By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
It was an epic basketball spectacle in the Pionir arena in round 16 of the EuroLeague. The official number was around 7.000 spectators, but it looked more like 10.000 crazy fans were in the stand hoping for a New Year’s miracle. Crvena Zvezda was on the verge of an incredible victory, but Nikola Mirotic had other plans. He hit an incredible three-pointer in the last second to force OT where Barcelona shined and outplayed Crvena Zvezda 99-94.
Tomas Satoransky scored 19 points and added 10 assists.
“That shot from Nikola gave us energy, Zvezda is a hell of a team, they fight, played smart, big respect for Zvezda“, said Satoransky.
But the hero was Nikola Mirotic with 12 points.
“It was amazing to play in Belgrade. Crvena Zvezda is a tough team. But in the end, we were a little lucky, it is a great feeling. I was terribly in the first half, but I got a little better till the end“, Mirotic said.
Two names stood out for the home team. Filip Petrusev and Nemanja Nedovic both had 24 points.
Things got a lot worse before they got good for a while. Luca Lildoza, Zvezda’s best player injured his hamstring, the fans were hopeful at first. Still, when the Argentinian returned from the locker room in street clothes, it was evident that Zvezda would have to fight without him till the end. And fight they did!
Zvezda had a 17-0 run that helped turn a 19-34 deficit into a 40-36 lead behind Holland, Nedovic, and Petrusev, who combined to score 15 of those 17 points. However, Nicolas Laprovittola made sure that Barca took the lead into halftime (43-40). But the home time was on fire, expectedly Filip Petrusev, playing behind incredible fans, Zvezda had a seven-point lead going into the fourth quarter.
The game was far from over. Cory Higgins hit a three that cut Zvezda’s lead down to 73-71. It all came down to the last minute when Sertac Sanli hit a three that tied the game 79-79. Nemanja Nedovic then hit two free throws with 35 seconds left on the clock (81-79). It looked like Zvezda is heading to an incredible victory but you can never count out Nikola Mirotic. Barcelona’s veteran hit an incredible three-pointer that forced OT.
Sarunas Jasikevicius was ejected in the first minute of OT, but Zvezda had no gas left in the tank, while Higgins hit all the big shots to stun the home team.
“We made mistakes, Barcelona has incredible players, they were a little lucky, but this is basketball“, Dusko Ivanovic added.