The shooting guard finished with 17 points to pace Cedevita against Reyer
Jaka Blazic jumped to eighth on all-time scoring list with strong second half
Jaka Blazic may be 34 years old, but he doesn’t seem to be slowing down at all. The veteran came up with a masterful and crucial showing in helping Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana win its first home game of the season - and climbed on the BKT EuroCup’s all-time scoring list in the process.
Blazic tallied 15 of his 17 points in the second half of Cedevita’s 87-82 victory over Umana Reyer Venice to go with 1 rebound and 5 fouls drawn for a performance index rating of 15.
Blazic, who is playing in his seventh season in the EuroCup - the fifth season with Cedevita, has now totaled 1,229 points, moving past Sammy Mejia’s 1,214. Next up in seventh place on the list is Valencia Basket legend Rafa Martinez with 1,240 points.
Blazic pulled even with Mejia with Cedevita’s first two points of the game on free throws. But he didn’t score again until his output was really needed.
Reyer had started to pull away a bit early in the third quarter, opening a 42-50 lead 2 minutes into the second half. Blazic knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to get Cedevita back moving offensively.
Blazic, who previously played in the EuroCup with Crvena Zveda Belgrade, MoraBanc Andorra, and since 2019 with Cedevita, struck again with 6 minutes left in the game as he buried a three-pointer from the right wing and converted the bonus free throw for a four-point play as Cedevita opened a 73-66 cushion.
Blazic’s heroics were needed again minutes later with a big three-point play for a 78-73 margin with under 3 minutes to go.
The veteran leader was again there when it mattered most in the game-deciding play. Devin Robinson grabbed the defensive rebound inside the final 30 seconds and passed ahead to Blazic along the left sideline. He did a great job catching the pass and staying inbounds before feeding Derek Ogbeide, who passed ahead to DJ Stewart for a big dunk to make it 84-77 with 20 seconds remaining.
Cedevita nearly threw the game away but managed to hold on and make sure that Jaka Blazic’s big night was not for naught.