ABA League – Final - Day3
Partizan – Crvena Zvezda: The black and whites will swing back
Crvena Zvezda leads the best-of-five ABA League Finals by 2-0, but the series now shifts to Partizan's home court, where they will be backed by 20,000 passionate fans. The main takeaway from the first two games is the lack of character shown by Partizan's players. They seemed intimidated by the atmosphere at the away gym and struggled to find their rhythm. Except for Jaleen Smith, no player managed to put together two strong performances, with Mateusz Ponitka and James Nunnally being the only ones giving their all. Captain Kevin Punter was unrecognizable, Zach LeDay looked absent, while Aleksa Avramovic, Alen Smailagic and Frank Kaminsky made numerous defensive errors.
On the other hand, Crvena Zvezda capitalized on the opportunities presented to them. Yago dos Santos was clutch in Game 1, and Nemanja Nedovic had a masterful first half in Game 2, scoring 21 points and being crucial in keeping his team from trailing despite their rebounding struggles early on. Almost all Crvena Zvezda players contributed, unlike Partizan. Apart from his usual stellar defense, Branko Lazic was reliable from beyond the arc, Milos Teodosic pulled off some magic with his assists and shots, while Luka Mitrovic and Joel Bolomboy outplayed the opposing centers. Naturally, things are easier with strong support from the stands, which won't be the case in Game 3.
The trend of the home team winning in the ABA League Finals remains unbroken. The home team won 25 games in a row now. The last time a visiting team won was in 2018, when Buducnost triumphed away from home. We believe this trend will continue, meaning Partizan is expected to bounce back and reduce the deficit to 1-2. An unwritten rule in ABA League Finals is that home teams tend to have better officiating, which is one reason why visiting teams struggle to win. The officiating in the first two games favored Crvena Zvezda, but this won't be the case in Game 3. Partizan will be allowed to play more aggressively on defense and will undoubtedly have more confidence on their home court. The home team's offense should shine this time, and anything less than a Partizan victory would be a huge surprise. It's likely that the game won't be too dramatic in the final moments.