By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Kevin Punter sinking the game-winning bucket 0.4 seconds before the buzzer drastically changed the best-of-five series between Partizan Mozzart Bet and Real Madrid. For starters, the homecourt advantage now belongs to the team coached by Zeljko Obradovic.
The explosive guard, a seasoned veteran in clutch shots, created his own opportunity and finally delivered to stun most of the fans at WiZink Center, those supporting the home side. In contrast, the loyals following the Belgrade outfit to Spain’s capital went into a frenzy, similar to Punter and his teammates on the floor with celebrations quickly culminating in a joint effort.
On the switch from Nigel Williams-Goss, Guerschon Yabusele ended up on Punter and failed to stop the buzzer-beating effort. “I wanted the switch. I did not want to play against Nigel. Just because let me get a big. They did the switch, I still would have played it anyway. I got the switch. The rest is what I work on,” explained the two-time Basketball Champions League champion with AEK in 2018 and Virtus Segafredo Bologna in 2019.
Striving for success
Punter, 29, scored 11 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter and had 13 points in the second quarter. “We trust him a lot,” mentioned French big Mathias Lessort after Game 1, “He made big shots all night. The last one was just sugar on the cake.”
“I can’t even count. I have been working on different variations of off-the-dribble stuff for years and years and years,” added Punter on striving to become even more efficient in similar situations, “That’s what I do.”
Game 2 follows tomorrow, Thursday. Even with a loss, Partizan can progress to the next round with two wins in Belgrade next week. But that will be far from the approach to the second straight game in Madrid. “We got to act like we lost. It may sound crazy, but that’s the mentality, the approach you got to have,” stressed Punter.
A healthy roster makes things simpler for Obradovic. The different setting for Chus Mateo expands from the 0-1 series deficit to Walter Tavares (knee) being questionable to play in Game 2 after the early exit in Game 1. Also, Vincent Poirier (appendicitis) and Carlos Alocen (left knee) have yet to be cleared to return to action.
Photo Credit: EuroleagueBasketball.net