FMP - KK Partizan 79:74 (play-off, semifinal, 2nd game)

This video is a perfect summary about this game.

It’s like when you try to fight against armed forces state forces the little favourites of the current state leadership, but at the end you come a cropper with them.
The wonderful (not...) prequel for this game was FMP having a tantrum at the basketball association to be able to lock out Partizan-fans from this game, because at the previous game they behaved soooo terribly, what a shame, such antipopular elements hooligans are not allowed to their "basketball arena" (LOL).

For this previous game show Partizan got a fine of 360 000 dinars from the association. You can’t just mock Nebojša Čović and his family, comrades people! There must be law and order!...

So, it was breathtakingly beautiful. (Not.) 80 % of the stands were empty, there were only a handful of monkeys that just escaped from the zoo FMP-fans and a few Partizan-supporters disguised as peaceful spectators.

Za 25 minuta počinje drugi meč polufinala Superlige Srbije, FMP - #KKPartizan

'Ajmo crno-beli! Svi kao jedan! pic.twitter.com/l0IoXC9fKc

— KK Partizan NIS (@PartizanBC) May 30, 2016

National anthem

(screenshot/ArenaSport 1)

Referees made sure already at the beginning that they don’t like us. The national anthem hasn’t even ended when FMP already got a free throw (1:0). Đumić took us the lead (1:2), but it didn’t last long, the home team took it back (6:5). They were leading in the first quarter, sometimes we equalized (7:7 - Jones, 15:15 - Williams), but we could still make a cliffhanger for the last seconds. The standing was 19:18, Milutinović threw the ball into the ring and he scored, just as it is written in the Big Book of Basketball. 19:20, end buzz.

Aleksandar Cvetković with his barnacle, Filip Čović

(photo: Facebook/KK Partizan)

Posle 1/4 u Železniku #KKPartizan vodi sa 19:20 pic.twitter.com/RXuc7SNLVH

— KK Partizan NIS (@PartizanBC) May 30, 2016

We were leading in the second quarter, though it cost a lot of sweat from us. We couldn’t have a bigger jump, our advantage was only 3-4 points. FMP, led by Čović jr. used very aggressive tactics, while we were like as if we could’t follow their pace. Meanwhile Jones scored, with at least 4 FMP-players hanging on him (24:28).
Filip Čović was in royal spirits. Now that Partizan-fans were forced to stay away, yet Daddy was there, yes, Nebojša Čović himself

mingling with FMP-fans, so that everyone could see he was just an ordinary man, too, an ordinary father who came to watch his sonny boy

his real moron self could come to the surface.
Filip Čović is not a good player. He isn’t much skilled, he is not a class player, also he is relatively small (180 cm), so if he wants to do a spectacular slam dunk, he has to ask a taller teammate to raise him up to the ring. He compensate these with being tireless and very aggressive, using tactics that makes him stick to the opponent’s player more than a barnacle. So, he is not a prominent player, but a very unpleasant, sometimes dangerous opponent. His fellow teammates practically just assist to him, it’s visible that FMP is about him only.

Would they dare to be about someone else?...

FMP’s aggressive game finally brought fruits. Okay, they needed the referees’ help a lot. They equalized (30:30), took back the lead (32:30) and from then on they kept control in their hands. They used full court press, with a lot of man-to-man clashes. They were leading to 43:36 in the half-time.

Cvetković fighting with Čović

(photo: Facebook/KK Partizan)

For the third quarter we seemed to be slightly worn out. FMP’s grinding style mixed with the biased referees made it. And the truth is that we didn’t play well either. We were weak and made a million mistakes. The home team was leading to 45:39, then Čović got technical foul for something. No word can describe that rant Čoki jr. made.

"DAAADDYYYYYYYYY!!! Stop them! They gave technical foul to ME!!!"

(screenshot/ArenaSport 4)

But regulations are regulations. Čović got technical foul and we got a legal free throw (47:45). Then we took the lead with Murić’s 3-pointer (47:48).
Referees put themselves into action and made provision for keeping us back from taking control of the game. They quickly whistled offensive foul on Williams for nothing, FMP got a gift free throw (48:48). From then on it was going like this. Referees whistled off everything, really EVERYTHING we made as a foul. Even if a Partizan-player just gave a nasty look on the opponent. For the end of the quarter the home team reached the two-digit difference (58:48). Cvetković dauntlessly reduced it to 8 (with Čović on his back). 58:50. Yet referees gave TWO MORE free throws to FMP during the few seconds that were left until the buzz. Because why not. And because Daddy was there, too. The third quarter ended with 61:50.

Novica Veličković explains something with big gestures

(photo: Facebook/KK Partizan)

The last quarter wasn’t any better than the previous ones. To this we added our weakness and too many mistakes. Finally somehow we equalized, with clenching teeth (65:65), but we immediately got the next foul with the usual gift free throw to FMP (67:65). Meanwhile one of their players, Tejić was fouled out, but even that didn’t help us much. Another of their players made a rude foul on Wilson, the referees didn’t whistle it off, yet when Milutinović just touched a home player, he was fouled right there, followed by the gift free throw... Jones’s alleged double dribble was whistled off (I wasn’t convinced by ArenaSport’s slow motion replay...), meanwhile the game looked more like wrestling than basketball.

Williams in a "sandwich"

(photo: Facebook/KK Partizan)

Cvetković got fed up and with an excellent throw he took us back the lead (69:70). It brought a "ping pong"-game (one basket here, one basket there) that brought advantage for FMP (73:72). Home players were pushing Wilson so much that he slid out of the baseline with the ball - the referees whistled it off with advantage to FMP, of course. Meanwhile their coach got a technical foul, Wilson scored from the free throw and brought us up to 2 points (76:74).
Well, yes. We got dangerously close to the opponent, so the referees had to take action urgently. Only 9 seconds were left, when Vitkovac was fouled, because just so. Gift free throw to FMP (77:74). Then only 5 seconds were left when Vitkovac was fouled AGAIN. The opponent scored from the free throw, that was the end result as well (79:74). Third, crucial game will be held on Wednesday from 21:00. ArenaSport 1 will broadcast that, too, live.

Aleksandar Džikić’s facial expression says it all

(photo: Facebook/KK Partizan)

FMP: Čović (16), Davidovac (9), Ostojić, Apić (12), Jeković, Đoković (4), Lazarević (9), Bursać (2), Dobrić (21), Šešlija (2), Radovanović (2), Tejić (2)

KK Partizan: Cvetković (10), Aranitović, Jones (18), Murić (7), Marinković (5), Veličković (4), Vitkovac (4), Đumić (4), Milutinović (9), Williams (8), Vrabac (1), Wilson (4)

RK Partizan - Metaloplastika 30:23 (play-off, round 10)

This game was interesting not only because it was the last round of the championship, but because these two teams will clash again within 4 days - on 2nd June, to be more precise, at 18:00, in the semi-final of the Serbian Cup. This and the championship title having already been decided brought the two teams trying to hide their tactics for the Serbian Cup Final Four (according to the match report at the handball team’s website).
The first half brought an equal(-looking) game. It was sort of a "ping-pong" game, one goal here, one goal there, with only one goal of difference. We jumped to a two-goal-difference in the 23rd minute first (10:8), then even though Metaloplastika equalized (10:10), we still set back to the two-goal advantage in the 27th minute (13:11) and we kept it up for the half-time as well (16:14).
The second half brought a more stable Partizan-advantage, sometimes with 2-3-4 goals. What is more, two minutes before the end we were leading with 7 goals (28:21). This difference can be seen in the end result, too.
The hero of the day was Nemanja Živković with 11 (!!!) goals. He is followed by Igor Mršulja (4), Mihajlo Radojković and Lazar Kukić (3-3), Stevan Sretenović, Vuk Milenković and Živan Pešić (2-2) as well as Mijat Perunčić, Nikola Ivanović and Mihajlo Stošjević (1-1).
The handball championship have ended. Vojvodina won the championship title with 17 points. Partizan finished on the 3rd place.

CONGRATULATIONS and salute to the players and the coach staff for the fantastic result, for the brave fight and for sticking to the team even in the hardest times!
Well done, boys!!!

(photo: Facebook/Partizan is life)

End result of the play-off:
1. Vojvodina 17 points
2. Metaloplastika 15 points
3. Partizan 12 points
4. Spartak Vojput 9 points
5. Sloga 5 points
6. CZ 2 points

KK Partizan - FMP 82:63 (play-off, semifinal, 1st match)

That’s how you make a pre-game show in style (possibly while you continuously rub under the eternal opponent’s nose that you’re much better than them).
Ingredients: 2 champion teams, 2 championship cups, 2 old friends, 1 devoted crowd and the forever Miša Tumbas.
Before the game the water polo team got the celebration they totally deserve after they won the championship. The boys came, they brought the championship cup and carried it around Pionir Hall while the crowd celebrated them.

Then the French Legion arrived.

Yes, it’s them. Léo Westermann and Joffrey Lauvergne

Children were waiting for them

(photos: Facebook/KK Partizan)

They got huge applause

(photos: Twitter)

If only Boris Dallo had been there, too... then the Three Musketeers could have had a reunion.

After them KK Partizan’s U21 team arrived. They won the junior championship a few days ago, knocking out Crvena Zvezda in the final to 51:48.

(photo: Facebook/KK Partizan

For the family photo album: the team, the championship cup... and MIŠA TUMBAS

(photo: Twitter)

Meanwhile the teams lined up for the national anthem.

(photo: Facebook/KK Partizan)

(photo: Twitter)

The first half of the game was awful. A million missed-out chances, clenched teeth, sweat and struggle, while FMP took the lead in the beginning. They switched from 4:2 to 4:6, then jumped to 8:14. They could even allow themselves to miss out a free throw. The first quarter finished with 12:16.

The water polo team was watching the game near the court

(photo: Twitter)

The struggle continued in the second quarter. Even though we equalized with two 3-pointers (20:20) we still missed out more than we could score from. At the half of the quarter we took the lead (24:20), it was still not our best form.
This was the point when the fans started their usual sarcastic and vulgar chants about Vesna Čović and her doings.

Did I see well that Joffrey Lauvergne was grinning there?

It was 26:20, the fans started to throw their chants on FMP/Crvena Zvezda-fan politicians. The referee paused the game saying "Partizan-fans are having an unsportsmanlike behaviour".

This always make me laugh hard. Yea, sure. Those terrible Partizan-fans are always unsportsmanlike. But when (ahem) other teams’ fans (ahem) yelled life-threatening chants to Saša Pavlović and Duško Vujošević, that wasn’t unsportsmanlike.
Fair play, my a.....

This made fans chant even louder. Finally Aleksander Džikić had to be asked to calm down the raging fans. (In the meantime ArenaSport 1’s commentators laughed hard and loud in live broadcast.)

Trener @PartizanBC Aleksandar Džikić je uzeo mikrofon i zamolio publiku da prestane sa uvredljivim pesmama F. Čoviću pic.twitter.com/xjzcmW95ha

— Marko Ljubomirović (@LjubomirovicRTS) May 28, 2016

Sometimes it can surely be hard to be Filip Čović. It’s not just that he is a mediocre player, but at the same time his father is the local almighty basketball godfather, who took mum into the business, too. And fans love to rub it into his face every time, with the most possible obscene qualifiers.

This intermezzo broke FMP’s pace. We jumped to 31:22, soon making the two-digit difference as well (35:24). The half-time ended with 37:27, after Wilson made a huge buzzer-beater.

Adin Vrabac some time during the game

(photo: Facebook/KK Partizan)

FMP collapsed for the second half. They made the impression of an average countryside team (even though they are from Belgrade) with whom the Belgrade champions play the way they just want. It started with 41:27, then it was 46:30. Referees tried their best to help them, whistling off all our actions as fouls, but the guest couldn’t use it for their own advantage. Partizan were about to reach the 20-point-difference (51:32), which we made with Veličković’s free throw (56:36). We got ready for the final part with 63:41.

Nikola Peković and Wilson communicate

(photo: Facebook/KK Partizan)

In the last quarter we did whatever we wanted, FMP just assisted us. Okay, they could make it to avoid the 20-point-difference.
They were defeated "only" with 19 points.
Next round will be on Monday from 21:00.

(photo: Facebook/KK Partizan)

The little boy on the picture at the beginning of this blogpost holding the banner "Žo, pamtimo te, čekamo te" could meet Joffrey Lauvergne now 

Post-game moments: Joffrey Lauvergne and Miša Tumbas

(photos: Twitter)

KK Partizan: Cvetković, Aranitović, Jones (9), Murić (14), Marinković (2), Veličković (9), Vitkovac (9), Đumić, Milutinović (4), Williams (13), Vrabac (10), Wilson (12)

FMP: Čović (2), Davidovac (19), Ostojić, Apić (6), Đoković (5), Lazarević (4), Bursac (6), Dobrić (13), Šešlija, Radanov, Radovanović (2), Tejić (6)

CHAMPIONS!!! VK Partizan - Crvena Zvezda 10:9 (play-off, final, 2nd match)

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!!!

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!!!

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!!!

Yes, we!!!
Oh. My. God. OH. MY. GOD. OH! MY! GOD!!!
I still died a few times during the game. No, the stream didn't die this time, just me, but I still brought you some screenshots with my last breath.

Lining up for the introduction of players

Fair-play (mwahaha) handshakes

The boys are getting ready...

...while the team captains discuss with the referees

Then all hands to quarters...

...and a last group hug before swim-off

Here is a video about the roll-call:

Utakmica je počela! Partizan nastupa u sastavu: Rističević (k), Gielen, Tigkas, Manojlović, Subotić, Drašović, Gogov, Jakšić, Vico, Tanasković, Lazić, Asanović, Brakočević, Radojević.
Posted by Vaterpolo klub Partizan Raiffeisen on Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Then Zvezda took the lead just one and a half minutes after the swim-off. 0:1, unbelievable. First (sudden) death.

Meanwhile this happened. How to strangle Partizan-players slowly but surely

We equalized immediately with Asanović’s goal.

There’s the ball in Zvezda’s box

Then Average Fan blinked twice and it was 2:1, goal scorer: Nikola Jakšić.

Then 3:1. Gogov, from power play. Here Zvezda scored one (3:2), they were also in power play.
We got back our 2-goal advantage almost immediately. Gielen sent a distant cannon shot to Zvezda’s goal and destroyed the right lower corner.

Gilen is swaying the ball just to tear the net into pieces in the next moment

Then Gilen scored another, because it’s always better to be safe than sorry. (5:2) Gilen never acts as chance directs.
Two and a half minutes were left, when Zvezda scored again, now from penalty (5:3).
Then came Gogov’s great moment. Radojević sent him a long cross from the other side of the pool. Gogov pushed it into the box with a delicate movement, almost just stroking it into the net. (6:3)

Gogov celebrating his goal

50 seconds were left from the quarter when Zvezda again scored (6:4) meanwhile both teams were fighting hard with each other.
It was something awful. Partizan played their usual "zone" tactics, while Zvezda came up with the classic man-to-man-fight trick. It meant that whenever we attacked, every Partizan-player got their own barnacle, and these pairs mutually tried to drown each other. The water was boiling sometimes, slap came after slap, and during one of these fights Vico was hit so hard that his nose started to bleed.

This was all you could see. Like when you throw a piece of bloody meat among piranhas

Nemanja Vico could pick himself together, he still had to come out of the pool to get medical attendance

The first quarter finished here.

1/4
Sjajna igra oba tima pred prepunim tribinama Banjice! Nakon prve četvrtine vodimo rezultatom 6-4. Po dva gola su postigli Gogov i Luuk Gielen. #NapredPartizan
Posted by Vaterpolo klub Partizan Raiffeisen on Wednesday, May 25, 2016

After the goal-rich first quarter the second one brought struggles and clenched teeth. Both teams missed out many chances.
Rističević made some fantastic saves.

Dimitrije "we are closed today" Rističević. He is there behind the water curtain

Zvezda scored their 5th goal only 2 minutes before the end of the first half, in power play, while we couldn’t take advantage of a double power play at the other side of the pool.
This second quarter was a slow brain death in itself, but the third quarter brought the real struggle.
First we made all possible mistakes. Throwing the ball into the goalkeeper from 1 cm, dropping the ball out of the hand in an all-doors-and-windows-open chance and such. Average Fan rapidly grew a lot of new grey hair. Zvezda equalized (6:6). The game turned into more and more ruthless, with a lot of fight and water wrestling. Then 3 minutes before the end we got a penalty. Vico shot and scored. At long last (7:6)

Vico sways, Zvezda’s goalkeeper raises up, but in vain, because in the next moment we were leading again

The problem was that Zvezda equalized again (7:7). Suspends came after suspends on both sides. We had numerous attempts, but we were unable to score. (Thankfully that was true for the opponent as well.)

Time-out at the end of the quarter

3/4
Napeto je u bazenu, a i van njega! Ukupno 3 gola u mrežama, a 7. gol za Partizan je postigao Gavril Subotić. Rezultat je 7-7, u toku je poslednja četvrtina. #NapredPartizan
Posted by Vaterpolo klub Partizan Raiffeisen on Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Something happened for the 4th quarter. I don’t know what Vladimir Vujasinović told (or didn’t tell) the boys, nevertheless six roaring lions arrived for the final, wearing caps with Partizan-logo. Zvezda-players haven’t even splashed into the water when Subotić took back the lead. Only 20 seconds passed from the quarter.

Yes, over there, that’s our 8th goal

Here an amazing comedy came. It started somewhere with Gogov missing out a penalty.

Average Fan’s last wish was a defibrillator.

Then a guy wearing red shirt started to yell with the referee in an atrocious manner. The ref didn’t bother too much, he just showed the seemingly frustrated dude the red card.

I got to know later that he was not else than Viktor Jelenić, Crvena Zvezda water polo club’s president

Red card

Jelenić can’t stop, while security guards gather around him to carry him out of the pool

I don’t know who he was (if you know, then please, write it to me in the comment box), but he also had to leave

Meanwhile the water wrestling continued. Zvezda equalized again (8:8), but one of their players also got a red card. (The coach had to push him to the bench, because the player just couldn’t shut up. I’m really wondering about the referee’s report and what it will include about these incidents.)

Just a few minutes earlier I wanted to die, but at this point I swept my tears off that ran out from laugh. It’s unbelievable, this circus...

5 minutes were left, when we took back the lead with Vico’s fantastic goal (9:8). Tigkas got fouled out, but he took out Zvezda’s team captain with himself. (I’m not sure if the XXXXL-sized captain was also fouled out or he got a red card.)
Only one and a half minutes were left, when Jakšić scored such a HUGE goal that the echo came from Jajinci (10:8). Zvezda could handle the tension harder and harder. Their second coach also got a red card

because the head coach was suspended from this game, as he got a red card on the previous match

so Zvezda had to play for the rest of the game without coach. They could still score one more goal about a minute before the end, but then they had no more chance. And then came the end buzz

AND PARTIZAN WAS THE CHAMPION!!!

It was time to celebrate. We deserved it.

4/4
VK Partizan je ŠAMPION Srbije za sezonu 2015/2016. !!! Fantastična igra u 4/4 za pobedu rezultatom 10-9. BRAVO MOMCI !!!
Posted by Vaterpolo klub Partizan Raiffeisen on Wednesday, May 25, 2016

The Preciousssss

Celebrating with the fans

Receiving the medals

Nikola Jakšić among children

Team captain Dimitrije Rističević receives the championship cup from the president of the Serbian Water Polo Association

(photo: hotsport.rs)

(photo: sportske.net)

Family photo with the cup, the team, and... MIŠA TUMBAS

(photo: hotsport.rs)

Here’s a video about how they celebrated:

Šampioni!
Vaterpolo klub Partizan Raiffeisen - ŠAMPIONI SRBIJE 2015/2016.
Posted by Vaterpolo klub Partizan Raiffeisen on Wednesday, May 25, 2016