KK Partizan - Cedevita 87:97 (ABA Liga, round 9)

Again a game that slipped out of our hands.
We had a great start though. It was even excellent. We were leading, the team was bursting from energy.

Then it was 14:7. We had a strong start, we played well and spectacular. Cedevita tried to find their breath. They could still equalize (14:14), they even took the lead (17:20), but Veličković took it back twice and we finished the first quarter with a one-point advantage with his scores (23:22).

The second quarter was even better.
Our advantage was growing. 27:23, then 32:23... at a point Cedevita’s head coach had a meltdown, he got a technical foul. It made him freaked out, he yelled with the referees, finally he had to leave the court. The assistant coach took his duty, and I was sure he was waiting for this very moment. Gianmarco Pozzecco made an unbelievable show at the bench. If I didn’t have such a terrible mood after this defeat, I’d say things like Pozzecco for president or this guy and all his gestures must be spread all over the internet as gifs. Here is a compilation with him, you can click and take a look. (If you don’t have a too bad mood, it may even be entertaining.)
At the end of the video you can see and hear it well: Partizan-fans gave a loud applause to him and his team.
Meanwhile we were leading with more than 10 points.

Everything worked well, we did whatever we wanted. Then two and a half minutes before the end Ratkovica was fouled, that was the point when we somehow halted. Cedevita started to reduce their difference, they equalized from 49:42. We could still keep our advantage with a free throw (51:49), that was the half-time result.

Koprivica and Hatcher

Then came the third quarter.
At first we kept ourselves. Nothing seemed to be suspicious. (61:56) Then Cedevita equalized (61:61) and took the lead (61:63). We equalized, but Cedevita again took the lead (63:68). From this point on there was no return... They jumped to 65:73, meanwhile Veličković got a technical foul for yelling off the referee’s head. At the end of the quarter we got a free throw, Hatcher scored one, missed out the other. We were heading to the final quarter with 66:73.

Adin Vrabac

Let’s not talk about the last quarter...
We failed. We were nervous. We fell apart. The opponent took advantage of it all. Their point guard, Jackson was like as if he was sent directly from hell to Pionir Hall. He was very quick, tricked himself through Partizan’s defense and threw a million baskets. The other players of Cedevita could have walked off the court to the snack bar for a beer, Jackson did whatever he wanted. They were leading to 73:83, then we started to reduce the difference slowly and struggling. Two and a half minutes before the end it was 84:87, but we couldn’t make it any closer. Jackson was fouled out at the end, but only 50 seconds were left, it did neither good nor harm.
And a message for those fans morons who yelled at Aleksandar Džikić after the game: suck a horse.

Highlights:

KK Partizan: Robinson, Ratkovica (8), Vrabac, Marinković (8), Veličković (20), Birčević (7), Koprivica (2), Andrić (11), Hatcher (19), Pot, Karahodžić, Luković (12)

Cedevita: James (8), Krušlin (2), Katić, Babić (9), Žganec (3), Musa, Bilan (19), Begić (3), Tomas (16), Arapović (5), Jackson (32)

Current standing of the Liga:
1. Budućnost 17 points
2. CZ 16 points
3. Cedevita 15 points
4. Partizan 15 points
5. Cibona 14 points
6. Igokea 13 points
7. Mega Leks 12 points
8. FMP 11 points
9. Krka 11 points
10. Zadar 11 points
11. Mornar Bar 10 points
12. Karpoš 10 points
13. MZT Skopje 10 points
14. Union Olimpija 9 points

(photos: Facebook/KK Partizan)

News, news, news

I’m about to puke.
Dragan Mance passed away 31 years ago. Average Fan is about to have a quiet day with lighting a candle and remembering with old videos.
No way.
Average Fan opens the news feed and a railway carriage sized dung and garbage starts to flow. That’s all about having a quiet remembrance.
Let’s start with football.
The team’s management gathers together again, trying again to elect a president instead of the temporary Ivan Ćurković.
Rumours say that it’s been a done deal for a while, as the current management put vice president Milorad Vučelić to the presidental chair underhand. The election that is supposed to be held on 12th (or 14th) September is just a formality. Of course it’s not official yet, but more or less you can take it as a shoo-in. Mondo.rs tells about the other candidate Nenad Bjeković has no actual support after the current leadership discharged everyone who was about to vote for him. Ćirković just added, Vučelić would be a much better candidate than him. (Ćirković will surely not enter as a candidate this time.)

Let’s not try to find out what he got from the management for this declaration.

What really made my eyebrows raise was a half-sentence by Mondo saying that fans also support Vučelić against Bjeković. I’d really like to look into the eyes of these alleged fans (in case this rumour is not fake), and I’d like to see each and every one of them the certification from a psychiatrist (with stamp and signature) that they are all sane.

***

Aleksandar Džikić is rumoured to stand up from KK Partizan’s bench. The head coach has been weary of the continuous uncertainty, the pressure, but most of all of the double standards that have been used against Partizan lately. Sources mention Džikić has been considering this decision since when it came to light that there will still be a Serbian team in Eurocup.

Originally Partizan was this team, but the Serbian Basketball Association said that if Partizan entered the competition, the team would be excluded from the Serbian championship. Partizan finally decided to cancel entering the series - meanwhile they had enough troubles with FIBA as well - then they thought this newly founded basketball Champions League could be a kind of life-belt for the team.

And this team is not else than... FMP!
Thank you, Čoki, thank you, KSS!
I’m not surprised at all that it was too much for Aleksandar Džikić. It’s a miracle that he could bear it all until now.
What is more, the successor of Džikić was also mentioned. The press told about Miroslav "Muta" Nikolić as KK Partizan’s possible next head coach. Nikolić is currently the second trainer of the Serbian men’s national basketball team.

Miroslav Nikolić

(photo: zurnal.rs)

A slight blessing in disguise is that the basketball team signed another player, 22-year-old Stefan Pot, who already debuted in the team at a friendly pre-season game against Besiktas (Partizan won to 83:77).

Stefan Pot

(photo: mondo.rs)

That’s all for now.

***

And now stand up and salute silently for a minute.
Legends live. In our hearts, in our memories, on photos, in videos and on the walls of buildings.
Dragan Mance - † 03. 09. 1985.

(photo made by the author)

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)

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)

KK Partizan - Cibona 85:82 (Adriatic League, Round 19)

There was a big deal of excitement (even tension) in the air before this game. Earlier this week the basketball team’s management suddenly terminated the contract of head coach Petar Božić, on "mutual agreement"

even though not much earlier they had a press release making everyone sure that the head coach had got the full support of the basketball team’s presidency
(by the way: after this "event" basketball team president Nikola Peković travelled back to Minnesota, because he is in fact still the active player of Timberwolves - and they were beaten ruthlessly right at the next game by Denver Nuggets)

and they immediately signed Aleksandar Džikić.
Partizan’s bench is not new for Džikić, he had been second trainer here years ago. Then he coached Minnesota Timberwolves as well as Ljubljana and Krka, then he switched to the national team of Macedonia, and now he found himself again at Partizan, this time as head coach.
Fans were waiting for him as if he was some kind of Messiah and when he entered the hall before the game, he got a very loud applause.

In the meantime the team warmed up.

(photos: Twitter)

Then we walked out to the court.
The truth is that there was definitely a change in Partizan’s game compared to earlier days. On the court there was a much more aggressive, combative Partizan clashing with the Croatians. No idea what Džikić did to them, but if not else, he pretty much set them afire.
In the beginning Cibona was leading (2:6), then not (7:6). Then still a bit, again (7:8), but then Murić scored a 3-pointer (10:8).
From then on we kept our advantage for 3 quarters. Fans were cheering loud and enthusiastically, Wilson, Murić and Vitkovac threw one basket after the other. Cibona could score only from free throws, then at the end they could pound in a hook as a field goal after a missed-out free throw. We finished the quarter with 26:23.
Cibona equalized at the beginning of the second quarter (26:26), what is more, they even took the lead for a few seconds (Rozić stole the ball with a cheeky movement, then he ran up and dunked it in with an almost-bored looking swing, 26:28), but we quickly equalized and took back the lead (30:28). The pace slowed down a bit, but there was still a great battle on the court, players were sometimes literally wrestling for the ball. We kept on scoring, for the end of the quarter we reached the two-digit difference (46:36).
Then we did such things, too.

We finished the first half with 48:42.

(photo: aba-liga.com)

In the third quarter the pace got slow again a bit. Cibona sometimes got dangerously close to us (49:47), but Murić, Vitkovac and Jones quickly made it to 55:49. Partizan’s dominance was clear, then there was a point at 58:51, when Cvetković hammered the ball into the basket, but he was pushed hard by a Cibona-player while scoring, and "Cvele" fell right onto a cameraman, swiping him away together with his camera. The referee whistled, we got a bonus shot. Cvetković missed it out, but he caught his own rebound, then Vrabac scored (62:51).
This was the point when something broke in Cibona’s coach. All the viewer could see was him yelling with the referees, who gave him technical foul in exchange. An elderly gentleman wearing grey sweatshirt was explaining something with great gestures

later I found out he was Aleksandar Petrović, renowned Yugoslav basketball player, today the president of KK Cibona

two stewards stepped to him and discreetly asked him to leave the place. They courted him to the tunnel.

(photo: aba-liga.com)

We continued to parade, so much, that the Wilson-Vrabac duo allowed themselves even this cheeky trick.

(photo: aba-liga.com)

Cibona started to fall into pieces (Their coach sent killer looks towards the referees.) Our advantage kept on growing, 69:53, then 71:54. At the end of the quarter Đumić was fouled out, but we still had a 14-point advantage before entering the final part (73:59).

Could somebody - anybody - tell me in the meantime what the HECK was Novak Nedić doing in Pionir Hall?...

(photo: Facebook/KK Partizan)

Before someone would play the sentimental card and started to whine me something like "oh, but he just wanted to watch a good basketball game", then let me ask, why the hell didn't he sit onto a stand then?... Another question: did he sit there from public money, or did he pay with those dinars he earned with his own blood and sweat? (Did he pay for the entrance at all?...)

The last quarter brought an impossible, wacky game. Cibona sped up, they picked themselves together and started to score. 73:61, 73:63, here Aranitović scored a 3-pointer (76:63), but this didn’t stop Cibona. 78:68, 80:71, then 80:75, and less than two minutes were left when they took back the lead (80:81).
We got a free throw. Vitkovac took the lead back for us (82:81). Tensed nerves, great fight on the court, wrestling, pushing each other, yelling. Another free throw for Partizan, Cvetković scores, just like it’s written in the Big Book of Basketball (84:81). Cibona also got a free throw, they reduced the difference to 2 points (84:82). Unbearable tense, Vitkovac gets fouled out. Another free throw for Cibona. And they miss it out!
Only 9 seconds left. Murić and Florence almost start a fight. Partizan’s Slovenian player is pulled away by 3 teammates. The American complains. The referee whistles, free throw for Partizan. Murić scores, 85:82. Time-out. Unbelievable mass scenes. Only 4 seconds are left when Cibona attacks.
But they miss it out.
The end.
Victory.

BREAKING: During the game Partizan’s new "purchase", Darrell Williams has arrived in Belgrade.

(photo: Twitter)

KK Partizan: Cvetković (8), Aranitović (3), Jones (14), Murić (11), Marinković (11), Vitkovac (15), Đumić (5), Koprivica, Magdevski, Milutinović, Vrabac (10), Wilson (8)

Cibona: Florence (8), Krušlin (6), Hukić (3), Uljarević, Šiško, Rozić (20), Slavica (5), Joksimović (6), Andrija Žižić (11), Ante Žižić (12), Siriščević (11)

League table will be brought later.