievable fashion, 83-83. Asbury gave Cajasol its last lead, 90-89, as free throws by Subotic and Rakocevic sealed the outcome down the stretch.
Nelson got Zvezda going with a dunk but Asbury and Ondrej Balvin combined for all points in a 6-0 run. Katic
scored in the paint but Satoransky answered with a quick basket for an 8-4 edge. Rakocevic hit free throws but Asbury kept
pacing Cajasol with a layup for a 10-9 score. Rakocevic and Satoransky traded driving layups and Asbury boosted the hosts'
lead to 14-11. Aleksandar Cvetkovic split free throws and Joan Sastre answered from downtown for a 17-12 score. Elton Brown
scored around the basket and Katic scored again but Bogdanovic buried a triple for a 20-17 Cajasol edge after 10 minutes. Milenko Tepic scored early in the second quarter and Satoransky added a layup to force Zvezda to call timeout at 24-17. Brown split free throws and Savovic brought Zvezda a bit closer, 24-20. Satoransky stepped up with a second-chance layup, as the hosts kept controlling the game with good defense. Katic split foul shots but Dozier and Satoransky kept Cajasol way ahead, 30-21. Rakocevic struck from downtown and Nelson gave Zvezda some hope at 30-26. Scott buried his own shot from downtown and Katic followed a layup with a tip-in to give Zvezda a 30-33 edge at halftime.
Katic capped a 0-14 Zvezda run with a layup immediately after the break. Asbury tried to change things with a put-back basket
and Satoransky scored in transition but Rakocevic bettered that with back-to-back triples. Juanjo Triguero stepped up with an off-balance basket but Bojan Subotic join the three-point shootout to make it a double-digit game, 36-46. Subotic shined with a fast break layup and Scott struck from downtown to break the game open, 37-51. Asbury hit one from beyond the arc but a 0-6 run that Nelson capped with a layup boosted Zvezda's margin to 40-57. Satoransky made free throws and Guillemro Corrales sank a triple to bring Cajasol within 45-59 after 30 minutes. An unstoppable Rakocevic singlehandedly kept Zvezda out of trouble, 55-71, with under 7 minutes to go. Satoransky and Bogdanovic fueled a 7-0 Cajasol run, Bogdanovic insisted from downtown but a three-point play by Katic gave Zvezda a 65-78 margin. Dozier and Sastre buried back-to-back triples and back-to-back jumper by Asbury brought Cajasol back to life, 77-80, with 1:13 left. Nelson quickly scored at the other end and Scott split free throws for a 77-83 score with 47 seconds left. Bogdanovic hit a triple, Nelson and Savovic missed respectve shots and Asbury struck from downtown to send the game to overtime, 83-83, setting San Pablo on fire.
Free throws by Asbury completed the hosts' unbelievable comeback, 85-83, early in overtime. Nelson scored in transition but Dozier put Cajasol back ahead, 87-85. Nelson kept pacing Zvezda with free throws but Dozier scored again. Katic shined with a layup, Asbury and Nelson traded free throws and Bojan Subotic did not miss from the foul line for a 90-92 Zvezda edge with 35 seconds left. Bogdanovic missed from downtown and free throws by Subotic and Rakocevic sealed the outcome down the stretch.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Eurocupbasketball.com