Mornar Barsko Zlato suffered their 22nd defeat in the 23rd round of the AdmiralBet ABA League against SC Derby in "Topolica" - 94:74.
Even the incorrigible optimist Mihailo Pavićević, the coach of Baran, no longer believes that his team can survive.
"We played a great half and then in the second half we immediately allowed a 10-0 run, lost four balls... It turned out that when the wheel starts to go downhill, we don't have a player this season who can start it, to stop the decline. This is already happening from game to game," said Pavićević and added:
"I congratulate SC Derby on a well-deserved victory, and we are where we are because of all the problems in the game. We launch attacks easily, we don't come back to close in defense. We deserve to be at the bottom, but we will fight until the end, play aggressively and professionally," concluded Pavićević.
Petar Mijović was only satisfied with the "students'" play in the second half.
"We started the exact opposite of what we were aiming for, I called a timeout. We partially closed down the defense then, and only in the second half did we do it properly. Good defense, easy points in attack, and we came away with an important victory. Tough, but we knew it would be that way, because Mornar had to go all or nothing," said Mijović.
The "Students" are now on eight wins, three wins away from a playoff spot.
"Compared to previous seasons, we are more inexperienced in some positions. And I don't know why the players are putting unnecessary pressure on the playoffs. Obviously, we are bothered by the constant tension of having to win. It is unnecessary pressure, because our only responsibility is to try to win every game, to collect as many points as possible," Mijović pointed out.
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