Zadar KK beat Studentski Centar 79:65 in the ABA League on Sunday evening. The hosts held their nerve after a steady start and pulled away when it mattered. To be fair, the visitors never really found rhythm from the opening tip-off.
And here's the thing — by then, Zadar had already built enough of a cushion to control the tempo. They didn't need to go full throttle, just kept the ball moving and let the lead grow piece by piece. The visitors' defence looked disjointed, players getting dragged out of position without proper coverage.
Zadar had picked up a win last week against Skrljevo with a 107:69 scoreline, and carried that momentum into this one. Studentski Centar, meanwhile, had lost four of their last five, including two heavy defeats to Budućnost VOLI Podgorica in June. Things came to a head for them tonight — they couldn't keep their side in it when the game tightened.
Both sides sit in the bottom half of the table after sixteen games. Zadar occupy seventh place with five victories, while Studentski Centar languish in ninth with just three wins. Neither team has a draw to their name — there are no draws in this league, and that shows in the results.
The visitors will now be staring at the drop if results don't turn around soon. Zadar have kept things respectable, but one bad run could drag them down. By then, they'll need to have their substitutions spot on and their defence dug in properly.
