In the third quarter, Ioannis Sfairopoulos’s team improved their defense, and it immediately paid off. Luka Mitrovic got into a groove, and after his consecutive points, the visitors came within just a minus three. They then took the lead, which didn’t last, as the home team quickly regained a plus-five advantage. It turned out to be crucial for Baskonia’s victory, as the Red and Whites couldn’t manage to overturn the score until the end, even though Rokas Giedraitis had a shot for the win.
The top scorers for the winners were Tadas Sedekerskis with 18 points and Markus Howard with 17 points. Giedraitis led the guests with 24 points.
In the next round, Crvena Zvezda will host Alba Berlin, and Baskonia will face Virtus.
![Facundo Campazzo](https://basketballsphere.com/en/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/yFdCdDId-1024x576.jpg)
The red-and-whites lacked the strength for a comeback
BASKONIA – CRVENA ZVEZDA 87:85 (26:18, 26:25, 15:19, 20:23)
Arena: Fernando Buesa arena, Vitoria
Referees: Zamojski, Vyklicky, Bittner
Baskonia: Howard 17, Mannion, Raieste, Chioza 2, Sedekerskis 18, Marinkovic 9, Miller-McIntyre 4 (11as), Diez 2, Rogkapoulos 14, Diop , Kotsar 6, Moneke 15.
Crvena zvezda: Lazarevic 2, Teodosic 13, Davidovac, Mitrovic 8 (15sk, 7as), Lazic 9, Simonovic, Tobey 5, Bolomboy 14, Ilic, Nedovic 7, Giedraitis 24, Dos Santos 3.