By Alexandros Priftis/ info@eurohoops.net
Everyone knows that Belgrade is one of the hardest places to get a road win in Europe, however this season Crvena Zvezda has not only loud fans, but also the results to back this up.
You can’t get a win against the “Red and White” underdogs and FC Barcelona Lassa, Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv, CSKA Moscow, Real Madrid and Fenerbahce have already been beater by Crvena Zvezda MTS Beldrage. Darussafaka Dogus, Zalgiris Kaunas and Baskonia so far escaped with the win, while Olympiacos and Panathinaikos are the only teams with a better record than Zvezda which have not been tested yet. So here’s the story so far.
First victim: Barcelona
Despite missing Justin Doelmman, Juan Carlos Navarro and Petteri Koponen, nobody was willing to bet a lot against Barcelona. In the end the Serbs got the win, Pau Ribas was injured and the reaction of Ante Tomic is now legendary.
The final score was 76-65 and Marko Guduric had a break out game with 21 points.
The troubles of Maccabi
Maccabi Tel Aviv is not having its best season, but at that point this was still open for debate. That night at Belgrade changed everything with Zvezda getting the 83-58 win and dominating thanks to a team effort.
The upset versus Real Madrid
Zvezda was recongized as one of the most dangerous teams in EuroLeague, still Real Madrid is a powerhouse. This didn’t stop the Serbs from winning with 82-70 and getting one more big result under their belt.
Even the champs got into trouble
CSKA Moscow remains the team to beat and after a long time had both Nando De Colo and Milos Teodosic together on the court. So what? Zvezda got the 78-67 win keeping things under control from wire to wire.
Next stop Fenerbahce
With everyone being prepared about what they would meet at Belgrade, Fenerbahce knew what may happen. Still they couldn’t avoid it, as Zvezda got the 75-73 behind the career night of Ognen Kuzmic (21 p. 8 r.)
At this point, Crvena Zvezda is at least a playoffs contender and what makes the rest of the EuroLeague secure is that the home court advantage is still far. Because if the Serbs get it, then who knows what will happen in a gym like that…