Partizan and Crvena Zvezda have lost their chance to make it to the playoffs in this season’s EuroLeague.
Both clubs invested more money than ever before, but it didn’t help them reach the competition’s final stages. Anadolu Efes put an end to any talk of a play-in by demolishing Crvena Zvezda, automatically eliminating Partizan from contention for continuing in the elite (Crvena Zvezda had already lost that possibility earlier).
However, it’s not all black, at least when it comes to projections for the next season.
Well-informed Greek journalist Aris Barkas claims that the “eternal rivals” are first in line for a special invitation to the EuroLeague next season.
“Despite not making it to the playoffs, both Partizan and Crvena Zvezda remain the main candidates for a ‘wild card.’ To be more precise, it would be a big surprise if they were not part of the elite, even if there are no official announcements yet,” wrote the Eurohoops reporter.
Considering that one special invitation goes to the ABA League, it would be interesting to see what would happen to the Belgrade clubs if someone else, besides them, won the regional competition and whether the assertion of the Greek journalist would still hold true then.