In the fifth round of the ABA League, Partizan defeated Crvena Zvezda 98-87, securing their fourth win in the regional league.
Partizan played the game without the injured Kevin Punter and Mateusz Ponitka, while Red Star also had several players sidelined due to injuries, including Nemanja Nedovic, Adam Hanga, and Branko Lazic.
Red and white had a better start, establishing an early lead of 11-4, which prompted a timeout from Zeljko Obradovic after three minutes of play. Partizan’s players showed a reaction with a 7-0 run, but Red Star continued to build a double-digit lead, reaching 21-11. Alen Smailagic couldn’t significantly reduce the deficit for his team, and the guests went into the first quarter break with an eight-point advantage, 25-17.
In the early stages of the second quarter, Partizan imposed their rhythm on the game and, led by P.J. Dozier and Frank Kaminsky, staged a comeback (33-30). The visitors began to lose control of the game towards the end of the first half when the black and white (crno-beli) team went on an 11-2 run, leading by double digits at halftime, 47-36. The only major concern for Obradovic’s team after the first 20 minutes was the number of personal fouls committed by the in-form Frank Kaminsky (3).
Partizan had a magnificent start to the third quarter, with Alen Smailagic, Danilo Andjusic, and Aleksa Avramovic hitting three-pointers, extending the home team’s lead to 18 points (64-46). Partizan kept things under control, maintaining a 19-point lead until three and a half minutes remained in the third period. Then, there was a drop in the black and white team’s performance. Red Star, led by Shabazz Napier, created a 14-2 run, narrowing the deficit to single digits before the last 10 minutes of the game (72-63).
The fourth quarter was mainly played basket for basket, with the (single-digit) lead of Partizan maintained by the in-form Frank Kaminsky. Napier managed to bring his team into a good rhythm at times, but Aleksa Avramovic and Zach LeDay stopped that with crucial points (94-84).
The top scorer for Partizan was Frank Kaminsky with 22 points, while Shabazz Napier stood out for Crvena Zvezda with 23 points.
Partizan and Crvena Zvezda now have a 4-1 record, remaining in the second and third positions in the ABA League. The only undefeated team in the region so far is Buducnost.
In the next round, Partizan will play away at Split, while the team led by Ioannis Sfairopoulos will host Buducnost.