Nemanja Nedovic explains why he was absent from Crvena Zvezda celebrations at Olympiacos

By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net

The players of Crvena Zvezda celebrated their big away win at Olympiacos Piraeus with the crowd in Peace of Friendship arena that included fans of both the Greek and Serbian teams singing together.

Not all of them were there though.

One Zvezda representative that was visibly missing was guard Nemanja Nedovic. A former Panathinaikos Athens player and still loved by fans of the team, his absence was noticed by several supporters of the Greens who praised him on social media for not joining the festivities in arena of archrival Olympiacos.

“I had to go the bathroom,” Nedovic said with a smile when Eurohoops told him of the Panathinaikos fans’ reactions to his absence. “They [Panathinaikos fans] know what it is for sure.”

Nedovic was slow in the first three quarters but stepped up in a critical moment of the game. After Olympiacos trimmed a 17-point deficit to approach 57 – 61 early in the fourth period, the Serbian veteran scored five quick points to increase Zvezda’s advantage and help his team repel the comeback attempt of their opponents.

Overall, Nedovic finished with 9 points and a season-high six assists. He was the leading passer of Red Star in victory over the Euroleague standings leader.

“I think we executed the game plan almost perfectly today,” Nedovic said. “We knew we don’t have a big guy in our lineup. So our chances were in this smallball that we played today. I think we put them in a tough position. We got our confidence in the first half. We knew that Olympiacos was going to come back and try to fight because they are the best team in the EuroLeague. Very big win. Huge win but we have to keep going.”

Zvezda travelled to Piraeus with a diminished frontline lineup. Big men Joel Bolomboy, Mike Daum and Luka Mitrovic are injured while Filip Petrusev wasn’t eligible to play vs. Olympiacos due to an agreement between the two teams when he was acquired by Red Star on loan from the Greek club.

It was an uphill battle before it εωεν started for Zvezda that had to fight against adversities while seeking a reaction after three consecutive defeats in the EuroLeague.

“We struggled a bit after the Cup with three losses in a row,” Nedovic mentioned. “It was very important for us to show some reaction. We did it against Mega in ABA League where we showed some signs of improvement, like running, playing from one side to the other side. And we executed this on a high level tonight. Very important win, mentally for our confidence. A crucial game. Every game is crucial, every game mattered and we need to transfer this confidence and quality of play in the next games.”