Zadar has lost four in a row, but this one was hard to swallow. For the first time, they looked like a team that can go all the way, but could not hold out in the fourth quarter. It happened against Lugano, it happened against PAF Bologna, and it happened against Peristeri. For most of the three quarters Zadar looked like a sure winner. In the middle of the third, Darko Krunic made three free throws, and a three point shot for 58-47, but at the end, they could not save the day.
Vlado Vanjak, the Zadar coach, took Patrick Baldwin out of the game with four personal fouls, and that gave some breathing room for Alphonso Ford, who finally found his range. Peristeri came back, only down by 3 at the end of third, and burned Zadar 26-10 in the deciding quarter. The home team could not connect in the fourth quarter, which belonged to Byron Dinkins and Alphonso Ford. They combined for 51 points and controlled everything. Once Peristeri went ahead, Zadar fell apart. They went scoreless in the last four minutes of the game.
Thursday, November 09, 2000
Neven Berticevic,Sportske Novosti, Zagreb
|