FMP Meridian win the thriller vs. Borac in Round 11 opener
FMP Meridian pulled off a major comeback in Čačak to beat Borac in the opening game of Round 11.
(Photo: Borac/Dusko Radisic)
AdmiralBet ABA League Round 11, Friday, 10 December 2021:
Borac – FMP MERIDIAN 77:80 (29:14, 20:28, 14:21, 14:17)
Game recap: FMP Meridian pulled off a major comeback in Čačak to beat Borac in the opening game of Round 11. The Panthers were down by 15 after the opening quarter, but with Garrett Nevels on fire tonight the visiting side managed to melt the gap and to win the match in a dramatic ending.
At the end, it was Nevels himself who scored the last two free throws for FMP Meridian to seal the win for his team. Just couple of moments before that, Hunter Hale missed the 3-pointer that would have put Borac in front.
FMP Meridian now have the overall score of 9-2 and they will spend the night all alone at the top of the table, while Borac are at 4-7.
Key moments: As we have previously mentioned, this game had a dramatic ending in which FMP Meridian seized the win by scoring 4 consecutive points in the final 30 seconds.
Borac were in front before that as Lautaro Lopez made a 2-pointer to give a 1-point lead to the home side – 77:76. FMP Meridian head coach Nenad Stefanović then called a time-out, after which Bryce Jones went for a driving lay-up, but he was fouled along the way. Jones therefore had two free throws and he made both of them to put FMP Meridian in front – 77:78.
Borac had enough time to create their final offensive play in this match, but Hunter Hale missed a 3-point shot and the home team missed their last chance to win the match. The ball bounced off the rim and went directly into the hands of tonight’s MVP Garrett Nevels who then made both free throws to seal the victory for the Panthers – 77:80.
Man of the match: Garrett Nevels was just brilliant this evening in Čačak. FMP Meridian guard made 23 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists, while his overall index rating was 36!
Can’t trick the stats: Borac simply ran out of strength in the final quarter and the reason might be that they were playing this game with just 8 players.
Stats
Players on court
| BOR | Min | PtsP | RebsR | AssA | StS | FoulF | ValV | |
| 5 | Hale H. | 32:33 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| 10 | Lopez L. | 32:50 | 13 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 23 |
| 15 | Pecarski M. | 31:50 | 9 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 9 |
| 17 | Marinković I. | 25:00 | 17 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 18 |
| 44 | Čarapić U. | 20:21 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 11 |
| FMP | Min | PtsP | RebsR | AssA | StS | FoulF | ValV | |
| 1 | Nevels G. | 29:24 | 23 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 36 |
| 8 | Jones B. | 32:08 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 19 |
| 12 | Tasić D. | 32:54 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 13 | Radonjić M. | 23:38 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | -2 |
| 24 | Nerandžić N. | 29:17 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 11 |
Last 5 actions
| Min | Score | Action |
| game finished | ||
| end of 4. quarter | ||
| 00:00 (Q4) | 17 MARINKOVIĆ I. missed 2 points (layup) | |
| 00:00 (Q4) | 17 MARINKOVIĆ I. rebound (offensive) | |
| 00:00 (Q4) | 44 ČARAPIĆ U. missed 3 points (jump shot) | |
| 00:04 (Q4) | Timeout |
|
Top players
| VALUE (INDEX) | ||||
| Lopez L. | 23 | - | 36 | Nevels G. |
| POINTS | ||||
| Marinković I. | 17 | - | 23 | Nevels G. |
| REBOUNDS | ||||
| Pecarski M. | 8 | - | 10 | Nevels G. |
| ASSISTS | ||||
| Lopez L. | 5 | - | 6 | Jones B. |
