Partizan faced Zadar in the 13th round of the regional competition after a double EuroLeague program. The black and whites suffered a defeat with a score of 84:68, and an additional cause for concern is the injury sustained by Alen Smailagic.
There was great interest in this match, as evidenced by the presence of 8,500 spectators. This marks the highest attendance in Zadar in the last few years. Partizan played without the previously injured duo of Aleksa Avramovic and Uros Trifunovic, while Mateusz Ponitka did not play due to rest. Just before the game, similar to the previous year, Zeljko Obradovic received ovations as he entered the court.
Partizan opened the game with quite a bit of nervousness, prompting coach Obradovic to call a timeout just over a minute into the game when they were trailing 4:0. Marko Ramljak and Arijan Lakic contributed to Zadar’s initial 11:4 lead, with P.J. Dozier being the only one in good form for the black and whites.
Partizan hit its first three-pointer through Tristan Vukcevic, but the home team played at a high level for the rest of the first quarter. Zadar maintained their rhythm with a lot of transition play and an accelerated pace. They made two three-pointers out of three attempts, while Partizan struggled from beyond the arc, hitting only 1 out of 7 attempts. After ten minutes of play, the Croatian team led 20:13.
Zadar continued in a brilliant rhythm, especially in shooting, with Luka Bozic and Dario Dreznjak hitting three-pointers. On the other side, Vukcevic played well, and after another three-pointer, he reduced the deficit with a dunk and a foul. Then Zadar reached its largest lead of 11 points (31:20). When Dreznjak scored for a plus 14, coach Obradovic was forced to take another timeout.
This proved effective, with Zach LeDay and Ognjen Jaramaz scoring some easy points. However, Zadar simply did not allow the opponent to come closer, punishing every defensive lapse by the Belgrade giant. The home team further excelled in the closing moments of the first half, especially Bozic and Dreznjak, deservedly leading 47:34 at halftime.
Although Partizan hit long-range shots at the start of the second half, they found themselves 15 points behind again due to defensive lapses. As soon as they strung together two good defensive plays, they reduced the deficit to 52:42, prompting coach Jusup to call a timeout. P.J. Dozier was hitting shots when none of his teammates could, bringing the gap down to 52:46.
Just when it seemed like the black and whites would pose a further threat, Dreznjak extended the lead to ten points, leading to another timeout by coach Obradovic. The sharpshooting Dreznjak scored a total of seven points, including a tough three-point shot off the backboard, and with ten decisive minutes remaining, the scoreboard showed 61:50 in favor of the home team.
At the start of the final quarter, Zadar increased their lead to the largest margin of plus 16 (66:50). Several mistakes on both ends of the court left Partizan trailing by a significant 20 points (70:50), resulting in another timeout as coach Obradovic tried to influence his team.
As time passed, it became increasingly clear that Zadar would emerge victorious, ending a four-game losing streak against Partizan in the ABA League. Aside from the convincing defeat, another negative aspect of the game was the injury to Alen Smailagic, who landed awkwardly on an opponent’s foot and had to leave the game with the assistance of the medical team.
After this match, the black and whites stand at a record of 9-4, while the Croatian representative now holds a 7-6 record as the Adriatic caravan continues.
The top scorers for the winning team were Dario Dreznjak (25 points) and the MVP of the previous ABA League edition, Luka Bozic (26 points, nine rebounds, nine assists). In the ranks of Partizan, Tristan Vukcevic was the standout with 15 points, and P.J. Dozier contributed with 10.
In the next round of the Adriatic caravan, the black and whites will visit Mornar in Bar, while Zadar will face Buducnost at home.