ABA League – Final - Day2

Crvena Zvezda – Partizan: The hosts have more room for improvement

Crvena Zvezda definitely didn't play their best game on Monday, yet they still managed to defeat Partizan by 85:82. The two top shooters, Nemanja Nedovic and Rokas Giedraitis, shot 0/10 from three-point range combined, but it didn't affect the final outcome. It's unlikely for such a scenario to repeat, especially considering both had plenty of solid looks, but the shots simply didn't fall. Those points were compensated by Luka Mitrovic and Yago dos Santos. The former had phenomenal solutions in the low post, making a difference, while Yago orchestrated the offense and scored in various ways. Dejan Davidovac also emerged in crucial moments, hitting four decisive free throws in the final minute.

Partizan certainly has regrets as they were neck and neck until the final minutes. They owe that to the phenomenal performance of James Nunnally, who scored six threes for 27 points, arguably his best game of the season. Apart from Nunnally, no one else showed consistent offensive prowess. Zach LeDay was virtually nonexistent on the court, struggling to find good positions, Kevin Punter missed open three-pointers, as did Frank Kaminsky. Aleksa Avramovic played a decent role compared to PJ Dozier, who is out of form, while Jaleen Smith and Mateusz Ponitka anchored Partizan's defense. Nevertheless, despite the loss, head coach Zeljko Obradovic was content, emphasizing that the details decided the game.

Game two shouldn't be too different from game one. Crvena Zvezda holds a significant advantage from the stands, exerting immense pressure on the referees, resulting in 42 free throws attempted by the red and whites on Monday. If Nedovic and Giedraitis are more accurate from distance, it would be surprising if Partizan evens the series to 1-1. Additionally, Milos Teodosic didn't shine as he usually does, and if Crvena Zvezda gets even better minutes from their virtuoso, the series will likely shift to the other end of Belgrade with a 2-0 lead for the red and whites.