The Slovenian side has turned out to be the surprise package of the season after a dismal campaign last term
Revamped Cedevita Olimpija aiming for giddy EuroCup heights
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Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana enjoyed a memorable night inside Stozice Arena on Wednesday night as the Slovenian side celebrated a 96-86 win over Besiktas Fibabanka Istanbul to advance to the BKT EuroCup Quarterfinals, where a mouth-watering matchup with Bahcesehir College Istanbul awaits.
It was a sweet reprieve for Cedevita, which endured a forgettable campaign last term as it finished on a 1-17 record in the regular season, with the team looking disjointed and devoid of any chemistry.
It was a very different story this season, however, as Cedevita engineered a 10-8 record and finished fourth in Group B, enough to earn home-court advantage in the playoffs and book a clash with Besiktas, which reached the competition’s semifinals last season.
A reconstructed Cedevita team, bolstered by the arrival of coach Zvezdan Mitrovic and an array of key players during the close season, fired on all cylinders in the second half of an enthralling contest against Besiktas, wiping out a 13-point deficit to prevail in a cracking atmosphere generated by the home fans.
Mitrovic was elated after seeing his team bounce back to brush Besiktas aside after the break, as first-year players Devin Robinson and Brynton Lemar combined for 41 points, with Robinson also racking up 11 boards.
“It was a game of two totally different halves,” Mitrovic said during the postgame press conference. “I want to thank the fans for pushing us across the finish line, as having a full house is the biggest victory and reward. We were able to make home court advantage count in a fantastic atmosphere. Now we will shift our attention to the quarterfinal at Bahcesehir, which is going to be a massive challenge.”
DeVante Jones and Joan Beringer, who also joined Cedevita last summer, were instrumental as the former amassed 14 points, 6 boards and 5 assists while the latter chipped in with 12 points and 5 rebounds in a smooth all-round effort.
Stalwarts Aleksej Nikolic and DJ Stewart netted 25 points between them to cap Cedevita’s selfless team performance which generated 39 rebounds, 12 of them on offense, as the home team turned the tide in the second half.
Mitrovic, who joined Cedevita from Besiktas’s archrival Galatasaray Istanbul and was hence able to offer his team a first-hand insight into the Turkish side’s structure, seems to have timed the Slovenian outfit’s form to perfection.
Having lost its previous three EuroCup games and the last two in the regional ABA League, Cedevita ripped through the Slovenian Cup to win its first domestic trophy of the season and boost its confidence ahead of the epic clash with Besiktas.
Bahcesehir, however, could turn out to be a different prospect after taking Group A by storm and finishing top of Group A on a 14-4 record, thus earning home-court advantage in the quarterfinals and possibly the semifinals if the Istanbul side goes through.
The Turkish team will start as a strong favorite as it boasts several former Turkish Airlines EuroLeague players in its ranks, namely Jaleen Smith and Marko Simonovic as well as the homegrown duo of Furkan Korkmaz and Kenan Sipahi. Mateusz Ponitka is another with plenty of EuroLeague experience, but he is out injured.
Korkmaz also enjoyed a seven-year spell in the NBA with the Philadelphia 76ers while Sipahi had two stints each with Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul and Besiktas before he joined Bahcesehir earlier this season.
If the inspired performance against Besiktas is anything to go by, though, this galvanized Cedevita side has a decent chance of completing a postseason double over Turkish opposition in its bid to go at least a step further in the EuroCup.