By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Luca Vildoza and Nemanja Nedovic totally changed what you would expect from Crvena Zvezda and Dusko Ivanovic on the bench provided the extra spark for a change.
The end result was the overtime 88-84 win in Berlin over ALBA.
Vildoza finished the game with 21 points, Nedovic added 16, and Luka Mitrovic was solid as usual with 15 as Zvezda tied ALBA with a 3-6 record.
“We are playing like we had to do. I think Dusko has changed some things that we had to improve, and we’re getting better. That’s what we needed”, admitted Vildoza.
Jaleen Smith with 23 points almost won the game for the hosts, however, neither he nor his teammates could make a difference in the overtime while finishing the game with 13/25 free throws.
As ALBA Berlin head coach Israel Gonzalez said about what decided the game: “Small details. Probably if we scored more free throws, we would win the game. I’m happy with the work that we have done – the way we fought, the effort we showed – and I hope that next time we have a bit more luck.”
Despite playing on the road, Zvezda didn’t let ALBA get far ahead and tied the score at 55 thanks to an Ognen Dobric shot with one minute left in the third period. ALBA entered the last period leading by two (57-55) and the game was already a dogfight.
The Serbs got the 65-64 lead thanks to Nikola Ivanovic with five minutes left in the game, still, Smith answered back with two big threes (70-65) and ALBA had momentum again.
The hosts’ lead jumped to seven points (72-65) with Ben Lammers scoring two free throws, but Zvezda managed to keep their composure and make a two-point game again (72-70). And that was not the end of it.
Luka Vildoza with a big three gave Zvezda the lead (75-74) with less than two minutes left. The score was tied by Yovel Zoosman who made one free throw and Zvezda had the chance to win it with a final possession of eight seconds. They didn’t, but they were ready to finish the job in overtime.
The key for Dusko Ivanovic was this: “I think we did very good, because we did two important things. When I first came, I said that we need patience and belief. Tonight, we had these two things”.