Red Star wins Serbian duel with Partizan
Another chapter in the Serbian “Eternal Derby” between long-time rivals Crvena Zvezda Telekom Beograd (Red Star) and BC Partizan NiS Beograd is in the books. The setting of this encounter was in the Adriatic League, where Red Star currently sits atop of the standings with a 17-4 record. Partizan is not too far behind as they trail in third position with a 14-7 slate. The leaders defeated their rivals, 63-57, in what was a heated but incindent-free game.
Red Star came away the victor in this “Battle for Belgrade” thanks to solid execution of their offense in the very beginning, plus consistent play in the final frame which allowed them to stave off Partizan’s rush. They were only up by five at the end of the first quarter. Slowly with each passing period, Partizan chipped away at Crvena Zvezda’s lead, shrinking it down to only one point heading into the fourth period. Red Star stepped on the gas midway in the fourth and were suddenly up by 11 points, 61-50. Partizan made their push, but could not come closer than a four-point margin.
Even though Partizan outrebounded their nemeses for the game 28-26, Red Star was more accurate from three-point range and were able to knock down three more triples (8-19) than Partizan. Timely defensive pressure and firm composure in the final period kept Red Star’s lead intact and secure.
The hero for the evening was Red Star’s Jaka Blazic, who ended the contest with a game-high 19 points. He was efficient with his scoring, shooting 7-11 from the field and a perfect 3-3 from the line. Reserve guard Charles Jenkins was the team’s next highest producer with 11 points.
Tarence Kinsey led Partizan with 13 points and four assists for the game. Milenko Tepic added 12 points, while Joffrey Lauvergne turned in a double-double performance with 10 points and 12 boards.
Here is a quick look at some of the action that took place:
[embedplusvideo height=”280″ width=”480″ editlink=”http://bit.ly/1eoIrxb” standard=”http://www.youtube.com/v/ZAOfIf7LFkw?fs=1″ vars=”ytid=ZAOfIf7LFkw&width=480&height=280&start=&stop=&rs=w&hd=0&autoplay=0&react=1&chapters=¬es=” id=”ep5913″ /]