Red Star drops Partizan in Derby Game in ABA
In front of 6,000 basketball-crazed fans, two of Serbia’s powerhouses locked horns in the ABA League in their first derby game of 2017-18. Crvena Zvezda “Red Star” MTS Beograd and BC Partizan took to the hardwood to battle it out for pride and glory. This came in Round 7 of the regular season of the ABA League (previously Adriatic League). This chapter in their intense rivalry has Red Star coming away with the convincing, 100-84 road victory.
This was the last game of the round in the ABA League and arguably its most anticipated. Both teams were tied at 4-2 coming into this one, so standings would be shaken up with its results. Red Star (5-2) moves into third place in the league standings with Partizan not too far behind, in fourth place with their 4-3 record.
The Red and White shirts dominated this game throughout. Their shots from the outside found their mark and made for an easy path to victory. Red Star knocked down 14 3-pointers, compared to just five from Partizan.
True to form, Red Star came in with defense in mind but their offense was what was in full force. At times they wound up appearing overzealous, committing 14 turnovers for the night. It was a good thing for them and their fans that Partizan was slow to capitalize on their errors.
The high-scoring game was fueled mainly in part by the game-high 29 points of Red Star’s Milko Bjelica. He also added six rebounds and three triples for the night. James Feldeine added 15 points and seven assists for the champs as well.
Novica Velickovic had an efficient scoring game for Partizan, hitting 6-of-8 shots from the field and 6-of-7 from the line. He led his team with 18 points. Patrick Miller managed to post a double-double off the bench with 16 points and 11 assists.
Whenever these two teams face each other expect any arena they play in to be filled with electrifying energy. Their fans fuel a rivalry which is one of the most notable ones in all of Europe.
Here are the other results from Round 7 of the ABA League’s 2017-18 regular season, played out from November 3-5:
Buducnost vs. Mornar Bar, 79-70
MZT Skopje vs. Mega Bemax, 76-92
FMP vs. KK Cibona, 99-79
KK Cedevita vs. Olimpija, 84-60
KK Zadar vs. BC Igokea, 82-76