Although Igokea m:tel defeated SC Derby, they failed to do so by the required minimum seven point difference, so they will not participate in the playoffs for the ABA league champions.
This is how the guests managed to defend themselves and, despite the defeat in Laktaši, keep the eighth position, so they will play in the playoffs for the ABA league champion.
“Congratulations to the opponent for a really good game. They came here to win or not lose by seven points and in the end they did it. I congratulate them on going to the playoffs. On the other hand, I think we did a good job. In six match, we achieved five victories, we wanted to win today with a sufficient margin and try to depend on ourselves in the last round, that is, to keep our chances for the top eight. However, we did not succeed, but we won.” “igos” coach Vladimir Jovanović said.
He emphasized that his team seemed extremely nervous, had a very bad shot from the penalty line and all that made it impossible for them to celebrate with a bigger difference.
“We were too nervous and I don’t like that. In the end we didn’t deserve a better result because of this 8/22 from the penalty line, 36 percent which is devastating, especially on the home field. I have to point out that we had a very difficult Sunday, with seven – eight players in training, where two juniors joined us only yesterday due to commitments with the junior team and it was difficult to prepare for this game. We managed to win, I congratulate the boys for that”. added Jovanović, who was clearly not too displeased after failing to fight for the play-offs, considering that Igokea m:tel was at the bottom of the table until recently, so survival in the Adriatic can be considered a success.
Jovanovic’s team recorded five victories in the last six matches, with only the leader Partizan managing to overcome them. Until the end, Aleksandrovčani will also play a back-to-back match with Mornarna in Bar on April 23, followed by the fight for the championship title in the BiH Championship.
“We have one more game in Bar, we have to prepare, to think about it, and then we have obligations in the domestic championship, where we have to show our quality and justify our role as favourites”. Jovanović concluded.
Igokea m:tel is in tenth position with a performance of 10 wins and 15 losses, and if it succeeds in defeating Mornar, it could advance by one place.