By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
With Nole Djokovic present at Hala Pionir Crvena Zvezda brought down the really tough Cedevita defenses to finally win the match 94 – 74 after a particularly “explosive” fourth quarter.
Although Quincy Miller was (again) the first scorer for Red Star with 22 points (he also had 4 rebounds and 3 steals), the man who jump started the hosts’ offensive machine was Marko Guduric. The 20 year old player took the helm of his team in the beginning of the first quarter with much needed baskets and assists that totally increased Zvezda’s output. Cedevita could not hold back that storm and ultimately lost the match despite the efforts of Jacob Pullen (20 p.) and Miro Bilan (17 p.)
In an almost… traditional way in this Euroleague season, Crvena Zvezda had quite the dynamic entrance in the game, making it 15 – 2 after 5 minutes. With the players of Cedevita focusing a lot of attention on how to protect the paint, they spread their defense too thin. Coach Radonjic’s players are good shooters so they took advantage of this big time. While everything showed that the hosts would have a comfortable night, their opponents didn’t really felt like going down so easily.
By the end of the first half (43-32), Cedevita had already slowed down the rhythm, as it usually serves its game and later, they became even more dangerous. James White and Jacob Pullen helped Miro Bilan a lot as the Croatian team showed its teeth to Zvezda. By playing smart and grabbing many offensive rebounds, the guests started reducing the deficit and making it a 6 point game 3 minutes before the end of the third quarter.
Yet, Cedevita didn’t count on one specific opponent, since Marko Guduric showed some serious leadership skills for Red Star in the game changing moments of the fourth quarter that decided the final outcome. Coach Mrsic urged his players to pay special attention to the young Serbian’s game, but they could not push back Zvezda.