Serbian Partizan (Belgrade) returned from a very difficult situation, not only closing its 27-point deficit, but also reaching overtime, where it dealt with Apoel (Tel Aviv) with 104:101 in the 24th round of the Euroleague basketball, BTA reported.
Apoel (Tel Aviv) although a newcomer to the League, remains at the top of the standings with 16 wins and 7 losses. Fenerbahce already has the same asset, which defeated Cosner Baskonia (Spain) as a host with 85:71. With the victory, Partizan improved its balance to 8-16, while Apoel fell to 16-7. The Israeli team holds on to the top of the Euroleague standings, tied with Fenerbahce (Istanbul) and ahead of Spanish duo Real Madrid and Barcelona, who are 16-8. Barcelona also achieved a victory today - 98:91 in their visit to last-place Asvel Villeurbanne (France).
The match seemed a foregone conclusion after Partizan entered the third quarter of the match with a 37:64 deficit, but somehow managed to tie the game in regulation time 88:88, and then make the second biggest comeback in the history of the competition. Joan Peñaroja's men came back with a bang in the second half and led to the extra five minutes thanks to a monster block from center player Bruno Fernando, one of the team's many heroes on the epic night. When Chris Jones tried to score in the end zone, Fernando jumped up and made a clean block, which was very important to avoid penalties.
In overtime, Sterling Brown kept his composure and managed to overcome personal problems to score eight points for the Serbian team. The match was played in Munich, as their beloved “Belgrade Arena“ is busy hosting the European Men's Water Polo Championship.
Cameron Payne scored 19 points for Partizan, Arijan Lakic added 15, and Bruno Fernando. Isaac Bonga was the best player behind the baskets, grabbing 9 rebounds and scoring 10 points.
Dan Oturu responded with 24 for Hapoel Tel Aviv, Vasilije Micic added 19, and Chris Jones had 16.
Last year's champion Fenerbahce (Istanbul) controlled the match against Baskonia for most of it, scoring their shot in the third period. After leading 42:38 at halftime, the "Fenerbahce" extended their lead to 19 points in the third period, which was an impossible gap for the Spaniards.
Tylen Horton-Tucker finished with 21 points and also grabbed eight rebounds. Tarik Bieberovic had 12 points, including two three-pointers, and Wade Baldwin-Eve had 11. Eugene Omorui scored 14 for the visitors.
Red Star won over Virtus Bologna 102:93, with the main contribution to the success for the visitors being the American with a Bulgarian passport Cody Miller-McIntyre. He made 12 assists, and also scored 10 points and took 5 rebounds. Finally, the statistics indicated him as the most useful for the team of coach Sasha Obradovic in general.
Jared Butler scored 16 points for the Serbs, and 15 – Jordan Ivora. Mohamed Diouf was the only one on level terms for Bologna with 21 points.
With this success, Red Star Belgrade now has 14 out of 24 matches and ranks 10th, which sends them to the preliminary playoff round.