May 19, 2013
Top 16 Game 1 - January 28, 2009 CET: 18:30 Local time: 18:30 - BASKETBALL CENTER DRAZEN PETROVIC
Cibona 88 - 81 Montepaschi Siena

Records

Ave.   Ave.
0-0 Final Four 0-0
0-0 Playoffs 0-0
0-0 Top 16 0-0
5-5 Regular Season 8-2
5-5 Overall 8-2

Referees

Crew Chief
GARCIA ORTIZ, JOSE RAMON, Spain
Referee
GARCIA GONZALEZ, JUAN CARLOS, Spain
Umpire
JASEVICIUS, TOMAS, Lithuania

Team Stats

Ave.   Ave.
76.0 Points 83.5
29.8 Rebounds 31.6
9.6 O. Rebounds 10.0
20.2 D. Rebounds 21.6
9.5 Assists 13.9
8.7 Steals 12.4
2.2 Blocks 2.4
15.2 Turnovers 12.3
51.8 % 2PT 53.2 %
35.5 % 3PT 39.5 %
77.2 % FT 77.3 %
73.0 Index 91.8
Team Stats - Cibona
Team Stats - Montepaschi Siena

Player Stats

Ave.   Ave.
14.3 / Calloway Points 13.5 / Domercant
4.1 / PRKACIN, NIKOLA Rebounds 7.4 / Lavrinovic, K.
1.6 / VUKUSIC, VEDRAN OR 2.1 / Lavrinovic, K.
3.0 / PRKACIN, NIKOLA DR 5.3 / Lavrinovic, K.
2.7 / Calloway Assists 4.6 / MCINTYRE, TERRELL
1.7 / Calloway Steals 2.2 / MCINTYRE, TERRELL
0.8 / HOMAN, JARED Blocks 1.2 / Eze
2.8 / Calloway Turnovers 2.2 / MCINTYRE, TERRELL
72.7 % / TROHA, ROBERT 2PT 70.6 % / STONEROOK, SHAUN
43.6 % / MARSHALL, RAWLE 3PT 75.0 % / Carraretto
93.8 % / Rozic FT 100.0 % / FINLEY, MORRIS
15.1 / Calloway Index 19.0 / Lavrinovic, K.
Team Roster - Cibona
Team Roster - Montepaschi Siena

THE TAKE

Top 16 action starts in Group H with a big showdown, as Cibona hosts Montepaschi Siena in Zagreb, Croatia on Wednesday. Cibona already showed its power with regular season home wins against Euroleague powerhouses Maccabi Electra and Olympiacos. Meanwhile, Montepaschi finished regular season Group B in second place with an 8-2 record, but its two losses came on the road. There is some good news from Montepaschi, as swingman Rimantas Kaukenas is back in action and ready to face Cibona. Kaukenas leads a battery of good players at both wing spots, featuring small forward Romain Sato, combo guard Marco Carrareto and scoring ace Henry Domercant. Kaukenas will test his scoring skills against recently signed swingman Alan Anderson. Sato faces a tough matchup against a strong defender in Marin Rozic, while Domercant pits his shooting abilities against combo guard Davor Kus, a key player for coach Velimir Perasovic. Two of the best point guards in the competition are ready to battle each other. Earl Calloway of Cibona, one of the most pleasant surprises in the competition this season, faces a key matchup against All-Euroleague playmaker Terrell McIntyre of Montepaschi. Even though Morris Finley stays sidelined, Montepaschi has Arriel McDonald, who is ready to offer experience and clutch shots. Vedran Princ will be ready to help Cibona as its backup point guard. Cibona will be concerned with stopping Ksistof Lavrinovic, a nightmare matchup for any team due to his unique combination of shooting range, post skills, quickness and athleticism. The hosts count on Niksa Prkacin and Jared Homan to stop him down low. Shaun Stonerook is Montepaschi's silent leader, a big man able to do a little bit of everything - and do it well. Meanwhile, Benjamin Eze offers size and strength in the paint against Prkacin. Cibona also has good shooters like Vedran Vukusic and Luksa Andric, with enough talent to put Stonerook and Lavrinovic into trouble. And Bruno Sundov offers size inside for the home team. Cibona must play the way it has at home recently: strong defense, outstanding ball circulation and an unstoppable Calloway. Meanhwhile Montepaschi Siena has taken the extra pass to a brand new level in European club basketball, with lineups in which any player can strike from downtown. Expect both teams to give everything they have knowing that a win to start the Top 16 could trigger a strong run.

GAME NOTES

Cibona
  • Guard Earl Calloway has scored in double figures in nine straight games, averaging 15.9 points per game over that span.
  • Guard Davor Kus is averaging more than twice as many points per game at home this season (16.4 ppg.) as on the road (8 ppg.). He is shooting 41.7% from downtown at home compared to 21% on the road.
  • Center Niksa Prkacin is on pace for the best shooting season of his lengthy Euroleague career. Prkacin has made 37 of 62 two-point shots (59.6%) so far, which is slightly more than his 59.1% for Efes Pilsen in the 2006-07 season.
Montepaschi Siena
  • All-Euroleague playmaker Terrell McIntyre has recorded at least 1 steal in every game this season and finished the regular season tied for the league lead with 2.2 steals per game. He has also made at least 1 three-pointer in seven straight appearances.
  • Montepaschi finished the regular season as the Euroleague leader in steals with 12.4 per game this season and had three players in the competition’s top 10 in that category: McIntyre was tied for first with 2.2 steals per game, Shaun Stonerook was fifth with 2.1 and Romain Sato eighth at 1.9 per game.
  • Guard Henry Domercant enters the Top 16 needing just 22 more points to reach 1,000 for his Euroleague career.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Euroleague.net

Quotes Head Coaches

PERASOVIC, VELIMIR
Cibona
"Montepaschi lost just two games this season, in Barcelona and in Athens, but in those two arenas anyone can lose. They are very talented in offense - every player has individual quality and this is why they take lot of shots from transition. Many of their players are real athletes and they can go to a 15-point margin in 5 minutes against anyone. Although Siena is one of the main favorites for the Final Four this year, we will do our best to start the Top 16 with a win."
PIANIGIANI, SIMONE
Montepaschi Siena
"We are in the house of Petrovic and it's always a special place to play basketball. Here they lost only one Euroleague game so far, and they won against the big teams like Maccabi and Olympiacos. It's a team with important players, with experience, size. They play hard defensively but can also run the counterattack, led by their playmaker Calloway. It will be a difficult game strategy-wise, too. Cibona has players such as Prkacin, with great experience, who can offer space to the shooters. It will be crucial for our defense not to open too much, not give them the possibility of second shots with their feet on the ground. Alan Anderson just arrived to Cibona and he is already a protagonist. We'll try to contest his shots even as we'll play against the 220 centimeters of Sundov and the rest of the team's athleticism. We know the difficulty of this game, but we want to give our best and see what we can do. If we can win, it would be a good start to the Top 16."

Players

Earl Calloway - CibonaCibona knocked off Montepaschi Siena 88-81 on Wednesday night at the Drazen Petrovic Basketball Center to start the Top 16 in style and send a message that it was a force to be reckoned with in Group H. The Italian champs dominated early, but Cibona's Davor Kus scored 13 points in the third quarter to lead his team back and Earl Calloway buried some big buckets down the stretch to earn the win. Montepaschi was doomed by foul trouble all evening as starting center Ben Eze fouled out in the third quarter, starting small forward Romain Sato fouled out in the fourth and starting power forward Shaun Stonerook – having a career-best evening with 4 three-pointers and 18 points – missed large chunks of the fourth quarter with 4 fouls. The turning point was a pair of unsportsmanlike fouls within one minute on Montepaschi point guard Terrell McIntyre and shooting guard Henry Domercant that led to 8 straight points from Calloway and Anderson midway through the fourth quarter as Cibona took the lead for good. Calloway led Cibona with a season-high 23 points and 4 assists, Kus scored all of his 18 points in the second half, Anderson added 16, Niks Prkacin had 13 and Luksa Andric grabbed rebounds for the winners. For Montepaschi, Ksistof Lavrinovic matched Stonerook with 18 points and McIntyre and Rimas Kaukenas had 12 apiece.

Ksistof Lavrinovic - Montepaschi SienaCibona won the opening tip and Calloway fed Luksa Andric for the first basket of the Top 16 before Sato got Montepaschi on the scoreboard. After turnovers by both teams, Domercant put the visitors on top with a three-pointer and Stonerook followed to make it 2-8. Calloway set Anderson up for a three, but Eze’s fastbreak layup kept the visitors in control. Calloway’s first basket was followed by a score from Anderson, however Sato hit a jumper and later made a free throw before Lavrinovic scored on the break to make it 10-17. A Lavrinovic three-pointer took the guests’ advantage to double digits. Prkacin scored inside for Cibona only for McIntyre to better him with a three-point play. Vedran Vukusic corrected Marin Rozic’s miss and Calloway drew a second foul from McIntyre within a minute, sending the All-Euroleague playmaker to the bench and narrowing the gap to 7 with a pair of free throws. A Kaukenas triple helped the Italian champs keep a 17-25 lead after 10 minutes.

Lavrinovic set the tone with a block of a Vukusic shot at the start of the second period and Arriel McDonald netted 2 free throws to restore a double-digit lead. However Cibona came back quickly led by Rozic who stormed through the Montepaschi defense for a basket-plus-foul and then had a steal and layup to make it 24-27. The pace picked up with Kaukenas and Lavrinovic scoring for Montepaschi and Vukusic and Calloway matching for Cibona. Another Rozic strip and basket cut the gap to 30-31. Lavrinovic swooped in for a layup and Stonerook turned a steal into 2 free throws before McIntyre buried a triple as the visitors regained control. Lavrinovic capped a 0-9 run with a running jumper. Anderson ended the hosts’ dry spell from the line, but Sato increased the lead to 12 from the line. However Cibona did not give in as Calloway, Anderson and Rozic all scored to make it 38-44 at the break.

Marin Rozic - CibonaKus’s first points came on a three-pointer that clawed Cibona within 3, but McIntyre answered with a jumper. Prkacin drove on Eze and drew the Montepaschi center’s fifth foul, sending him to the bench for the rest of the night. Kus followed with another three to make it 46-48. Calloway banked in a jumper to tie the score for the first time since the opening minutes. And then Kus was fouled shooting a three and made 3 free throws to put the hosts on top 51-48. Domercant hit from downtown to tie it again, but Kus remained hot with a baseline jumper. A ping-pong pace ensued with the lead changing hands one each of the next five possessions. Calloway put Cibona ahead again with a triple before Lavrinovic knotted the score at 62-62 with a jumper at the end of the third quarter.

Stonerook put Montepaschi back on top with a three-pointer. Rozic drove baseline and was fouled and the visiting head coach, Simone Pianigiani, was whistled for a foul for arguing. Kus free throws and a Prkacin basket in the paint put Cibona ahead before Stonerook fired in his fourth three of the night. Andric’s tip-in tied the score at 68-68. Lavrinovic connected on a three from the corner, but Calloway drew Stonerook’s fourth foul and then knocked down a three to tie it again. Kaukenas knocked down a jumper, but Domercant was called for an unsportsmanlike foul on Anderson at the other end and Calloway’s third three made it 75-73. After a poor pass from McIntyre, he stopped Calloway on the break and was called for the team’s second unsportsmanlike foul in less than a minute. Calloway free throws followed by Anderson free throws put the hosts ahead 79-73. Stonerook came back and sank 2 free throws only to see Anderson do the same. Kaukenas scored on the break, however Lavrinovic’s poor pass cost Montepaschi a chance to get closer. And Kus buried a three at the end of the shot clock to put Cibona up 7 with three under three minutes to play. An offensive foul on Vukusic was his fifth, but Sato fouled out for Montepaschi at the other end. Stonerook and Kaukenas both missed from downtown in the final minute allowing the hosts to celebrate a big home win.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Euroleague.net
Referees: GARCIA ORTIZ, JOSE RAMON (ESP), GARCIA GONZALEZ, JUAN CARLOS (ESP), JASEVICIUS, TOMAS (LTU)
Attendance: 5200
By Quarter1234
Cibona17212426
Montepaschi Siena25191819
End of Quarter1234
Cibona17386288
Montepaschi Siena25446281
Head coach: PERASOVIC, VELIMIR
Cibona
# Player Min Pts 2FG
M-A
 3FG
M-A
 FT
M-A
 Rebounds As St To Bl Fouls PIR
O D T Fv Ag Cm Rv
4 HOMAN, JARED 10:19 1 0/3   1/2                 2 2 -3
5 KUS, DAVOR 28:47 18 1/4 3/3 7/7   2 2 1 1 2       2 19
8 PRKACIN, NIKOLA 27:14 13 6/10   1/2 1 6 7 2   3     3 5 16
9 TROHA, ROBERT 2:29                              
11 VUKUSIC, VEDRAN 17:43 4 2/4     2 2 4     4   1 5   -4
12 ANDRIC, LUKSA 22:14 4 2/4 0/2   2 7 9 1   2     5   3
13 CALLOWAY, EARL 37:43 23 4/7 3/5 6/6   4 4 4 3 3     4 5 27
14 SUNDOV, BRUNO 2:27                   1     1   -2
15 ZUBCIC, TOMISLAV DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
19 PRINC, VEDRAN DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
20 ROZIC, MARIN 17:31 9 4/5 0/1 1/2 1 1 2   2 1     2 3 10
32 ANDERSON, ALAN 33:33 16 1/4 1/1 11/14 2 3 5 3 1 1   1 2 10 25
Team                                
Totals 200:00 88 20/41 7/12 27/33 8 25 33 11 7 17 0 2 24 27 91
48.8% 58.3% 81.8%
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
Head coach: PIANIGIANI, SIMONE
Montepaschi Siena
# Player Min Pts 2FG
M-A
 3FG
M-A
 FT
M-A
 Rebounds As St To Bl Fouls PIR
O D T Fv Ag Cm Rv
4 DOMERCANT, HENRY 27:03 8 1/2 2/5     2 2 3 2 1     2 2 10
5 MCINTYRE, TERRELL 33:05 12 3/4 1/5 3/3   1 1 4   3     3 4 10
6 MCDONALD, ARRIEL 6:55 2   0/1 2/2                 1 1 1
8 EZE, BENJAMIN 9:02 2 1/2       3 3     1     5   -2
9 CARRARETTO, MARCO 4:53                         1   -1
10 SATO, ROMAIN 23:30 9 2/4 0/2 5/6 2 2 4 1 1 2     5 4 7
12 LAVRINOVIC, KSISTOF 30:58 18 5/9 2/6 2/2 2 5 7 1   3 1   2 6 20
13 KAUKENAS, RIMANTAS 24:34 12 6/7 0/4   1 1 2   1 3     2 3 8
14 RESS, TOMAS 3:19     0/1                   1   -2
18 LECHTHALER, LUCA 1:54                         1   -1
19 CROTTA, STEFANO DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
20 STONEROOK, SHAUN 34:47 18 0/2 4/7 6/6 1 5 6 2 2 3 1   4 4 21
Team                           1   -1
Totals 200:00 81 18/30 9/31 18/19 6 19 25 11 6 16 2 0 28 24 70
60% 29% 94.7%
This game is not yet played

Head Coaches

PERASOVIC, VELIMIR
Cibona
"Siena showed what a great team it is. In the first half they played with ease, as if they were impossible to beat. They were dominant in every way and being only six points down at the halftime was very acceptable for us. In Siena, we would have been down by 20. But our heart kept us in the game and making the three-pointers in the beginning of the third quarter gave us the energy on defense as well. We hustled a lot, and with the addition of a good crowd atmosphere, a little bit of our zone defense and good second-half offense, we managed to beat a team of this caliber."
PIANIGIANI, SIMONE
Montepaschi Siena
"Congratulations to Cibona. They believed even when we led in the first half. We approached the game very well. We attacked in transition and forced the game in our direction. After that, Cibona recovered step by step. They overcame the deficit with more desire and they paid more attention to the small things that decided the game. We attacked very badly their zone defense, our ball movement stopped and these are all the keys to the game. In the Euroleague, we have to play every game like it is a final. Now we have two games at home, we will go step by step and see the standings at the end. It would have been a big step if we had won tonight, because in Zagreb, only Unicaja has won so far, and that was by one basket. But if we miss on so many details in the next games, it will be impossible for us to reach the playoffs."

Players

ANDERSON, ALAN
Cibona
"This is a huge victory. They are a great team, I know, because I lost to them four times last year. But this is what we are capable of doing when we play the whole 40 minutes and the ball is getting passed around, shared, and when everybody is ready to shoot. When we maintain our level the whole 40 minutes, I will take my chances against anybody. Coming back from 12 points down against a team like this just shows our character."
MCINTYRE, TERRELL
Montepaschi Siena
"We knew it was going to be tough. No game is easy. This is the first game, and we've got to regroup now. They went to a zone defense in the fourth quarter and we got kind of got stagnant. They seemed to get to the free throw line or scored a basket every trip down the floor as we got a lot of technicals and intentional fouls. In addition, they got the crowd involved and got hot. We let them catch on fire early in the third, they shot 6 of 8 three-pointers in the second half, and it is tough to win when a team shoots like that."
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