Dinamo lose in Belgrade, Mega, Levski and Rabotnicki are through

The full of youth and talent Serbian team Mega Hypo Leasing managed a quarterfinal slot clinching victory - 82-74 at home versus Romanian rivals Dinamo Bucharest. And it was not only crucial for Mega HL, but also for Bulgarian team Levski and Macedonian Fersped Rabotnicki, who are both guaranteed a place in next round thanks to tonight`s result as well. It`s due to the fact that Dinamo are still stuck at the bottom 5th place of Group B at 1-6 and, regardless of what they do in their only reamining fixture (at home vs Levski), the Bucharest team have no way of reaching the coveted 4 place, as everyone else has at least 3 wins. Tonight`s victory was Mega HL`s 4th one and they are temporarily up to second in the group standings (at 4-3), but they are unlikely to hold on to that position - they only have the postponed fixture in Skopje (19.02.) to play, while Levski and Fersped Rabotnicki both have 2 two games in hand.
 
Tonight`s game in Belgrade`s Sumice arena was a close and tense affair throughout, and especially so in the first half. During the first 10 minutes the two teams traded leads quite a few times, but none of them build an advantage of more than 3 points. The quarter ended all tied at 20-20.
 
The second started slightly better for the hosts, as their scoring machine Stefan Stojacic (not yet turned 20 years of age) connected with his 2nd and 3rd three-pointers of the game to make it 26-24 and already a personal tally of 11 points after just over 12 minutes of action. He only added another 8 points till the end of the game, but it proved enough to both lead the scorers and his team to victory. Although they lost the lead twice more in the closing 7 minutes of the first half, Mega Hypo Leasing managed to regain it and were just in front at half-time - 40-37.
 
The third 10-minute frame turned out decisive for the home team`s win, as they were just that one notch more concentrated and precise with their offensive efforts. The threat for Dinamo`s basket was coming from all 5 directions and the third quarter ended with 25 more points in Mega`s bags, as opposed to 19 more in their opponents` - 65-56.
 
In the fourth the Romanians were giving their all in their desperate attempt to come back into the game and keep their slim chances of a quarterfinal slot alive. They cut their deficit to just 5 points on three separate occasions, but it was not to be, as the enthusiastic young players of Mega HL would not allow a turnaround. The game ended at 82-74 and the hosts were through to the quarters, bringing Levski and Rabotnicki with them as well.
 
Besides Stojacic`s 19 points, the winning side got 13 from Aleksandar Mitrovic and at least 5 (up to 9) from each of the other 7 involved players in a great team efforts.
 
Dinamo`s Stojadin Markovic tied the game high by scoring 19 points versus his compatriots, while 3 other players of the visiting team were in double figures - Kiril Pavlovski (14), Chris Reaves (12) and substitute Mihail Paul (14).