KK Partizan - Budućnost Podgorica 61:72 (Adriatic League)

First, I don’t even remember when I saw last time a match that was cheated in such a shameless way by the referees. Second, and this one is even worse, this defeat means that we have 6 (six) matches won and 7, that are lost. We have 19 points altogether. 4 other teams have the same amount of points, but Krka is still ahead of us with better statistics. So, whether we like it or not, we are on the 7th place of Adriatic League’s table. This is a catastrophe, especially that Zvezda is laughing at us from the first place. It means, we have to pick ourselves together very much if we want to have our piece from the cake.
There was this heart-warming scene though. Duško Vujošević was watching the match from the tribune (he is still banned from the bench) and there he met the forever Miša Tumbas.

(photo: Twitter)

(photo: hotsport.rs)

The rest was much less touching. The atmosphere was heated even in the first quarter. At 2:5 wrestling started on the floor, the referees were mostly just watching it with great interest. Then they gave a free throw to Podgorica. At 2:9 Tepić threw a basket from a fantastic turnover (4:9). Almost all actions by Partizan were amazing and spectacular. Pavlović threw a great one (6:13), then came a Milosavljević-Mačvan teamwork (8:15). With great focus and teamwork we made it to 16:17, then, no joke, there was less than 1 second left from the quarter when the referees gave a free throw to Budućnost. 16:19. Thanks. Really.
In the second quarter we could keep the pace until 19:21 - Tepić had a huge run, dribbling himself through the opponent, throwing a giant basket. He was the heart and soul of the team, he was running during the entire match, setting up attacks, throwing baskets, so now you stand up and salute for him.

(photo: Facebook/KK Partizan)

Then the Montenegrin team made a 9-point series and the difference was more than 10 points (19:30). Milutinov tried to reduce it, but the difference was soon 15 points (20:35). Milutinov and Mačvan reduced it to 24:35, but at this point Pavlović was knocked out. (As if his upper lip got swollen as well...) The referees sighed and gave a free throw to Partizan for this K.O. (26:37), and then quickly another one for Budućnost, for just the sake of it. (26:39) This was the result of the half-time. Budućnost is a very quick, very aggressive team, especially with 3 extra players. (The referees. They could have come out of the locker room wearing these blue jerseys, after all.)

We struggled

(photo: Facebook/KK Partizan)

The third quarter was not better at all. We struggled, the difference got bigger and bigger. Tepić had a great moment (34:45), while Pavlović got a foul, nobody knows why.

The last quarter was started with 40:47, we fought hard to keep the less-than-10-points difference. When the referees didn’t interfere, we could keep it. Then after 3 and a half minutes Milutinov was fouled out. Andrić made a 3-pointer (49:54). Then Reynolds played his great act as "The Dying Mother Queen", after NOT clashing with Pavlović, but the referees still whistled a technical foul on Partizan’s player (49:59). At 51:63 Andrić brought another 3-pointer to make it less than 10 points, but at that point suddenly Milosavljević was also fouled out. SportKlub’s slow motion replay clearly shows there was NO foul at all.

Facepalm... That’s all you can do.
Hell broke loose, everyone was yelling with the other, then during the last few moments the Montenegrin team made a 6-point series (56:59). Planinović was also fouled out, but nobody actually cared. Mačvan and Tepić scored some points, then the nightmare finally ended.

(photo: Facebook/KK Partizan) 

(photo: hotsport.rs) 

(photo: Facebook/KK Partizan)