Ljubljana, Slovenia. Pinch me. Was this real? Did it all really happen? The same day? Over the course of just 2 games? At a youth tournament?!!! (Foto: Gojko Kusić)
Imagine a tournament where:
- the legitimate U15 MVP fouls out on a technical in the title game in the FIRST half, yes the FIRST half, at the 18th minute exactly, and with only 12min of court time to claim. The technical happening consecutively to a totally surreal call by an unfortunately soon-to-be-famous referee on a fully clean rejection which was the player’s 4th foul!
- the title-favorite and best team going from +22 in Q2 to -21 at the end of the game. Yes a 43pts turnaround!
- the commissioner of the League stepping on the wooden floor during the game to share his inner thoughts with the said-referee (whose nomination he was responible for..) which led to security intervention!
- 3 more technicals & an unsportsmanlike foul being given to the same team!
- 2 of the technicals were the coach’s own, meaning expulsion!
- more “strange” calls leading to another main player’s fouling out!
The following game (U17 Final)
- only more technicals
- loads of confusion
- another coach expelled (from the same club as the U15)
- the stands going wild
- wild enough for the same referee to have the security intervene again!
An eventful set of events!
I shall mention the medal ceremony later… 🙂
Interesting scenes at the WABA u17 Final in Ljubljana 👀👀 let’s hope @pierrepiotr_ is safe !!! @MikeFlynn826 @basketmedia365
— Blue Star Europe (@Bluestareurope) April 15, 2018
I have never been this happy not to understand a foreign language, serbo-croatian and slovenian for that matter, though i didn’t actually need translation to understand the suspected unfriendly words…
As you all certainly understood, this tournament did indeed take place. It was in Ljubljana, Slovenia. On April 14th & 15th. It was the WABA’s (Women Adriatic Basketball Association) U15-U17 Final 4 and I was there.
WABA is a great 12-13 years old League-project that allows to U15, U17 and Senior level players from the Balkans to play internationnaly on a weekly base on top of their domestic leagues duties. It involves teams from Slovenia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro at youth level and all the former + Serbia & Turkey at senior level.
The outcome of events in Ljubljana was unfortunate and astonished everyone present in the gym, since the plan was to celebrate youth basketball in the best way possible, a thing the local organizing-team (ZKD Ilirija) had all planned superbly, from food stands to a fantastic “LiveStream” & “FibaLiveStats” setting. It wasn’t a matter of “oh well, you’re in the Balkans, what did you expect?!”, nobody expected it. Everybody regretted how things turned out. Not least the U15 winners (Ilirija) who were exposed to a situation they didn’t deserve and that actually nobody deserves to face: having to doubt about their champion-status legitimity. A shame.
The scenario of the tournament was all different coming into it. We had the 2 of the best teams, the only 2 unbeaten teams of the regular season (Tresnjevka 2009, Croatia and ZKD Ilirija, Slovenia) as clear favorites, 8 of the 14 best scorers of the season, the clear assists leader and 4 of the best rebounders present on the court. All ready to walk in the steps of former U15 WABA Final 4 standouts such as Nika Baric (UMMC Ekaterinburg), Ana-Marija Begic (CRO NT), Ivana Dojkic (Spartak Moscow) or Tihana Stojsavljevic (Texas Tech) to name just a few.
Back to the referee situation, I’m aware of the rule of never criticizing them, but having the freedom not to write for a governing body, I think I can at least put things this way: it is amazing how ONE single referee can alter the course of a whole tournament. A-ma-zing. I don’t think it was with his goal to favor anyone, he was either just having a very bad day, or he was just a really poor referee. That’s very regretable but unfortunately it’s also part of the game. Definitely something, both coaches and players, must and will learn from.
It was a real shame because we could have had a great tournament and we only got a good one.
Besides all the drama, there has been interesting basketball showcased and we have been able to observe a few newcomers who potentially seem ready to make an impact at the international level in the future.
Given that in my introduction i mentionned a legitimate MVP, it should mean there is an illegitimate one, right?… Well sort of. Even if she wasn’t THE best player of the Final 4, WHAT A BEAUTIFUL MVP we eventually got in the shape of Sara Garic from ZKD Ilirija (2003, 5’11) whose skills, court-IQ and overall great form are just thrilling. One just can’t wait to see more of her on bigger stages ASAP! Whether it was her or Marta Ostojic (my so-called “legitimate MVP”) from Tresnjevka 2009 (2003, 6’1), the MVP of the tournament title couldn’t have gone wrong as both players really impressed with class and precocious know-how. Garic going for 19pts-14reb-3ass-3st-1bs-5to in the 1/2 and 25pts-5reb-3ass-5st-1bs-3to in the Final while Ostojic went for 24pts-14reb-8ass-4st-1bs-10to and 13pts-8reb-5ass-2st-6to (in 12min!).
Because you can't build contacts sat watching YouTube! Our man @pierrepiotr_ @wababasketball U15 Final Four in Ljubljana – alongside Slovenia NT head coach Damir Grgic who made history last year at #FIBAU20Europe and #EuroBasketWomen a top play-caller using exciting young talent pic.twitter.com/fBCQS8ULJA
— BlueStar Media (@BlueStarMedia1) April 14, 2018
The MVP title could have not gone wrong only provided the expected Final actually took place which almost didn’t happen as both favorites struggled their way out of the semi-finals. Ilirija just as Tresnjevka 2009 managed to see off their opponents, respectively Ježica (SLO) and Triglav (SLO), only in the very last moments of their games.
SEMI-FINALS
Ilirija (SLO) 68 – Ježica (SLO) 62
The first semi-final, after Q1, seemed like an easy ride for Ilirija (21-12) and its talented trio of: promising guard Ana-Vita Micunovic (2003, 5’6, 2017 U14 Slovenia Ball MVP – 26pts-2reb-3st-bs-0to), rising star guard/forward Sara Garic (2003, 5’11 – 19pts-14eb-3ass-3st-1bs-5to, and talented guard Tara Pulevic (2003, 5’6, Garic’s cousin – 13pts-6reb-2ass-3st-4to), backed up by the athletic forward Antonella Ozbolt (2003) as well as the solid backcourt duo of Hana Sambolic (2004) and Sara Sambolic (2004). But solidly-led by the unfancy but resilient trio of Blaza Ceh (2003, 5’8 – 22pts-7reb-1ass-3st), Anja Dragar (2003, 5’6 – 21pts-10reb-5ass-5st-7to) and Katja Sever (2003, 5’6 – 10pts-13reb), Ježica managed to turn the situation around: 30-29 at halft-time, 50-44 at the end of Q3, and even stay in the game until the last 40 seconds (63-62). A series of FT in the last minute finally secured the win for Ilirija 68-62. Despite having the better individualities, Ilirija’s non-existing transition defense, very poor shot selection and multiple turnovers almost cost them the game. Credit to Ježica for never giving up and fighting hard. It almost paid off.
Tresnjevka 2009 (CRO) 68 – Triglav (SLO) 60
The second semi-final looked even more one-sided on paper with the Croatian side of Tresnjevka 2009 (Zagreb) having the tallest and strongest team of the F4 on paper, especially through their talented twin-towers prospect Dorja Zala (2004, 6’1 – 11pts-15reb-5st-5bs) and star-to-be Marta Ostojic (2003, 6’1, seen in Bourges last summer at FIBA U16 European Championship – 24pts-14reb-8ass-4st-9fd-10to), but not only as guards Hana Mühl (2003, 5’6 – 11pts-5reb-2ass), Dorotea Laljek (2003 – 8pts), Karla Pehar (2003 – 11pts) and Sara Konjevic (2003 – 3pts) made the roster look solid, particularly Mühl whose great tonicity and great focus on the intangibles (screens, defense, box-out) bodes well for the future. A 7-0 start after 2′ only seemed to confirm the first impression. But this was before Triglav, through Vanja Manojlovic (2003, 5’7 – 25pts-7reb), Ula Ulde (2003, 5’7 – 15pts-12reb) and Zoja Stirn (2005, 5’5 – 16pts-4reb-4ass), but mainly Vanja Manojlovic, decided to have a 3point shoot-out (10/29 in the game, 6/15 for Manojlovic) which allowed their team to challenge Tresnjevka 2009 until the end and even surprisingly lead for big parts of the game. The initial 7-0, in the absence of serious defense, quickly evolved in 16-14 (6′), 20-26 (8′), 20-29 (10′), 40-42 (20′), 55-57 (30′), 60-60 (36′) and eventually 66-60 (40′). The defenses in the two semi-finals were really light and you could feel the focus was put on offense. Tresnjevka looked like they should win this contest by 30+ points but their 36% FG, 32 turnovers and 13/37FT made this scenario impossible. Had Manojlovic, who was in some zone of her own during the whole game, not fouled out with still 7′ to play and with her side still up 56-60, not certain the Croats would have made it to the title game. But for the sake of the game, it was fitting that both Ilirija and Tresnjevka qualified for the final.
FINAL
Ilirija 103 – Tresnejvka 2009 82
It was the dreamt match-up. The 2 best and only unbeaten teams left in the competition going at each other, with the Croatians looking like the clear favorites. A dazzling 15-0 start mainly due to the Dorja Zala- Marta Ostojic connection left little room for doubt as who will walk away with the title, or at least should walk away with the title. Especially since none of Micunovic, Garic or Pulevic were able to convert any of their attempts while looking very unsecure. But early foul trouble on the twin-towers, leading to early rotation, enabled Ilirija to come back into the game towards the end of Q1 19-14. The start of Q2 was the exact same scenario as Q1 with Tresnjevka 2009 pulling quickly away to a comfortable 34-14 lead thanks to another 15-0 run in the first 5 minutes of the quarter. The game looked locked until the above-mentionned drama occured. The game then turned highly unpredictable and surreal with the rest of action more anecdotical than anything else. Besides the referee’s influence on the course of things, one will have to explain to me how a coach can put his main player with 3 fouls midway through the 2nd quarter, and with his team up by 22pts (38-16, 16′), back on the court?! And what for?!! For sure this wasn’t his best decision and it proved extremely costly for his team. Next thing we know, Ostojic did foul out in dramatic fashion after 18minutes (not without posting a loud 13pts-8reb-5ass on 100% FG in just 12min). The momentum shifted at that moment creating more space and less contestation under the hoop. Ilirija couldn’t dream of a better scenario to finally get things started and gain momentum. Garic (25pts-5reb-3ass-5st), Micunovic (17pts-8reb-5ass-6st) and Pulevic (24pts-13reb-3ass-7st) took over the game and put the circumstances above their heads to focus on getting things done. When Dorja Zala as well got into serious foul trouble early in Q3 with 4 fouls, it proved to be too much for Tresnjevka’s players to handle and they suddenly totally lost composure. Ilirija’s momentum grew proportionally to Tresnjevka’s collapse. Their 41 turnovers showed how out of sorts they were. Unluckily for her, and not representative of her value, Hana Mühl alone turned the ball 11 times, most of which in the second half. Ilirija would not look back and managed a massive 43pts turnaround after winning the second half 64 to 40 on their way to a commanding 103-82 win.
As a final note I must mention what happened during the joint U15-U17 medal ceremony which was the stage of a last “coup d’éclat”. The prideful and unfortunate U15 Tresnjevka 2009 silver medallists refused and returned their medals upon reception, only soon after to receive, in a statement move, the golden medals won by their fellow U17 Tresnjevka clubmates who won the U17 F4 edition. The local audience didn’t appreciate this happening but i found it bold and with all the rest that had happened, this little extra drama was actually very fitting to me.
Results:
Semi Finals:
Ilirija 68 – Jezica 62
Tresnjevka 2009 68 – Triglav 60
3rd place:
Jezica 63 – Triglav 51
Final:
Ilirija 103 – Tresnjevka 2009 82
(Final 4 MVP : Sara Gajic, Ilirija – Slovenia)
foto: Gojko Kusic
All-Final 4 Team, from left to right: Zoja Stirn (Triglav-Slovenia), Anja Dragar (Ježica-Slovenia), Ana Vita Micunovic (Ilirija-Slovenia), Tara Pulevic (Ilirija-Slovenia), Marta Ostojic (Tresnjevka 2009-Croatia)
