By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Nemanja Nedovic made one more incredible shot almost at the buzzer, but it was too late. Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade escaped with the 79-78 road win over Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet.
After this result, both teams share a 10-11 record with Zvezda having the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Zach LeDay and Dante Exum with 2o points each led the charge and Mathias Lessort with 13 and eight rebounds also had a solid presence.
Plus the Australian guard made crucial free throws in the closing seconds, securing the win.
“Their fans are crazy”, said Exum after the game. “I think for us to stick it out and take the win is big, a big one going forward. We knew it was going to be a fight, we knew it would be ups and downs during the game. You can’t hear anything in here, so the biggest thing was to stay together”.
Luca Vildoza with 26 points and Nedovic with 23 points couldn’t save the day.
In what ended up being a close game, Partizan got a 45-37 halftime lead which was far from enough. In a game that was all about defense, Zvezda trimmed Partizan’s lead to one point (51-50) but the guests ended the third period leading by three (57-64)
The hosts couldn’t tie the score, they trailed by three (70-67) with three minutes left after a three by Vildoza and by one (72-71) two minutes later after two free throws by Ognjen Dobric.
“We won, but we are very stupid”, stated Partizan coach Zeljko Obradovic who wanted his team to secure the lead and not let Zvezda come close.
“This is the way how we lost I don’t know how many games. And we watch how they score in the last second. Amazing. OK, the team fought, the team played well, and we had the advantage the whole game”.
Kevin Punter answered back also with free throws (74-71), Nedovic who made a big shot earlier lost the ball, and Exum with 5/6 free throws gave Partizan a solid distance (79-75) with 5 seconds left.
Nedovic beat the clock and made the final shot of the game, but Partizan got the “W”.
As Crvena Zvezda coach Dusko Ivanovic said: “I think Partizan played well, but I don’t think we played the way we prepared the game. We played without patience, we had many many turnovers, and against a team like Partizan, you must pay.”