2008-09Regular SeasonRound 3
November 06, 2008 CET: 20:30
Local time: 20:30 TIVOLI ARENA

Lottomatic Roma topped Union Olimpia 67-78

Sani Becirovic turned in a masterful performance against his former team to lead Lottomatica Roma to a 67-78 road win at Union Olimpija in Ljubljana on Thursday night. Becirovic recorded 23 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists in just 25 minutes to help Roma to its second win this season – and first on the road. Head coach Jasmin Repesa’s side now boasts a 2-1 record and trails Group C leader Tau Ceramica by one win before heading to Spain for a duel next week. Meanwhile Olimpija dropped to 0-3 and will hunt for its first win in Istanbul next week against Fenerbahce Ulker. The game was close for most of the opening period, but Roma began to pull away shortly after that. The visitors scored the first 7 points of the second period to take a double-digit lead and strong minutes by Brandon Jennings and Rodrigo de la Fuente stretched the lead to 18 before settling at 28-44 by halftime. Olimpija did make a number of second-half runs, with Mirza Begic, Marko Milic and Jonathan Wallace all trying to spark the hosts, but they never got closer than 8. Jennings added 14 in his best showing of the season, while de la Fuente recorded 10 points and 9 rebounds and Primoz Brezec, also a former Olimpija star, scored 10. Begic led the hosts with 16 points and 8 rebounds, Milic had 14 points and 7 boards and Vlado Ilievski scored 13 in defeat.

Damjan Rudez fired in a three to start the scoring before Brezec answered with Roma’s first points. Olimpija’s big men Begic and Miha Zupan were quite active on the glass, but Brezec’s second score kept the game tied. Becirovic gave Roma its first lead from the line, but that would change on nearly every possession as Ilievski and Ibby Jaaber traded baskets. The visitors looked to make their move on a Becirovic triple that put Roma up 4. A pair of de la Fuente free throws made it 12-18 before Frank Robinson’s first Euroleague points and a Vladimir Golubovic basket drew Olimpija closer. Becirovic added a free throw to make it 16-19 after 10 minutes.

Roma continued its momentum as the second quarter began, reeling off the next 7 points on Angelo Gigli free throws, an Andre Hutson three-point play and a coast-to-coast layup by Jennings for a 10-point lead. Milic interrupted the run, but Jennings scored again and de la Fuente added a triple to make it 18-31. Baskets by Robinson and Milic were matched by de la Fuente and Becirovic as the visitors took charge. Jennings was then fouled shooting a three and made the 3 resulting free throws. Allan Ray followed with a triple to make it 24-42. Begic and Becirovic both hit from the line before Ilievski ended the half with his team down 28-44.

A pair of Begic slam dunks in the opening minutes of the second half showed that Olimpija still had spirit, but the hosts were unable to slow down the Roma attack. But as soon as the visitors stuttered, Olimpija made its charge as Milic and Ilievski inspired an 8-0 run that made it 40-48. But the Roman backcourt wouldn’t let Olimpija any closer. Becirovic and Jennings combined for 12 points in the next four minutes to hold of Olimpija, which was generating plenty of offense of its own thanks to Milic and Ilievski. But after an Ilievski triple made it 51-60, Jennings converted a layup-plus-foul and Ray added a layup to make it 51-65 with one period remaining.

Ray opened the fourth quarter with a three that put Roma up by 17. That didn’t deter Wallace who answered with a triple and a jumper to bring the gap down to 11. De la Fuente and Hutson scored to keep Roma up by double figures and time was running out for the hosts. Wallace persisted, but Becirovic’s layup made it 61-75 and just about sealed the win with less than three minutes to play. Baskets by Begic and Saso Ozbolt only helped to trim the deficit before Becirovic capped a strong showing with 2 more free throws for a well-deserved win.

Thursday, November 6, 2008
Euroleague.net
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Referees: JUNGEBRAND, CARL; CMIKIEWICZ, MAREK; MIKHAYLOV, SERGEY
Attendance: 5100
By Quarter1234
Union Olimpija16122316
Lottomatica Roma19252113
End of Quarter1234
Union Olimpija16285167
Lottomatica Roma19446578
Union Olimpija
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
5 WALLACE, JONATHAN 20:30 7 2/3 1/4     1 1 2       1 2 1 4
6 ILIEVSKI, VLADO 37:03 13 2/7 2/7 3/4   3 3 1 1 6     5 4  
8 KLOBUCAR, JAKA 6:31   0/1 0/1     1 1     1         -2
9 RUDEZ, DAMJAN 24:16 5 1/2 1/2     3 3 1   4     4   -1
12 MILIC, MARKO 25:55 14 4/13   6/7 3 4 7 4 1     1 3 7 19
13 HUKIC, JASMIN DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
14 ROBINSON, FRANK 12:43 4 2/2   0/3 1 1 2     2     1 2 2
15 BEGIC, MIRZA 34:37 16 6/9   4/6 3 5 8   1 1 2   2 5 24
16 SARAJLIJA, MIRZA DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
21 GOLUBOVIC, VLADIMIR 5:23 4 2/3       1 1           1   3
24 ZUPAN, MIHA 14:05 2 0/1 0/1 2/2 2 1 3 1         1 2 5
31 OZBOLT, SASO 18:57 2 1/1 0/3   1 2 3   2       4 1 1
Team                                
Totals 200:00 67 20/42 4/18 15/22 10 22 32 9 5 14 2 2 23 22 55
        47.6% 22.2% 68.2%
Head coach: DZIKIC, ALEKSANDAR
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
Lottomatica Roma
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
5 GIACHETTI, JACOPO DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
6 GIGLI, ANGELO 15:33 2   0/1 2/2 1 2 3       2   1 2 7
7 BECIROVIC, SANI 24:45 23 2/4 3/5 10/12 4 3 7 6 1 2     2 6 33
8 TONOLLI, ALESSANDRO DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
9 HUTSON, ANDRE 21:29 6 2/8   2/3   2 2   1 1     5 2 -2
11 JENNINGS, BRANDON 18:37 14 4/5 0/2 6/6   2 2 2   2     2 5 16
12 BREZEC, PRIMOZ 21:48 10 5/6   0/1 2 2 4     1     3 2 10
14 DE LA FUENTE, RODRIGO 34:41 10 1/2 2/4 2/2 1 8 9 3   1     1 3 20
15 RAY, ALLAN 20:34 9 1/6 2/5 1/2   1 1         1 1 1  
21 JAABER, IBRAHIM 21:23 4 2/4 0/1   1   1 1 1 1     2 2 3
22 GABINI, ROBERTO 21:10   0/1 0/4     2 2         1 5   -9
Team                                
Totals 200:00 78 17/36 7/22 23/28 9 22 31 12 3 8 2 2 22 23 78
        47.2% 31.8% 82.1%
Head coach: REPESA, JASMIN

Head Coaches

DZIKIC, ALEKSANDAR
Union Olimpija
"Lottomatica Roma got a well-deserved win. It was the best team on the court for all 40 minutes. The second quarter was the key to the game, as they got a big lead that we could not overcome in the second half. We had a small chance to get back to the game in the third quarter, but we made too many mistakes in key moments. Lottomatica found a lot of easy shots and made them all."
REPESA, JASMIN
Lottomatica Roma
"It was a very important game for both teams. A loss was not an option for us, because we knew that would put us in a really difficult situation. We knew that Tivoli is always a tough arena to visit, but we came here well prepared. We played really well for all 40 minutes, not only physically, but mentally. We stayed strong and I am very satisfied with this win."

Players

BEGIC, MIRZA
Union Olimpija
"We wanted to get out first win tonight, but it was impossible to do it because Lottomatica played very well. They dominated all aspects of the game."
OZBOLT, SASO
Union Olimpija
"If we had the team that Lottomatica has, I am sure we would make it to the Final Four. We don't have to make a drama out of this loss. We have to bounce back and wait for better days to come."
BECIROVIC, SANI
Lottomatica Roma
"We got a well-deserved win tonight. We knew how to control the game rhythm all 40 minutes long and above all, we stopped their outside shooters. Union Olimpija has a lot of great shooters and if you leave them open, they can hurt any team."
BREZEC, PRIMOZ
Lottomatica Roma
"I believe that the first quarter was the key to this game. We managed to prevent Union Olimpija from making outside shots. We dominated the boards and played really well on offense. We just need to control the game from now on. I wish Olimpija all the best in the rest of the season."
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