Partizan basketball players were defeated in the Belgrade Arena by Žalgiris 83:74 in the 37th round of the EuroLeague, marking their second consecutive failure in the elite competition. However, for the team, basketball was in the background.
Partizan entered this match in a quite emotional way, as the black-and-whites said goodbye to the legendary Dule Vujošević in the game against Žalgiris. The entire Arena was dedicated to the most trophy-winning coach in the history of the black-and-whites, so the flow on the court somehow fell into the background.
Žalgiris got the first attack, and Nigel Williams-Goss scored with a floater, while Carlik Jones responded on the other side with a three-pointer. Partizan managed to defend afterwards, and Fernando brought a new lead to the black-and-whites – 5:4, which was also their only lead in this period of play.
Tubelis hit a three-pointer, and then Žalgiris maintained that advantage. Minutes of weaker play followed, the crowd continued to pay tribute to Dule Vujošević, so the focus was not at its best for Joan Peñarroya’s team; even after Tubelis missed a three-pointer, Maodo Lô picked up the ball and scored – 9:12.
After that, the Lithuanians pulled away slightly, as Francisco hit a very difficult three-pointer. Milton was the most inspired in the Partizan team and brought them back to life, while Ulanovas scored for two, then for three points. Dustin Sleva was another player who hit a three-pointer, Partizan had problems in offense, but Nick Calathes hit a three-pointer at the buzzer – 22:26.
That very three-pointer somewhat helped Partizan, but they did not carry that over into the last 10 minutes, as they played for two full minutes without scoring a point. Granted, Žalgiris did not exactly shine either, as it was miss after miss. Sterling Brown finally managed to score, but with great difficulty – 25:32.
Finally, Partizan managed to catch a rhythm, Milton scored from mid-range, and Francisco attacked while Lakić committed an unsportsmanlike foul. The Žalgiris playmaker hit both times, and Moses Wright added a dunk – 29:36.
Both teams improved their offenses slightly in the continuation of this quarter, Francisco hit a three-pointer, and then Milton scored on the other side with a foul. Then, out of nowhere, Ignas Brazdeikis stepped onto the scene, hitting two very difficult shots, bringing a double-digit lead to the Lithuanians. Peñarroya took a timeout.
After that timeout, Isaac Bonga had a great sequence. He first scored at the rim, and then hit a three-pointer that brought Partizan back to life (41:45), and at the end of the period, Francisco took a difficult shot over a player and hit a three-pointer at the buzzer – 41:48.
The home team started the second half better, stringing together two quick baskets through Bruno Fernando, but every time they could have fully returned to the clash, they faltered and the rival kept a two-possession lead.
Thus, the guest from Kaunas led 50:45, 53:49, 55:51, and then a total comeback occurred, which was, however, short-lived. Carlik Jones was in a good mood in those moments, so he personally scored for 55:56 shortly after the TV timeout.
However, a run followed through Ąžuolas Tubelis in the final moments of this part of the clash; five points, including an and-one, brought Žalgiris back to 61:55, and the quarter ended with a score of 63:57.
At the beginning of the last quarter, the club from Kaunas settled the question of the winner; just a minute and a half into the final quarter, Sleva brought an eleven-point lead, and at one point it was even 59:75, which remained the largest difference until the end of the game.
Edgaras Ulanovas excelled in those moments, but Bonga’s free throws woke the team up, so Partizan’s deficit decreased from attack to attack, and after a big run by Carlik and Bonga, the scoreboard read 69:75.
However, after the black-and-whites’ 10:0 run, two extremely important baskets by Tubelis returned Žalgiris to a large plus ten, from which the Serbian representative did not recover until the end.
Carlik Jones scored 15 points, while Shake Milton and Isaac Bonga scored 13 each. Bruno Fernando recorded 12 points and nine rebounds, and Dylan Osetkowski had nine in both categories.
On the other side, Sylvain Francisco scored 18, Nigel Williams-Goss had 13, and Ąžuolas Tubelis and Dustin Sleva had 12 and 10 respectively. Moses Wright scored eight points along with 11 rebounds.
Žalgiris now has a 22-15 record and will even fight for fifth place! Partizan is 16th with 15-22.
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Source: Telegraf.rs, Photo: Dusan Milenkovic / ATAImages