Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana is the Slovenian League champion! Cedevita swept its best-of-five finals series against Helios Suns and successfully defended the Slovenian crown. Virtus Segafredo Bologna advanced to the Italian League finals.
Domestic leagues: Cedevita lifts Slovenian League trophy!
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Slovenia: Cedevita wins the title!
Cedevita lifted the Slovenian League trophy by beating Helios Suns 81-101 in Game 3 of the best-of-five finals in Domzale on Tuesday. Cedevita swept the series and claimed its 19th Slovenian League crown - the club's second since Cedevita Zagreb and Olimpija Ljubljana merged. Yogi Ferrell led the winners with 20 points. Zoran Dragic added 18, Jaka Blazic had 16, Alen Omic got 16 and 14 rebounds, Jacob Pullen scored 13 rebounds and Edo Muric pulled down 11 boards for Cedevita, which outrebounded Helios by 31-54.
Dragic and Blazic combined for 17 first-quarter points and Pullen buried a three-pointer to fix the score at 13-27 after 10 minutes. Pullen kept pacing Cedevita and Luka Scuka dunked to make it a 21-point game, 17-38. Cedevita kept a 36-56 margin at halftime and boosted it to 54-77 late in the third quarter. Nothing changed until the final buzzer, as Helios only rallied once the outcome was clear and all Cedevita fans had plenty of time to celebrate that their team had successfully defended the Slovenian League title!
Italy: Virtus returns to finals!
Virtus Segafredo Bologna advanced to the Italian League finals by downing Bertram Derthona Basket Tortona 69-77 on the road in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinals series on Tuesday. Virtus swept the series and will have the home-court advantage in the finals. Mam Jaiteh led the winners with 17 points and 9 rebounds. Milos Teodosic added 15 points while Toko Shengelia had 14 for Virtus, which led from start to finish.
Jaiteh and Shengelia combined for all points in an 1-13 opening run which allowed Virtus to keep a 13-18 edge at the end of the first quarter. Marco Belinelli buried back-to-back three-pointers, then Isaia Cordinier and Teodosic each hit one from beyond the arc to break the game open, 25-41. Tortona got a bit closer, 33-47, at halftime. Virtus kept a double-digit margin throughout the third quarter and led 51-62 after 30 minutes. Tortona used an 8-0 run to get within 59-65 midway through the fourth quarter. Daniel Hackett and Jaiteh stepped up in crunch time, and Teodosic sank a three-pointer to seal the outcome and make Virtus punch its ticket to the semifinals.