Sometimes you have to see to believe, and even then some fans in Zagreb thought they were dreaming on Wednesday as Adecco Asvel Basket mounted one of the greatest comebacks of the Euroleague season to register a huge 70-82 road win over a Cibona team that has gone into a tailspin. Asvel came from 20 points down in the middle of the second quarter to lead by 9 at the end of three! Cibona, once again playing without Josip Sesar, had looked like the dream team while racing out to a 36-16 lead. Defense, rebounding, fast breaks. Nikola Vujcic made only two points in the first half and his Axvel teammates misfired on their first 8 three-point attempts. Bogdan Tanjevic made numerous changes in the lineup, but nothing seemed to work.
Then he struck gold. A zone defense changed everything. Two triples by Vujcic triggered the great comeback. The Croatian sensation, a long-time enemy of Cibona from his days at Split, exploded for 15 points in the second quarter, and hope was born again for the visitors. But the best from the French side was to come. Simon Petrov took over for Vujcic in the third quarter, scoring 14 points and three triples. Asvel, having been down 10 at the half, was now leading 52-61 after a third quarter won by 10-29! That was the end of Cibona, which made one last run closing to within 68-69, but Yann Bonato connected on a three-point shot to seal the victory. The rest was agony for Cibona. They were missing by miles, they could not buy a basket, they couldn't hit the ocean. Asvel had missed its first 8 three-points attempts, but the rest of the way they made 10 of 16. In the last 25 minutes ASVEL outscored Cibona by 32 points! What a game for the French side. What a great comeback.
Wednesday, November 14, 2001
Neven Berticevic, Sportske Novosti, Zagreb
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