By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Crvena Zvezda survived the thriller against Olimpia Milano and prevailed 71-78 on the road, behind Ognjen Kuzmic’s 15 points and 7 rebounds.
Marko Simonovic also scored in double figures, finishing with 13 points, followed by Marko Guduric‘s 12 and Charles Jenkins’ 11.
Ricky Hickman led the hosts with 14 points, while Rakim Sanders added 12.
Zvezda was in total control of the game from its beginning and soon grabbed double-digit leads in the first period. With Guduric and Simonovic, the visiting team found an early +15 head at 10′, 10-25.
Milano struggled in front of their rowdy visitors and their fans who made the Mediolanum Forum resemble a lot of Kombank Arena and the Serbian team’s lead remained in double digits even at halftime, 31-43.
Nate Wolters paced the Red and Whites in the third period, helping his team head into the final period with a 50-60 lead. Still, the game was meant to turn into a derby, with the hosts reducing to 2 points at 32′. Kuzmic helped Zvezda restore a 5-point lead with 5 minutes to go, 62-67.