Yes, dear fans, readers and visitors, Grave Diggers applaused Bulgarian players. No booing, no whistles. Only fair play, the most noble type.
Levski's trainer, Konstantin Papazov was amazed by this welcome, and he spoke it at the press conference after the match. This gesture from fans was indeed chivalrous, especially after the first match in Sofia, where fans clashed and the sports hall was destroyed.
Newcomer Božo Đumić was there watching
(photo: Twitter)
The match started with a bad omen. Same day, in the afternoon basketball president Todorić had a car accident. He was even taken to hospital to get medical attendance. But for the match he was already out, wearing a brace-alike thing around his neck (sitting next to Đumić). He made it.
(photo: kurir.rs)
It was at the beginning of the match, Milosavljević threw the ball and Milutinov dunked it into the ring with an alley-oop trick. Partizan’s bench jumped up like one man and cheered.
Still the first quarter was not a reason to be satisfied. Levski sped up the pace, they did not let control slip out of their hands, no matter how much Mačvan and Milutinov were threwing baskets. We could equalize only 20 seconds before the end buzz, to 22:22, after Dallo made a miracle.
Levski was leading for the whole period, our defense had more holes than an Emmenthaler cheese. At a point cameras focused on Duško Vujošević as he was shaking his head.
In the second quarter we picked ourselves together slowly but surely. Dallo had a great moment in the beginning (24:24), then we took the lead, thanks to Marinković (26:24). A lot of chances were missed out on both sides (too much fumbling, for both us and them), but our defense line started to make a shape, we blocked with more and more self-confidence the attempts of the opponent. Tepić made the difference to two-digit (40:29), then it was Edo Murić Time.
Levski scored a lot of 3-pointers, they reduced the difference to 44:39. Saša Pavlović set the half-time result 17 seconds before the end (46:39).
We kept things under our control in the third quarter, too. Bezbradica scored (50:39), Levski again tried with 3-pointers, but there was still a firm difference (59:50). We also scored some 3-pointers, first Andrić (62:50), then Marinković (65:50). Bulgarians reduced it to 66:58 and it was only 35 seconds left, when we set the two-digit difference back (68:58).
The last quarter was a festival. Like, when Murić bit himself onto the opponent player, made a fantastic steal and demonstrated the greatest scene of the match, for the joy of the audience.
Levski was fighting hard and brave, but we swept them off for the end. At the very end the team was joined by Ioannis Kouzeloglou, the young Greek, who immediately scored his first basket. And then, his first 3-pointer. With that he set the final result of the match.
(photo: Twitter)
Kouzeloglou was still standing on the parquet after the match, surrounded by fans, giving autographs
(photo: Twitter)
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