By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Zach LeDay had 22 points with 13/14 free throws, many of them made in crunch time, Aleksa Avramovic also scored 22 points and the two final free throws of the game as Partizan got the 88-84 road win in Monaco and secured their presence in the playoffs.
Kevin Punter had just eight points, but also a big three-pointer in the closing minute that gave a crucial lead to Partizan and enough breathing room to secure the win.
“It’s great to be part of history”, said LeDay after the game as Partizan with a 19-14 record due to the tiebreakers they own are already in the playoffs and waiting for their final standings next week.
“We just try to do whatever it takes for the teams and we sacrificed a lot this season”, added LeDay.
“I am breathing much easier now, because we secured at least the 7th place and we can be even 5th and return to Monaco, but we are not thinking yet about this”, stated Avramovic.
On the other side, Elie Okobo scored 25 points, while Alpha Diallo added 11 points and Mike James, Jordan Loyd, Donta Hall and Donatas Motiejunas had 10 points each, which was not enough.
A game of runs
Monaco started the game with a 10-2 run and finished the first period leading by four (22-18). However, Partizan quickly turned things around, having a seven-point advantage at halftime (42-35) and after a 9-1 run, led by 15 (53-38) starting the second half.
However, Monaco answered back with a 13-0 run, to make it a two-point game (53-51), still Partizan entered the last period with a six-point lead (62-56).
That was not the end of it. Partizan seems to have things under control but Monaco managed to turn things around and ultimately got the lead back (76-75) with three and a half minutes left after a three by Donatas Motiejunas.
Zach LeDay from the free-throw line gave Partizan again the lead (81-80), Mike James lost the ball in the next possession and Kevin Punter with a three made it a four-point game (84-80) with 17 seconds left.
James answered back with a floater (84-82), just 12 seconds before the end. LeDay was fouled again and made his free throws (86-82). Okobo made it again a two-point game 86-84, but Avramovic with two seconds left was fouled and made two more free throws (88-84) to secure the win.
Partizan returns after 13 years
The game ended up being historic, as Partizan returned to the EuroLeague playoffs for the first time in 13 years, celebrating the triumph with traveling Serb fans who made it all the way to Monaco.
“I am very happy first of all for my players, they worked very hard all the season and we are finally in the Top8 and of course, I want to thank our fans who came even to this game from all parts of Europe and helped us throughout the season”, said Partizan coach Zeljko Obradovic.
Even Tennis superstar Novak Djokovic was present. “It was a great game, amazing fans, great atmosphere and I am really glad that a Serbian team is in the Top8”, he said after the game.
On the losing side, Monaco coach Sasha Obradovic – also a Serb by the way – added his two cents about his team, which had already secured the home-court advantage with a 21-12 record. As he stated: “We needed to have much more focus, especially in the first half, we had to be solid defensively, like we did in the third quarter. That’s the model of our game and we were inconsistent throughout the game. No matter if we have the home-court advantage, we have to play defense for 40 minutes”.