U-BT Cluj-Napoca, miraculous victory, at home, in the ABA League! Missing 4 players, the Romanian champion fought heroically

• Saturday, March 28 at 9:00 p.mU-BT Cluj-Napoca and Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana will meet again, this time in the Slovenian capital.

After the elimination in the quarter-finals of the BKT EuroCup, the priority of U-BT Cluj-Napoca became the ABA League, where it aims to reach the play-off of the competition, i.e. to finish in one of the first 6 places in the Top 8 group.

With many lot problems, U-BT Cluj-Napoca defeated Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana

Black and white's opponent tonight was Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana, a team that had beaten them twice this season, in the EuroCup. Given the home team's draw problems, the Slovenians were considered favourites. However, U-BT started strongly thanks to Dusan Miletic and showed from the first minutes that they wanted to achieve a fantastic success.

The pivot of Cluj was, however, quickly penalized with two personal fouls and Nighael Ceaser, his replacement, also immediately reached three fouls. Exasperated, the crowd tried to put pressure on the referees while, on the pitch, the visitors closed in and quickly reduced the opposition's advantage.

Mihai Silvășan had to improvise and give a lot of minutes to Darius Miron, Saulius Kulvietis and Ben Altit, who did well. So, U-BT went to the locker room with an advantage of 5 points: 44-39.

In the second half, Daron Russell and Mitch Creek took over offensively, but the game remained tied. At the end of the 3rd quarter and the beginning of the 4th quarter, “Fatts” scored 3 consecutive baskets from distance and U-BT took the initiative.

Cedevita did not give up the fight and, led by Matt Ryan, tried until the end to steal the victory from Cluj. However, the black and whites defended brilliantly, rebounded very well and, with Russell, Miletic, Ceaser and Creek in great form, they managed to win, score 98-95.

Leading the way for the win were Daron Russell (27 points, 13 assists, 7 rebounds), Mitch Creek (28 points, 4 rebounds), Dusan Miletic (18 points, 5 rebounds) and Nighael Ceaser (10 points, 9 rebounds).

On the other side, DJ Stewart (20 points), Matt Hurt (19 points), David Skara (13 points, 8 rebounds) and Umoja Gibson (12 points) stood out.

Mihai Silvășan: “I thought about a lot of formulas before the match”

Complicated (no improvising in this game). I thought of a lot of formulas before the game and one of them we didn't even get to play yet because the two big men fouled very quickly. I mean Ceaser and Miletic. It remains a surprise for Ljubljana.

We will probably play in about the same formula. The only question mark is whether or not Molinar will return. We hope so. Pat, as I saw him tonight, is barely on his feet and I don't know if he will be fit in 3 days. That's it, we go there to play our chance and why not try to pull off another surprise

– Mihai Silvășan, coach of U-BT Cluj-Napoca

Final. U-BT Cluj-Napoca – Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana, in the ABA League: 98-95

END OF THE MATCH. 98-95. Huge victory for U-BT Cluj-Napoca.
Min. 39. 92-86. Basket for Miletic and with less than 90 seconds left, the hosts lead by 6 points. It's rest time requested by the guests.
Min. 37. 89-82. 7 point advantage for U-BT.
Min. 36. 85-82. Matthew Hurt makes incredible shots from the half circle and keeps his team in the game.
Min. 34. 81-77. Partially 5-0 for the guests and it's Silvășan's turn to request the interruption of the game. The host technician is extremely nervous about the defense of Saulius Kulvietis.
Min. 33. 81-72. 7 points in a row for Creek and U-BT are within three possessions. Mitrovic calls for time-out.
Min. 31. 74-71. Russell starts the last sequence the way he ended the previous one – with a 3-pointer.
Start of the 4th quarter.

End of quarter 3. 71-71. Two back-to-back 3-pointers for “Fatts” Russell, which restores the tie.
Min. 28. 62-68. After a bizarre decision by the referees, who identified a problem with the game clock, possession was changed and Cedevita doubled their lead.
Min. 26. 56-58. The two camps score with automatic fire, while the defensive ones do not work.
Min. 24. 49-50. 6-0 run for Cedevita. The hosts cannot find solutions in attack and defend with the fear of not collecting fouls.
Min. 23. 49-44. U-BT restores the difference after the break. Creek reaches 16 points scored.
Min. 21. 44-42. In 30 seconds, the hosts have committed two mistakes and the visitors are closing in on a possession.
Start of the 3rd quarter.

The end of the first half. 44-39. “Students” enter the locker room with a +5 advantage, as they are forced to play in a 6-man rotation.
Min. 19. 42-39. Creek stands out for U-BT and puts pressure on the visitors' defence. Time-out requested by Mitrovic.
Min. 18. 36-37. A new time-out requested by the Cluj coach, after Umoja Gibson's basket. There are 3 minutes left in the first half.
Min. 15. 29-29. The Slovenians manage to equalize, through two free throws converted by DJ Stewart.
Min. 12. 27-23. After a “triple” by Aleksej Nikolic, Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana reduces the difference to 4 points and it's Silvășan's turn to request a rest time.
Min. 11. 23-18. Miletic collects the third foul, and the situation is a nightmare for the Romanian champion.
The start of the second quarter.

End of the first quarter. 21-15. 8-0 run for the visitors, who took advantage of the hosts' short rotation. Meanwhile, U-BT's other pivot Nighael Ceaser also picked up his third personal foul.
Min. 7. 21-7. Basket for Ben Altit, a player who didn't get many minutes this season. Shortly after, the black and white coach introduces Darius Miron, a junior from the academy, into the field.
Min. 5. 15-5. Miletic, penalized with the second personal foul and Cluj fans start booing the referees. Mihai Silvășan is warned for protests.
Min. 4. 12-3. U-BT continues to dominate the game, and Zvezdan Mitrovic immediately calls for a time-out. After play resumes, Mitch Creek will be at the free throw line.
Min. 3. 8-0. 8 consecutive points scored by Dusan Miletic, who started the game aggressively.
Start of the match in the BTarena.

Ranking of the Top 8 group from the ABA League