By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Round 5 of the ABA League featured one of the biggest Adriatic rivalries, between Buducnost VOLI and Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet, and the game did not disappoint.
After more than two and a half hours, with the game being interrupted twice, the reigning champions from Belgrade prevailed in Podgorica with a final score of 73-75 for Ioannis Sfairopoulos’ team, improving to 3-2.
It was a truly intense battle in the 60th Adriatic encounter between the Montenegrin and Serbian champions. At one point in the fourth quarter, Crvena Zvezda‘s players left the court until the situation in the stands calmed down.
They returned after a brief pause and managed to secure a big road win, mostly thanks to strong defense and Nemanja Nedovic hitting crucial shots.
Nedovic led the scoring with 24 points, shooting 6/8 from beyond the arc, while Codi Miller-McIntyre contributed 13 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists.
Crvena Zvezda also suffered a potentially big blow, as Joel Bolomboy was injured in the second half. The big man slipped on the floor and stayed down, holding his knee. Eventually, he got up but left the court with help from his teammates.
As for Buducnost, which suffered its first ABA defeat of the season and fell to 4-1, McKinley Wright scored 20 points and dished seven assists, while Fletcher Magee added 12 points.
ABA Round 5
Igokea m:tel – Cedevita Olimpija 91-78
FMP Soccerbet – Cibona 89-84
Mornar-Barsko zlato – Borac Mozzart 90-98 OT (87-87)
Split – Mega MIS 90-80
Dubai – Spartak Office Shoes 80-79
Zadar – Partizan Mozzart Bet 71-75
Krka – SC Derby 97-91
Buducnost VOLI – Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet 73-75
Standings: Partizan 5-0, Buducnost 4-1, Mega 4-1, Dubai 4-1, Crvena Zvezda 3-2, FMP 3-2, Igokea 3-2….