2017–18 ABA League First Division

The 2017–18 ABA League First Division was the 17th season of the ABA League with 12 teams from Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Macedonia participating in it. It was the inaugural season as the first tier as a part of two level competition.

ABA League First Division
Season2017–18
DurationSeptember 29, 2017March 12, 2018
(Regular season)
March 18, 2018April 14, 2018
(Playoffs)
Number of games142
Number of teams12
TV partner(s)Arena Sport
Regular season
Top seedSerbia Crvena zvezda mts
Season MVPCroatia Luka Žorić [1]
PromotedSlovenia Krka
RelegatedNorth Macedonia MZT Skopje Aerodrom
Finals
ChampionsMontenegro Budućnost VOLI (1st title)
  Runners-upSerbia Crvena zvezda mts
SemifinalistsCroatia Cedevita
Montenegro Mornar
Finals MVPBosnia and Herzegovina Nemanja Gordić [2]
Awards
Top ProspectBosnia and Herzegovina Džanan Musa [3]
Statistical leaders
Points Croatia Luka Žorić 19.71
Rebounds Croatia Luka Božić 7.77
Assists Serbia Filip Čović 7.43
Index Rating Croatia Luka Žorić 23.24
Records
Biggest home winBudućnost 104–62 MZT
(11 February 2018)
Biggest away winMZT 55–96 Olimpija
(3 February 2018)
Highest scoringPartizan 117–104 Igokea
(21 October 2017)
Highest attendance7,237
Crvena zvezda 91–63 Mornar
(18 March 2018)
Lowest attendance250
Cibona 79–82 Mornar
(4 March 2018)
Attendance360,226 (2,537 per match)
All statistics correct as of April 14, 2018.

Format changes edit

On May 23, 2017, ABA League Assembly has decided that there will be 12 clubs competing in the league in the 2017–18 season.[1] Having analysed the current situation in European and the regional basketball, as well as the fact that the ABA League is still not officially recognized by the national basketball federations, and with a goal to protect the interests of the ABA League founding clubs, the clubs that have competed in the 2016–17 season will have a right to participate in the forthcoming season as well and the priority of participation will be given to the founders of the ABA League (from the 2015–16 season). The formula to determine the participants which will be respected is the following:[1]

Two additional spots will be allocated to the clubs from countries, whose clubs have achieved the best coefficients in the country rankings during the 2016–17 season. Those two countries are Serbia and Montenegro. The places from Serbia will be filled in accordance with the final standings of the Basketball League of Serbia, in accordance with the recognition and cooperation with the ABA League.[1]

In accordance with the previously mentioned decisions, the participating clubs of the ABA League for the 2017–18 season are: Cedevita, Zadar, Cibona, Union Olimpija, Igokea, Budućnost VOLI, MZT Skopje Aerodrom and Mornar, while the remaining four places (from Serbia), were determined in accordance with the standings in the Basketball League of Serbia.[1]

Teams edit

National standings edit

The numbers of teams by country is determined by a coefficient that is the sum of all victories clubs from a certain country achieve in a regular season divided by the number of clubs from that country. By using this coefficient majority of places for current season are allocated, while the remaining places are given via wild cards from league board.[2]

Country No. 2016–17 coeff. 2017–18 no. of clubs
  Serbia 3 16.25 4
  Montenegro 1 14.00 2
  Croatia 3 13.33 3
  Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 13.00 1
  Slovenia 1 9.00 1
  Macedonia 1 9.00 1
Total 10 best coeff. (+2) 12

Team allocation edit

League positions of the previous domestic league season after playoffs shown in parentheses.

Regular season
  Crvena zvezda mts (1st)   Mega Bemax (4th)   Cedevita (1st)   Igokea (1st)
  FMP (2nd)   Budućnost VOLI (1st)   Cibona (2nd)   Petrol Olimpija (1st)
  Partizan NIS (3rd)   Mornar (2nd)   Zadar (6th)   MZT Skopje Aerodrom (1st)

Venues and locations edit

Location of teams in the 2017–18 ABA League First Division
Team Home city Arena Capacity
Budućnost VOLI Podgorica Morača Sports Center 4,000
Cedevita Zagreb Dražen Petrović 5,400
Cibona Zagreb Dražen Petrović 5,400
Crvena zvezda mts Belgrade Aleksandar Nikolić 5,878 [3]
FMP Belgrade Železnik Hall 3,000
Igokea Aleksandrovac Laktaši Sports Hall 3,050
Mega Bemax Sremska Mitrovica Sports Hall Pinki 2,500
Mornar Bar Topolica Sport Hall 2,625
MZT Skopje Aerodrom Skopje Jane Sandanski 7,500
Partizan NIS Belgrade Aleksandar Nikolić 5,878
Petrol Olimpija Ljubljana Arena Stožice 12,480
Zadar Zadar Krešimir Ćosić 7,847

Personnel and sponsorship edit

Team Head coach Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
Budućnost VOLI   Aleksandar Džikić   Suad Šehović Spalding VOLI
Cedevita   Jure Zdovc   Roko Ukić Nike Cedevita
Cibona   Ante Nazor   Marin Rozić Adidas
Crvena zvezda mts   Dušan Alimpijević   Branko Lazić Nike mts
FMP   Vladimir Jovanović   Filip Čović Champion FMP
Igokea   Dragan Bajić   Vuk Radivojević GBT m:tel
Mega Bemax   Dejan Milojević   Nikola Rebić Adidas Bemax
Mornar   Mihailo Pavićević   Marko Mijović Adidas Bar Municipality
MZT Skopje Aerodrom   Željko Lukajić   Damjan Stojanovski Adidas UNIBanka, triglav
Partizan NIS   Nenad Čanak   Novica Veličković Under Armour NIS
Petrol Olimpija   Zoran Martič   Gregor Hrovat Macron Petrol
Zadar   Aramis Naglić   Šime Špralja Champion OTP Bank

Coaching changes edit

Team Outgoing manager Date of vacancy Position in table Replaced with Date of appointment
Budućnost VOLI   Ilias Zouros 14 April 2017 Off-season   Aleksandar Džikić 22 June 2017
Cedevita   Veljko Mršić 9 June 2017   Jure Zdovc 14 June 2017
Cibona   Damir Mulaomerović 13 June 2017   Slobodan Subotić 17 June 2017
Partizan NIS   Aleksandar Džikić 13 June 2017   Miroslav Nikolić 18 July 2017
MZT Skopje Aerodrom   Ante Nazor 15 June 2017   Aleksandar Todorov 15 June 2017
Mornar   Đorđije Pavićević 1 July 2017   Mihailo Pavićević 1 July 2017
Crvena zvezda mts   Dejan Radonjić 15 July 2017   Dušan Alimpijević 21 July 2017
FMP   Dušan Alimpijević 21 July 2017   Vladimir Jovanović 27 July 2017
Cibona   Slobodan Subotić 11 November 2017[4] 9th (3–5)   Ante Nazor 13 November 2017[5]
MZT Skopje Aerodrom   Aleksandar Todorov 7 December 2017[6] 12th (2–8)   Željko Lukajić 8 December 2017[7]
Partizan NIS   Miroslav Nikolić 12 December 2017[8] 5th (5–6)   Nenad Čanak 14 December 2017[9]
Petrol Olimpija   Gašper Okorn 8 January 2018 11th (5–10)   Zoran Martič 8 January 2018[10]

Regular season edit

League table edit

Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification or relegation
1   Crvena zvezda mts 22 19 3 1955 1679 +276 41 Advance to the playoffs
2   Budućnost VOLI 22 17 5 1863 1661 +202 39[a]
3   Cedevita 22 17 5 1798 1645 +153 39[a]
4   Mornar 22 14 8 1825 1790 +35 36
5   Partizan NIS 22 11 11 1936 1893 +43 33
6   Zadar 22 10 12 1846 1885 −39 32[b]
7   Petrol Olimpija 22 10 12 1738 1793 −55 32[b]
8   FMP 22 9 13 1756 1763 −7 31
9   Mega Bemax 22 8 14 1849 1858 −9 30
10   Igokea 22 7 15 1782 1876 −94 29[c]
11   Cibona 22 7 15 1754 1890 −136 29[c]
12   MZT Skopje Aerodrom 22 3 19 1659 2028 −369 25 Relegation to the Second Division
Source: ABA League
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Budućnost VOLI 1–1, 1.01; Cedevita 1–1, 0.99
  2. ^ a b Zadar 1–1, 1.09; Petrol Olimpija 1–1, 0.92
  3. ^ a b Igokea 1–1, 1.03; Cibona 1–1, 0.97

Positions by round edit

Team ╲ Round12345678910111213141516171819202122
  Crvena zvezda mts1211322222211132211111
  Budućnost VOLI6652111111122211122222
  Cedevita3134543333333323333333
  Mornar1291212118968108108644444444
  Partizan NIS91176435455544767565555
  Zadar81291112121011119656575777766
  Petrol Olimpija58109810111076791010111111118887
  FMP11363254544465456656678
  Mega Bemax272579679119111111101010910999
  Igokea75489678671079988889101010
  Cibona104876789108118789991011111111
  MZT Skopje Aerodrom4101110101112121212121212121212121212121212

Results edit

Home \ Away BUD CED CIB CZV FMP IGO MEG MOR MZT PAR OLI ZAD
Budućnost VOLI   66–60 71–62 92–86 87–64 81–59 84–64 79–70 104–62 86–79 88–66 87–85
Cedevita   76–71 91–68 79–74 74–67 79–84 75–73 99–74 77–65 85–75 84–60 102–101
Cibona   87–93 100–94 87–93 84–85 87–86 95–93 79–82 77–92 74–90 96–85 78–80
Crvena zvezda mts   75–79 82–66 107–69 84–77 85–80 90–80 88–77 112–73 86–74 80–76 97–67
FMP   76–93 71–80 99–79 77–100 95–73 96–88 79–84 100–72 83–71 81–86 91–76
Igokea   98–94 61–69 63–57 76–82 75–65 82–89 79–93 99–108 67–74 86–78 94–92
Mega Bemax   83–94 77–81 95–88 85–90 74–72 99–87 91–70 106–77 89–102 77–86 71–73
Mornar   87–81 89–94 78–82 74–82 73–81 87–83 87–83 106–75 83–81 101–81 80–70
MZT Skopje Aerodrom   71–93 64–85 76–83 58–92 67–72 68–77 76–92 69–72 92–89 55–96 80–85
Partizan NIS   94–83 82–92 80–69 84–100 87–84 117–104 89–73 93–98 112–94 77–78 95–87
Petrol Olimpija   79–88 65–64 78–80 73–82 73–64 95–93 69–76 64–67 94–85 89–87 90–85
Zadar   78–69 76–92 79–73 76–88 83–77 82–76 95–91 77–93 105–80 97–104 97–77
Source: ABA League
Legend: Blue = home team win; Red = away team win.
Matches with lighter background shading were decided after overtime.

Playoffs edit

The semi-finals was played in a best-of-three format, while the Finals were played in a best-of-five format. Playoffs started on 17 March 2018, while the Finals ended on 14 April 2018.[11]

 
SemifinalsFinal
 
      
 
18 March–2 April
 
 
  Crvena zvezda mts2
 
9–14 April
 
  Mornar1
 
  Crvena zvezda mts1
 
18 March–2 April
 
  Budućnost VOLI3
 
  Budućnost VOLI2
 
 
  Cedevita1
 


2017–18 ABA League Champions
 
Budućnost VOLI
1st title

Semifinals edit

Team 1 Series Team 2 Game 1 Game 2 Game 3
Crvena zvezda mts   2–1   Mornar 91–63 84–88 88–69
Budućnost VOLI   2–1   Cedevita 84–83 75–82 72–57

Finals edit

Team 1 Series Team 2 Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5
Crvena zvezda mts   1–3   Budućnost VOLI 76–80 69–59 77–78 73–77 0

Final standings edit

Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification or relegation
1   Budućnost VOLI 29 22 7 2388 2178 +210 51 Qualification to EuroLeague
2   Crvena zvezda mts 29 22 7 2513 2193 +320 51 Qualification to EuroCup
3   Cedevita 25 18 7 2020 1876 +144 43
4   Mornar 25 15 10 2045 2053 −8 40
5   Partizan NIS 22 11 11 1936 1893 +43 33
6   Zadar 22 10 12 1846 1885 −39 32
7   Petrol Olimpija 22 10 12 1738 1793 −55 32
8   FMP 22 9 13 1756 1763 −7 31
9   Mega Bemax 22 8 14 1849 1858 −9 30
10   Igokea 22 7 15 1782 1876 −94 29
11   Cibona 22 7 15 1754 1890 −136 29
12   MZT Skopje Aerodrom 22 3 19 1659 2028 −369 25 Relegation to Second Division
Source: ABA League

Statistical leaders edit

As of 12 March 2018 , after the end of the Regular Season.

PIR edit

Pos Player Club PIR
1   Luka Žorić Cibona 23.24
2   Uroš Luković Mornar 20.90
3   Patrick Miller Partizan NIS 20.36
4   Nigel Williams-Goss Partizan NIS 20.30
5   Luka Božić Zadar 19.09

Points edit

Pos Player Club PPG
1   Luka Žorić Cibona 19.71
2   Josh Bostic Zadar 19.23
3   Nigel Williams-Goss Partizan NIS 16.85
4   Derek Needham Mornar 16.82
5   Filip Čović FMP 15.76

Rebounds edit

Pos Player Club RPG
1   Luka Božić Zadar 7.77
2   Uroš Luković Mornar 7.52
3   Devin Oliver Petrol Olimpija 7.27
4   Jordan Morgan Petrol Olimpija 7.18
5   Luka Žorić Cibona 6.95

Assists edit

Pos Player Club APG
1   Filip Čović FMP 7.43
2   Nigel Williams-Goss Partizan NIS 6.95
3   Dominik Mavra MZT Skopje Aerodrom 6.25
4   Taylor Rochestie Crvena zvezda mts 5.95
5   Patrick Miller Partizan NIS 5.43

Source: ABA League Archived 2017-12-28 at the Wayback Machine

Awards edit

Pos. Player Team Ref.
MVP
C   Luka Žorić   Cibona [12]
Finals MVP
PG   Nemanja Gordić   Budućnost VOLI [13]
Top Prospect
SF   Džanan Musa   Cedevita [14]
Ideal Starting Five
PG   Taylor Rochestie   Crvena zvezda mts [15]
SG   Nemanja Gordić   Budućnost
SF   Džanan Musa   Cedevita
PF   Novica Veličković   Partizan NIS
C   Uroš Luković   Mornar

MVP List edit

MVP of the Round edit

Round Player Team PIR Ref.
1   Mathias Lessort   Crvena zvezda mts 30 [16]
2   Will Cherry   Cedevita 27 [17]
3   Luka Božić   Zadar 32 [18]
4   Luka Žorić   Cibona 41 [19]
5   Patrick Miller   Partizan NIS 40 [20]
6   Uroš Luković   Mornar 31 [21]
7   Milko Bjelica   Crvena zvezda mts 35 [22]
8   Derek Needham   Mornar 30 [23]
9   Džanan Musa   Cedevita 46 [24]
10   Josh Bostic   Zadar 29 [25]
11   Roko Ukić   Cedevita 28 [26]
12   Nikola Jevtović   Igokea 29 [27]
13   Uroš Luković (2)   Mornar 40 [28]
14   Josh Bostic (2)   Zadar 40 [29]
15   Novica Veličković   Partizan NIS 31 [30]
16   Dominik Mavra   MZT Skopje Aerodrom 34 [31]
17   Novica Veličković (2)   Partizan NIS 36 [32]
18   Vlatko Čančar   Mega Bemax 29 [33]
19   Derek Needham (2)   Mornar 29 [34]
20   Danilo Nikolić   Budućnost VOLI 33 [35]
21   Novica Veličković (3)   Partizan NIS 36 [36]
22   Jordan Morgan   Petrol Olimpija 32 [37]
SF1   Nemanja Gordić   Budućnost VOLI 30 [38]
SF2   Demetris Nichols   Cedevita 30 [39]
SF3   Ognjen Dobrić   Crvena zvezda mts 23 [40]
F1   Nikola Ivanović   Budućnost VOLI 23
F2   Alen Omić   Crvena zvezda mts 27
F3   Nemanja Gordić (2)   Budućnost VOLI 21
F4   Filip Barović   Budućnost VOLI 23

MVP of the Month edit

Month Player Team Ref.
2017
October   Patrick Miller   Partizan NIS [41]
November   Milko Bjelica   Crvena zvezda mts [42]
December   Josh Bostic   Zadar [43]
2018
January   Novica Veličković   Partizan NIS [44]
February   Uroš Luković   Mornar [45]

Attendances edit

Attendances include playoff games:

Pos Team Total High Low Average Change
1   Partizan NIS 50,500 6,300 2,850 4,591 −2.5%
2   Crvena zvezda mts 66,244 7,237 1,987 4,416 +1.8%
3   Zadar 47,750 6,500 2,050 4,341 +30.6%
4   Budućnost VOLI 51,028 6,000 1,150 3,402 +34.6%
5   Igokea 24,080 3,000 1,550 2,189 +31.7%
6   Mornar 25,524 3,500 1,200 2,127 −11.7%
7   MZT Skopje Aerodrom 21,700 4,000 900 1,973 +53.7%
8   Mega Bemax 15,840 2,550 700 1,440 +5.5%
9   Petrol Olimpija 15,700 3,000 750 1,427 +5.1%
10   Cibona 15,550 3,500 250 1,414 +15.2%
11   Cedevita 16,560 2,200 800 1,380 −5.2%
12   FMP 10,050 1,350 750 914 +76.0%
League total 360,576 7,237 250 2,539 +24.1%

Updated to games played on April 14, 2018
Source: ABA League

ABA League clubs in European competitions edit

Competition Team Progress Result
EuroLeague   Crvena zvezda mts Regular season 14th (11–19)
EuroCup   Budućnost VOLI Quarterfinals  (2) Eliminated by   Darüşşafaka, 0–2
  Cedevita Top 16 Group G  (1) 4th (0–6)
  Partizan NIS Regular season Group C 6th (1–9)
Champions League   Petrol Olimpija Regular season Group C 7th (4–10)
  Mornar Second qualifying round Eliminated by   Avtodor Saratov, 132–158; transferred to FIBA Europe Cup
FIBA Europe Cup Quarterfinals  (3) Eliminated by   Donar, 147–168

See also edit

2017–18 domestic competitions
Teams

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d "Series of decisions made at the ABA League j.t.d. Assembly". aba-liga.com. 23 May 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
  2. ^ "National standings 2016–2017". aba-liga.com. Archived from the original on 4 October 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
  3. ^ ALEKSANDAR NIKOLIC 6500.
  4. ^ "Cibona and Slobodan Subotić parted ways". aba-liga.com. 11 November 2017.
  5. ^ "Ante Nazor is the new head coach of Cibona". aba-liga.com. 13 November 2017.
  6. ^ "Todorov is no longer MZT Skopje Aerodrom head coach". aba-liga.com. 7 December 2017.
  7. ^ "Željko Lukajić is the new MZT Skopje Aerodrom head coach". aba-liga.com. 8 December 2017.
  8. ^ "Miroslav Nikolić is no longer head coach of Partizan NIS". aba-liga.com. 12 December 2017.
  9. ^ "Nenad Čanak is the new head coach of Partizan NIS". aba-liga.com. 14 December 2017.
  10. ^ "Zoran Martić replaced Okorn at Petrol Olimpija bench". aba-liga.com. 8 January 2018.
  11. ^ "ABA League j.t.d. Assembly session took place in Zagreb". www.aba-liga.com.
  12. ^ "2017/18 Regular Season MVP: Luka Žorić (Cibona)". www.aba-liga.com.
  13. ^ "Playoffs MVP: Nemanja Gordić". www.aba-liga.com.
  14. ^ "2017/18 Top Prospect: Džanan Musa (Cedevita)". www.aba-liga.com.
  15. ^ "Rochestie heads the Ideal Starting Five". www.aba-liga.com.
  16. ^ "Round 1 MVP: Mathias Lessort (Crvena zvezda mts)". www.aba-liga.com.
  17. ^ "Round 2 MVP: Will Cherry (Cedevita)". www.aba-liga.com.
  18. ^ "Round 3 MVP: Luka Božić (Zadar)". www.aba-liga.com. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  19. ^ "Round 4 MVP: Luka Žorić (Cibona)". aba-liga.com. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  20. ^ "Round 5 MVP: Patrick Miller (Partizan NIS)". aba-liga.com. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  21. ^ "Round 6 MVP: Uroš Luković (Mornar)". aba-liga.com. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  22. ^ "Round 7 MVP: Milko Bjelica (Crvena zvezda mts)". aba-liga.com. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  23. ^ "Round 8 MVP: Derek Needham (Mornar)". aba-liga.com. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  24. ^ "Round 9 MVP: Džanan Musa (Cedevita)". aba-liga.com. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  25. ^ "Round 10 MVP: Josh Bostic (Zadar)". aba-liga.com. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  26. ^ "Round 11 MVP: Roko-Leni Ukić (Cedevita)". aba-liga.com. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  27. ^ "Round 12 MVP: Nikola Jevtović (Igokea)". aba-liga.com. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  28. ^ "Round 13 MVP: Uroš Luković (Mornar)". aba-liga.com. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  29. ^ "Round 14 MVP: Joshua Bostic (Zadar)". aba-liga.com. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  30. ^ "Round 15 MVP: Novica Veličković (Partizan NIS)". aba-liga.com. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  31. ^ "Round 16 MVP: Dominik Mavra (MZT Skopje Aerodrom)". aba-liga.com. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  32. ^ "MVP: Novica Veličković (Partizan NIS)". aba-liga.com. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  33. ^ "Round 18 MVP: Vlatko Čančar (Mega Bemax)". aba-liga.com. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  34. ^ "Round 19 MVP: Derek Needham (Mornar)". aba-liga.com. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
  35. ^ "Round 20 MVP: Danilo Nikolić (Budućnost VOLI)". aba-liga.com. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  36. ^ "Round 21 MVP: Novica Veličković (Partizan NIS)". aba-liga.com. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
  37. ^ "Round 22 MVP: Jordan Morgan (Petrol Olimpija)". aba-liga.com. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  38. ^ "Who are the top performers of Semi-finals round 1?". aba-liga.com. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  39. ^ "Who are the top performers of Semi-finals round 2?". aba-liga.com. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  40. ^ "Who are the top performers of Semi-finals round 3?". aba-liga.com. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  41. ^ MVP of October: Patrick Miller (Partizan NIS)
  42. ^ MVP of November: Milko Bjelica (Crvena zvezda mts)
  43. ^ MVP of December: Joshua Bostic (Zadar)
  44. ^ MVP of January: Novica Veličković (Partizan NIS)
  45. ^ MVP of February: Uroš Luković (Mornar)

External links edit