By Nikola Miloradovic / info@eurohoops.net
Crvena Zvezda entered the first Belgrade derby with a 5-5 record, welcoming Partizan, who had suffered six straight EuroLeague defeats, dropping to a 2-8 record.
It seemed everything was in favor of the hosts in a packed Belgrade Arena, but Željko Obradović’s side eventually prevailed, taking one of the rare away derby wins in front of around 19,500 opposition fans and 1,000 of their own.
Ioannis Sfairopoulos’ team couldn’t find the rhythm, trailing throughout most of the game, and Nemanja Nedović believes it was his side’s worst performance of the season.
“Really, really bad game! Not even against Real did we look this lost from the very first minute. I think uncertainty crept into our team early because of their offensive rebounding. They were scoring off second chances and building confidence. For us, there was this seed of doubt, and we were always halfway there. Everyone was waiting for someone else to take responsibility, but that person never showed up today. I start with myself first. I feel really bad about it,” Nedović said to Meridian Sport.
Nedović was doubtful for the derby but managed to recover in time to take the court, scoring 11 points in around 20 minutes of game time.
“I had only two practices and couldn’t play the way I wanted. We all underperformed. This doesn’t diminish Partizan’s effort. They were fantastic and fully deserved the win. Their offensive rebounding contributed a lot. Congratulations on the victory.”
He can’t explain why his team felt nervous from the very beginning.
“Players who hadn’t had significant roles before gained confidence from grabbing those loose balls. They capitalized on that. They didn’t surprise us with their roster, but they did catch us off guard a bit with that zone press, forcing us to start our offense with only 15 seconds left on the clock. I think we’re skilled enough to find solutions to that. Today, we didn’t… Nervousness and panic were present from the start, and I don’t know why. We’ll need to work on that. It’s the first time we’ve been this passive and withdrawn. I feel extremely bad about it. What’s done is done, we need to rest and prepare for Bayern in the next round,” Nemanja Nedović concluded.