Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana showed up in a must-win showing and stayed alive in the Group A playoff race with a 77-73 win over Umana Reyer Venice on Wednesday night. It was a close win, and Cedevita did not win the tiebreaker against Reyer, but it did snap its three-game losing streak and kept its chances of making a late playoff push.
"Just [wanted] to show our fans, ourselves and the broader world we are a serious team, and the past performances don't define who we are", said Cedevita guard Josh Adams who had 16 points and 4 assists in a win.
Even though it is sitting in last place with a 3-10 record, Cedevita is a dangerous team, especially offensively, and features veterans who, in addition to Adams, all stepped up on Wednesday night.
Playmaker Yogi Ferrell, who leads all active players in scoring this season (19.8 ppg.), scored 20 points and dished 7 assists against Reyer. Center Alen Omic, the EuroCup's all-time rebounding leader, pulled down 19 rebounds on Wednesday. Team captain Edo Muric had 13 points and 7 rebounds in the victory.
Offense has never really been a problem for Cedevita this season -it is one of seven teams scoring more than 85 points (85.2 ppg.)- but Cedevita allows 89.8 points per game, more points than any other team in the competition.