Orange1 Basket Bassano secured a confident place in the final, while their compatriots, College Borgomanero, had to fight hard against the host DEAC Basketball Academy.
After Friday’s quarterfinals, the 2024 Cívis Cup continued on Saturday morning with cross-games. The first match in the consolation bracket was played between KK Spartak Subotica and Balkan Botevgrad. The Serbians achieved a start-to-finish victory, with the Bulgarians unable to pose a threat. The second consolation game followed a similar pattern, as Inter Bratislava put on a convincing performance, winning 81-48 over Audentes Tallinn. The standout player was Martin Minarovjech with a double-double (13 points, 13 rebounds), while Bruno Randuska also contributed significantly with 23 points.
Ahead of the semifinals, the dunk contest qualifiers took place. Though all contestants had impressive attempts, the judges selected Sekou Diarra, Aleksa Mucalj, Márk Szász-Veres, and Kristo Rannaste to compete in Sunday’s final.
In the semifinals, USK Praha faced Orange1 Basket Bassano. Despite the physical play of the Czechs, led by Samuel Macht, who scored 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, the Italians played cohesively as a team and won the game. The second semifinal was preceded by the 3-point shooting contest final, where Tihomir Nikolov and Jaagup Pajumets had the best chances, with Nikolov emerging as the winner.
The day concluded with a fiery, tightly contested semifinal between the host DEAC Basketball Academy and College Borgomanero. Although Csongor Fekete-Gál scored 26 points, the Italians managed to celebrate the win, thanks in part to the scoring efforts of the Adriano Bazan-Giacomo Gaiola duo.
Thus, the matchups for the placement games were determined: for seventh place, Balkan Botevgrad will face Audentes Tallinn, for fifth place, Spartak Subotica will meet Inter Bratislava, for the bronze medal, USK Praha will take on DEAC Basketball Academy, and for the trophy, the two Italian giants, Orange1 Basket Bassano and College Borgomanero, will compete on Sunday.
The organizers made slight changes to the schedule for technical reasons, swapping the timing of the final and the bronze game — the final will take place at 1 p.m., and the bronze match will start at 3:45 p.m.
2024 Cívis Cup, Cross Games, Results
- Balkan Botevgrad (BUL) – KK Spartak Subotica (SRB) 47-71
- Audentes Tallinn (EST) – Inter Bratislava (SVK) 48-81
- USK Praha (CZE) – Orange1 Basket Bassano (ITA) 58-73
- College Borgomanero (ITA) – DEAC Basketball Academy (HUN) 81-77
Placement Games Schedule:
- For 7th place: 9:00 a.m. – Balkan Botevgrad (BUL) vs. Audentes Tallinn (EST)
- For 5th place: 11:00 a.m. – KK Spartak Subotica (SRB) vs. Inter Bratislava (SVK)
- Final: 1:00 p.m. – Orange1 Basket Bassano (ITA) vs. College Borgomanero (ITA)
- Dunk Contest Final: 2:45 p.m.
- Bronze Match: 3:45 p.m. – USK Praha (CZE) vs. DEAC Basketball Academy (HUN)
- Award Ceremony: 5:30 p.m.