By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Crvena Zvezda assistant Milenko Topic had never acted as head coach prior to the game against Olympiacos. And tonight, he had to undertake this kind of duty in a critical match of his team.
Two minutes into the second half, Topic found himself at the helm following head coach Dusan Alimpijevic’s ejection. His first reaction was telling his players to keep their cool.
“I told them to calm down, we have this one. We won’t lose. They understood that. Unfortunately, Dule (Alimpijevic) wasn’t with us, I think the referees were too hard on him, but Euroleague referees aren’t forgiving. It would’ve been easier for us if he stayed in the game,” Topic said in the post-game press conference.
The players of Red Star listened to his advice and proceeded to beat the Greek powerhouse. It was the first victory over Olympiacos in the history of the franchise.
“It was an amazing game and second half, without our first coach. I want to say congratulations to the guys and give a big thank you to our fans for the way they supported us. It was a very tough game, especially the second half when they led by seven or eight points. But we didn’t give up, we played our game and we won. We believed, we stayed together, and that was the difference.”
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Photo: MozzartSport