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By Aran Smith
5/4/08
FMP Zeleznik wins EF4 Junior Tournament
Boxscore
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Bojan
Subotic
Euroleague.net |
Behind
25 points from Dejan
Musli, 21 points from Bojan
Subotic
and 18 from
Andrija
Milutinovic
FMP was able to overcome Nihad
Dedovic's 29 point effort for a 80-70 victory.
Best described as having a relentless demeanor, FMP withstood
a second half rally by Barcelona who was able to cut lead
to 51-45 after two straight 3 pointers from speedy point guard
Daniel Perez.
FMP quickly reclaimed command of the game with their disciplined,
patient attack. Musli's soft touch around the rim, and Subotic's
ability to get out in the open floor as well as his strength
and aggressiveness proved too much to handle.
The knockout blow was delivered by FMP's floor leader Milutinovic
who knocked down a 3 followed by two breakaway baskets.
His 7 straight points built the lead from 11 to 18 with half
a quarter to go effectively putting Barcelona away. The combo
guard celebrated as Barcelona was forced to call timeout.
From there it was smooth sailing as Barcelona would cut the
lead to 10 only in the final minute.
Dedovic had a game high 29 showing excellent speed and athleticism.
He converted a number of baskets on sheer hustle and quickness
being the first to loose balls and using excellent body control
to convert around the basket. He's got a tremendous basketball
body with long arms, big hands and a long muscular frame.
He shot 4-9 from 3 showing good range and the ability to both
attack the basket or shoot from the perimeter.
Subotic was dominant, just as he's been all week. He appears
more physically developed than the other players and his aggressiveness
and skill level allows him to score and rebound at will. He
can score in a multitude of ways with three pointers, a 12
foot hook shot and finishing extremely well around the basket
on the move.
Musli was awarded the junior championship MVP. He lacks an
athletic body but has a high skill level and his size and
touch inside makes him very effective. NBA still appears to
be a long ways away for the 1991 center. He has a game better
suited for Europe, and he'll need to make a lot of improvement
in his body to make it in the NBA.
Senegalese physical specimen Papa
Abdoulaye
was outplayed by Musli but had a solid 11 and 9, while floor
general Perez had 15 for Barcelona.
Friday & Saturday
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Tomislav
Zubcic
Euroleague.net |
The games
for Friday and Saturday gave scouts a glimpse into the future
of European basketball with one team (FMP) emerging superior
over the rest and a number of players emerged as top prospects.
The following is a recap of the game action from days two
and three, which will be followed by a recap of the top prospects.
Friday
AXA FC Barcelona 66 - Cibona Zagreb 65
Boxscore
Barcelona and Zagreb squared off in the first game
of the day with Barcelona eeking out the one point win. With
around 5 minutes left in the contest, Zagreb was down 10 but
Tomislav
Zubcic drove in and drew and intentional foul and knocked
down 4 free throws cutting the lead to 6. Zagreb would keep
the game close to the end behind the excellent play from their
star Zubcic. With 15 seconds remaining Zubcic drove and made
a terrific dish for a lay in to cut the lead to one. Zagreb
then fouled the physically underdeveloped but mentally tough
Alejandro Hernandez who calmly went to the line and knocked
down two free throws. Zagreb had 10 seconds to set up a three
for the tie but guard Dino Hodzic made a terrible decision
by driving in after not finding Zubcic in the corner and laid
the ball in with a second left. Barcelona in bounded the ball
and time expired. Papa
Abdoulaye
led Barca with 15 (7-12) and 8 while Zubcic led Zagreb with
17 and 10.
Lietuvos Rytas 82 - Red Star 73
Boxscore
What the Lithuanian Rytas team lacks in talent, they
make up for in grit and heart. The Red Star team probably
had more overall talent, but they didn't show nearly the cohesiveness
or intensity of Lietuvos. Behind their scrappy point guard
Augustas Peciukevicius who finished with a game high 19 points,
Rytas was able to take over the game. Aside from being a Jonathan
Rhys Meyers lookalike (Tudors and Match Point) Peciukevicius
is extremely aggressive and draws a ton of fouls going to
the basket, 8-14 from the line. While this game didn't feature
any future NBA players, there was certainly a high level of
competition and skill which made the game enjoyable to watch.
Red Star's point guard Nemanja Nedovic showed his athleticism
with one break away dunk while wing forward Lazar Radosavijevic
showed his scoring ability but hit just 2-7 from three. Each
finished with 15.
Real Madrid 93 - Maccabi Teddy 76
Boxscore
The host Real Madrid team turned the Maccabi into
teddy bears as bigman Nikola
Mirotic
and Ryan
Richards finally came to play and showed the ability
that scouts have been getting excited about. Mirotic had 25
points showing his vast array of offensive skills on 9-12
shooting. Richards also impressed with 15 and 10. For a 6-10
bigman lefty, he certainly has excellent touch on his shot
and the ability to shoot with range. Maccabi was able to hang
around for the first half of the game as their top talent
Daniel
Rom
went for 11 on the game but shot a dismal 3-12 from the line.
Real's talent pushed them to an insurmountable lead in the
second half.
FMP 65 vs. Zalgiris Kaunas 58
Boxscore
In the final game of the day, Goliaths FMP and Zalgiris
clashed with the Serbians coming out victorious behind the
play of 6-8 forward Bojan Subotic. Subotic is a tweener forward
but has an advanced skill level and plays extremely hard.
Along with Dejan
Musli, he was able to neutralize Zalgiris star Donatas
Motiejunas while helping FMP take over the game on
the offensive end. While Subotic lacks an NBA position, he's
easily one of the top handful of players in the event and
should become a very nice European player.
Saturday
Cibona Zagreb 90 - Red Star 77
Boxscore
Behind Tomislav
Zubcic's 22 points and 18 boards, Cibona was able to take
care of Red Star to record their first win after two close
defeats. Zubcic's versatility was on full display as he found
teammates with his great passing and handled the ball in the
open floor, as well as using his great length to gather rebounds.
Zubcic showed solid leadership skills encouraging teammates
after missed shots and he displays a fiery demeanor. Red Star
just didn't have the talent to compete here finishing 0-3.
AXA FC Barcelona 85 - Lietuvos Rytas 71
Boxscore
It was a battle of undefeated's to see who would
play against FMP in the final. After falling behind by 11
after the first quarter, Rytas battled tough as they have
all tournament long, cutting the lead to 2 going into the
final quarter. Guards Nihad
Dedovic and Konstantine
Tomardze turned up the heat in the fourth quarter
to take command of the game. Dedovic showed his excellent
speed and athleticism in the open floor while Tomardze knocked
down some outside jumpers. Dedeovic finished with a game high
24 while Tomardze had 23 on 4/6 from 3.
FMP 100 vs. Real Madrid 76
Boxscore
FMP continued their steamroll through every opponent
put in their path by soundly defeating a quality Real Madrid
team. Ryan
Richards was the big story of the game with 24 points
with an umber of excellent offensive moves. He even knocked
down 2-4 from 3 point as well as some nifty moves around the
basket. The lefty bigman held Dejan
Musli to just 9 points on 1-5 shooting leaving no
doubt who the top center in the event was. Real's other 91
lefty bigman was less impressive. Mirotic went for just 9
on 3-8 shooting, he struggled matching up with Bojan
Subotic.
For FMP, sharp shooting
Andrija Milutinovic
is emerging as one of the top guards in the event. His 16
points led the team and he dropped in 3-6 from 3 point land.
Zalgiris Kaunas 92 - Maccabi Teddy 89
Boxscore
Zalgiris bounced back from their defeat at the hands
of FMP with a close win over Maccabi. Zalgiris faced a 5 point
deficit entering the fourth quarter but their star Donatas
Motiejunas took over the game in the final 5 minutes
with a number of excellent fadaways and hooks. He finished
with 19 and 8 with 5 steals. Despite the loss to FMP, he's
established himself as on of the top 2-3 players in his age
group in Europe. Daniel
Rom finally played up to his ability with 17 points
on 8-12 shooting.
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