Zeljko Obradovic shared his initial thoughts after Partizan’s loss to Crvena Zvezda in the first game of the Serbian Super League finals.
At the end, he was asked to explain “some things” that are happening.
The accomplished coach began by congratulating the opponent on their victory and then emphasized some of the injury issues his team is facing.
“It was a close game, and in the end, we had a chance to turn it around and win. It wouldn’t have been undeserved if we had won, but congratulations to Crvena Zvezda on the victory. I don’t want to repeat some of the things I’ve said before, but they were evident once again.
When we lost our taller players, we tried to modify some things in training, and I’m proud of how it looked with just two sessions. Congratulations to them. Wednesday, a new game, a new story.”
Zeljko Obradovic, when asked about Kevin Punter not greeting Crvena Zvezda players, said he hadn’t noticed such behavior.
“I talked about how the ABA League final looked. It’s clear to everyone who understands basketball a bit. As for Punter, I have no idea about him not greeting. I haven’t seen that. I think they greet each other, I have no reason not to believe so, I really don’t know.
It’s been a while since we’ve seen a player go through such torture; it’s not basketball being played against him, but every other sport. I can make clips and show you how much they beat him up.
The Partizan coach emphasized that Zach LeDay was the only center he had available.
“Zach LeDay was there. Alen Smailagic had an issue with an injury; he could have played three to five minutes. We had two days, and everything I worked on in training, I implemented tonight in the game. We prepare for matches, and I’m proud of how we prepared this one. It’s all about concentration, life is all about concentration.”
“Please, don’t act naive, don’t pretend you don’t know what’s going on. Look at the last two seasons in the EuroLeague where we and Crvena Zvezda played. Everyone knows everything, that’s how it is. It’s an interesting question.”