KK Partizan - PAOK 78:82 (Champions League, play-off, return match)

This is very very painful now. It was just at an arm’s length and we put our souls to the court.
Before the game the team greeted Miša Tumbas, who celebrated his 63rd birthday now.

(photo: mondo.rs)

The football team also came to support the basketball boys.

(photos: sportske.net)

(photo: mondo.rs)

Marko Nikolić got THIS huge welcome.

The atmosphere was fantastic. Fans again chanted together "PAOK-Partizan", the entire sports hall was one giant black-and-white cavalcade.

(photo: basketballcl.com)

Then kickstart...
...and PAOK jumped to 2:11. Then to 6:18. No idea how. It was awful to see.
Then came Andrić and it was 13:18.
Again no idea how. It just happened. There were a few moments at the game like this, that events had a 180-degree turn within the blink of an eye. Nevertheless 8 seconds before the end of the first quarter Veličković adjusted the standing to 16:18, which means an actual 10:0-series by us. It definitely looked much better than 6:18.

Stefan Pot played with these "duct tapes"

(photo: basketballcl.com)

The second quarter was amazing.
For a while.
We equalized (18:18). We took the lead with Pot’s free throw (20:18). There were quite a number of free throws at this point, but independent of them we could maintain our pace (25:20). The Greek team still wanted to have their word, they equalized (27:27), then took back the lead (28:30). PAOK pressured hard, we just tried to find our breath. We constantly lost the ball, Greeks stole it or made turnovers, so that we had almost no chances for any field goal. Our drawback grew to 10 points (30:40), the first half ended with 32:47.

Half of Partizan’s squad struggled with vomitting, diarrhoea and high fever. The other half was still exhausted after last week-end’s cup final. They still fought as much as they could.
Yes. Now you stand up and salute for them.

Mihajlo Andrić, one of the match’s heroes

(photo: mondo.rs)

The third quarter was the toughest. PAOK’s advantage was more than 10 points for the whole time. We struggled with clenched teeth, we fell apart, we played enervated. Here it seemed all was lost and all we could do was to die with chins up. Though Veličković scored a buzzer-beater at the end of the quarter, this was great to see despite all. We faced death the last part with 50:64.
Dear everyone,
What we did in the last quarter... it was unbelievable.
We opened it with Robinson’s 3-pointer (53:64). We started to reduce our difference step by step. The standing was 59:68, here PAOK realized they might have got into trouble if they hadn’t found out something. So they jumped to 59:76. Again it looked so that all is lost. The standing was 63:78, Birčević was knocked out by a PAOK-player, Andrić almost knocked out the Greek one in exchange... A bit more than 1 minute was left, the standing was 70:80, when PAOK’s coach asked for time-out.
Then we returned to the court.
Veličković scored (72:80). 1 minute and 8 seconds are left. Pionir Hall is like an erupting volcano. Greeks attack, but referees whistle it off, offensive foul. It’s our turn. Great battle on the court. Clanton gets fouled out, we get a free throw (73:82). 44 seconds are left, Andrić scores a huge 3-pointer (76:82). The entire hall is on their feet, everyone is shouting on the top of their lungs. Players wrestle for the ball, the referees whistle it off. It’s PAOK’s turn now. But Veličković makes a turnover and scores (78:82). PAOK’s coach again asks for time-out. It’s 3 million degrees Celsius in Pionir Hall. The whole Partizan is one big heart now. 25 seconds are left. Veličković gets fouled out. Only 23 seconds are left. PAOK gets a free throw... and they miss it out! Both!
But time’s up.
We couldn’t make it.
That was all.

Nenad Čanak made a great job not just now, but also last week-end during the cup final, substituting Aleksandar Džikić, who is also struggling with the virus

(photos: hotsport.rs)

KK Partizan: Robinson (7), Ratkovica (2), Vrabac (8), Tanasković, Veličković (19), Majstorović (2), Birčević (11), Andrić (11), Pot (11), Gordon, Luković (7)

PAOK: Chrysikopoulos (2), Koniaris, Tsochlas, Margaritis (12), McFadden (26), Miljenović (2), Glyniadakis (1), Karamanolis, Sibert (16), Papadopoulos, Peniers (15), Clanton (8)

Highlights:

PAOK - KK Partizan 74:76 (Champions League, play-off)

It was so good.
Not only because we won, but also because I haven’t seen such a great atmosphere at any game. Neither at basketball, nor at football or any other.
The fans - both Greek and Serbian - were chanting BOTH teams while holding each other by the shoulder. Together. Greek and Serbian flags were waving and the sports hall echoed the chanting "PAOK PARTIZAN".

THANK YOU PAOK! See you in Belgrade! #BasketballCL
Posted by KK Partizan on Wednesday, February 8, 2017

There are photos, too, the tribune looked like this:

(photo: basketballcl.com)

(photos: Facebook/KK Partizan)

Many greetings and high five to the Greeks for being such amazing hosts. Thank you so much. It was great to see this.

This similar, friendly atmosphere was present on the court, too. The two teams had a game in the spirit of true fair play. No battles, no fights, no brutal clashes, vivisection, brutality, but tricks and dribbles. It was really a joy to wach.
Of course there was basketball, too. In the first quarter we made amazing things. We made a 10-point advantage with an easy, determinate game (10:20, 12:22). The Greek players just watched us with a slight resignation as Hatcher or Ratkovica did magic with the ball. At this point it looked like a smooth beer-game. The quarter ended with 14:22.

A basket by William Hatcher

(He made 27 points, 4 assists and 4 rebounds at this game, finishing as MVP)

(photo: basketballcl.com)

In the second quarter we slowed down a bit. Referees whistled off our actions time after time, the pace of the first quarter dropped. The Greek team started to slowly reduce the difference, from 16:24 it became 23:27. The atmosphere on the tribunes was like a fiesta.

Our 10-point advantage was back (25:35), then we jumped to 27:40. Fiesta on the tribunes, fiesta on the court, the half-time result was 32:40.

PAOK-arena from above

(photo: basketballcl.com)

For the third part our pace dropped even more. In the middle of the quarter PAOK jumped to 39:44, they were closer and closer - so close that for the end they took the lead (53:51). We equalized (53:53), but right at the end buzz they scored a 3-pointer. We were heading into the final part with 56:53.

A shy question: could we maybe find out something for this? I mean e.g. for a bit more balanced performance, to avoid this drop in the pace for the third quarter.

Time-out

(photo: basketballcl.com)

Luković equalized right at the beginning of the fourth quarter, then we took back the lead (56:58). We could keep a minimal advantage, but PAOK was still, continuously behind us, always with only 2-3 points. Fouls happened too often, Margaritis seemed to have an especially bad day, he had an offensive foul at least 3 times in a row. The last part of the game brought an very good, exciting and enjoyable game. Less than a minute was left, we were leading to 68:71, when the hall’s scoreboard decided to go on strike. The game halted, fans were singing, players were talking to each other in a very friendly manner, it was all very jovial. Finally the scoreboard came back to life, we could play the last 48 seconds. This very last part still kept some excitement, only 24 seconds were left, PAOK reduced the difference to 2 points (71:73), Ratkovica quickly made us feel safe 5 seconds before the end (71:76), the Greek team squeezed in a 3-pointer in the very last seconds (74:76). It was time to celebrate, together as well as separated.

(photos: basketballcl.com)

Return game will be on 22nd February in Belgrade.

PAOK: Chrysikopulos (8), Koniaris (3), Tsochlas (2), Margaritis (7), McFadden (20), Miljenović (5), Glyniadakis, Karamanolis, Sibert (18), Papadopulos, Peiners (7), Clanton (4)

KK Partizan: Robinson (2), Ratkovica (10), Vrabac, Marinković (10), Majstorović, Birčević (10), Koprivica (2), Andrić (8), Hatcher (27), Pot, Karahodžić (2), Luković (5)

Highlights:

AEK Athens - KK Partizan 91:81 (Champions League, round 6)

We made an ass of ourselves.
There's nothing to extenuate. AEK had an excellent training match with us. The only problem is that it was in fact a Champions League-game.
Oh well. I hope we could bring at least a few enjoyable moments to AEK.

The only funny moment was when it was still the beginning of the game and the commentator's mother tongue was English. He had troubles with all these Serbian names. But other than this there was no reason at all to be happy. AEK was leading in the first quarter. Once we could take it (8:9, Koprivica), then Hatcher tried to keep the pace (10:11), but it was gone soon. The difference was obvious already at this point. AEK played in a much more determined style, while we...
Eh. Let’s rather not talk about it. The first quarter ended with 22:14, Ratkovica missed out a chance in the very last moment.

AEK reached the 10-point difference immediately in the second quarter (24:14). There was a point when absolutely no goal was scored for two entire minutes. There were only missed-out and/or screwed-up chances. Certain players (Vrabac, Luković) were gone missing. Others, like Robinson or Koprivica broke the rest of my nerves.

It’s a historical moment. Until now I tried to avoid criticising our basketball players by name. But there are certain limits, and if they are crossed, the meltdown is inevitable. While in the meantime I can’t not think of those times when the team was still not corrupted and debauched, when Duško Vujošević was still at his place, when there were always five roaring lions on the court wearing Partizan-jerseys and tore the opponent to pieces as much that they all had to stop and think about the meaning of life. Now we have a bunch of dull, soulless "players" who would be run off even by a team of laboratory rats. Seriously... It seems this level is enough for ABA Liga, but when we are about to step to international levels, we get knocked out.

AEK was leading, sometimes with 10 points, sometimes with even more. Our performance was lvl catastrophe. The half-time result was 42:33. We could gain a few points after 40:29, but AEK scored one just 30 seconds before the end buzz. Better to be safe than sorry.

As for the third quarter, this was one mentionable moment:

It was still 60:50 for the home team two and a half minutes before the end. We could gain a bit of speed though for the last 1-2 minutes so much that we jumped to 64:62. No, we couldn’t take the lead, but it was still a big deal that Hatcher scored a 3-pointer only 4 seconds before the buzz and this way our drawback was only 2 points.
Only.
You get what I mean.
These games are good for learing to be happy with small things.

Then for the last quarter it was clear that this speedy performance by us in the last minutes of the previous part was just a momentary flash. AEK gained back its 10-point advantage (74:64) and from then on they were always 9 points ahead. We couldn’t work it out. We were at a loss even at putting ourselves together. What is more, Aleksandar Džikić got a technical foul when he yelled off the referee at 82:73. But even this didn’t do any good, nor harm. AEK did whatever they just wanted. Their players had a party, we were just watching them playing.

Highlights:

AEK Athens: Ukić (7), Sakota (19), Vasileiadis (16), Milošević (10), Dixon (15), Larentzakis (2), Falker, Ivanović (3), Mavroeidis (10), Skoulidas, Williams (9), Tsalmpouris

KK Partizan: Robinson (7), Ratkovica (10), Vrabac (2), Marinković (13), Tanasković, Birčević (12), Koprivica (5), Andrić (5), Hatcher (18), Pot, Karahodžić (3), Luković (6)

Current standing of Group E:
1. Besiktas 12 points
2. AEK 10 points
3. Ludwigsburg 10 points
4. Partizan 9 points
5. Dinamo Sassari 8 points
6. Zielona Gora 8 points
7. Proximus Spirou 8 points
8. Szolnoki Olaj 7 points

(photos: Facebook/KK Partizan)

Szolnoki Olaj - KK Partizan 55:70 (Champions League, round 4)

It was a smooth game despite we played still/again very badly and we won’t put this game on display either.
We were leading in the first quarter, the standing was 5:14 in the 5th minute. On appearance it was a self-confident leading, but in fact we weren’t in top form. Though Szolnok was struggling more. We missed out too many 3-pointers, while Szolnok players made double dribbles in critical moments. Around the end we were leading to 8:16, then it was 13:20 when there were only 44 seconds left. Finally Dávid Vojvoda scored a 3-pointer at the very end, the first quarter finished with 16:20.

Birčević was one of the best players of the game

The second quarter was the sequel (again) of the first. Rebounding 3-pointers, missed-out free throws

Koprivica, bro, sometimes I really wonder what is the purpose of your presence on the court...

fouls caused by fumbling or carelessness (I look at you now, Hatcher...), missed-out attempts. Szolnok equalized after two and a half minutes (20:20)

no wonder, after that amount of fumbling we made

Robinson scored a 3-pointer after more than a minute, we took back the lead (20:23). I have to admit though, we did a great job in rebounding. Really. Especially with defensive rebounding.
Then we couldn’t force the ball into the ring standing just two steps away from the backboard. (Szolnok did the same, too, a bit later.)
Three minutes were left, Szolnok took the lead with a 3-pointer (28:27). Aleksandar Džikić asked for time-out, then he got a technical foul for something I couldn’t see. Free throw for Szolnok (29:27). No problem, Ratkovica equalized (29:29). Birčević took back the lead from free throw (29:30) and we kept it in our hands for the rest of the game. The first half ended with 32:33, both teams played beyond criticism in the second quarter of a struggling, painful, very bad game.

The third quarted didn’t differ from the previous two. Szolnok was struggling and we didn’t demonstrate our good side either. We were leading, two minutes before the end Szolnok jumped to 43:45. They were close, right behind us (46:47), but they again made a lot of double dribbles, meanwhile we could stabilize ourselves a bit (46:51). Only 4 seconds were left, when Kinney fell on the court. The referee passed the ball to us, and Andrić scored a buzzer beater. (46:53)

A small group of Grave Diggers were there to support the team

For the last quarter the home team ran out of breath. We increased our advantage to 10 points (48:58), but we copied the "tactics" (LOL) of previous games, when we scored only one basket in every minute. (It was still enough for the victory now though.) Szolnok collapsed, our advantage was more than 10 points three and a half minutes before the end. (52:64) Nothing exciting happened for the rest of the game, we played a bit more on the loose and won. We could celebrate.

Highlights:

Szolnoki Olaj: Kinney (5), Barnies (1), Wright (9), Hajdú, Eilingsfeld (5), Wittmann (2), Vojvoda (21), Tóth, Rudner, Borisov (12), Popović

KK Partizan: Robinson (5), Ratkovica (6), Vrabac (4), Marinković (7), Tanasković, Birčević (17), Koprivica (2), Andrić (4), Hatcher (11), Pot, Karahodžić, Luković (14)

Current standing of Group E:
1. Besiktas 8 points
2. AEK 7 points
3. KK Partizan 7 points
4. Ludwigsburg 6 points
5. Sassari 6 points
6. Zielona Gora 5 points
7. Szolnoki Olaj 5 points
8. Spirou Charleroi 4 points

(photos: Facebook/KK Partizan)

KK Partizan - Zielona Gora 58:56 (Champions League, round 3)

This game was like a capital constipation. Even against Budućnost it was less strain and struggle, though even that game was like a nodus haemorrhoidalis. But this one against the Poles... I bet right now the entire team stands in line at the team doctor’s waiting room and every player gets the most brutal laxative on prescription.
Let’s see what happened.
We needed almost 3 minutes for a 3:0 standing, and even this was brought in two parts. First a field goal by Birčević, then a one-from-two free throw by Karahodžić. The Polish team equalized in the 3rd minute (3:3). At 5 and a half minutes Zielona Gora was leading to 5:9. We lost the ball in such ways that was hair-raising. It means no comfort either that Poles were not better than us at all. They struggled and fumbled the same way as we did, it’s a shame we couldn’t turn it for our advantage.
We jumped to 10:11, then we equalized (11:11) around the 7th minute. Then came a Polish 3-pointer, Veličković equalized (14:14). 50 seconds were left until the end buzz, another 3-pointer by Zielona. Robinson equalized, the first quarter finished with 17:17.

Hatcher in a Polish sandwich

The second quarter was a bit more exciting. Zielona Gora was leading again (19:22), but then we quickly took the lead and even kept it unti the half-time. We played with self-confidence, Average Fan naively thought it could still turn out as a great match after that struggle in the beginning. In the 7th minute we were leading to 33:25, and then the Polish team started to come up, step by step. It was all unnoticed, they scored one basket in each minute. No joke. One minute, one basket. And we scored NONE, unbelievable. The half-time was 35:32, it was high time for a break.

Not sure if Birčević is about to cock a snook at the referee or is trying to convince him that he didn’t drink 10 beers before the game

The third quarter was a nighmare.
We scored 6 points. SIX POINTS. Not more, not less.
Six points.
Our first score came after two and a half minutes (37:32, Veličković). A minute later Ratkovica scored the next (39:32). The head coach of Zielona Gora got fed up and asked for time-out. All right. We walked back to the court. The Poles scored their first basket after four and a half minutes in the second half, just the problem is that they could still score more than we did. They equalized in the 6th minute (39:39). Marinković scored our 6th point (41:39) and then we called it a day. At least for this quarter. During the remaining 4 minutes Poles came up to 41:45, because we missed out a terrible amount of chances, and lost the ball just too often (offering free steal or turnover to the guests).

Vanja Marinković’s facial expression mirrors the entire game

The fourth quarter brought no good either. Both teams struggled, with a LOT OF missed-out attempts on both sides, especially 3-pointers.

Duško Vujošević would have torn the whole team’s head off at this point and kicked out everyone from Pionir Hall, one after the other. (I don’t care that it’s officially not Pionir Hall anymore, for me it will always and forever stay as Pionir Hall.)

We jumped to 44:45, then Birčević was especially alert, stole a wandering ball, ran up, scored and took the lead (46:45).

By the way, we were excellent in blocking. If basketball had been played for blocks, we would be champions, for sure.

In the 6th minute we equalized (48:48), but Poles again took the lead and it all looked especially sad. Barely 2 minutes were left, they were leading to 50:54, but then entered Novica Veličković and equalized (54:54).

He was the only one tonight whose performance is worth to mention

What is more, Ratkovica took back the lead from free throw (56:54).
Less than 30 seconds were left, Zielona Gora equalized (56:56). Partizan attacks. 11 seconds are left. Novica Veličković scores (58:56). One very last attack by Zielona Gora. Only one second is left... and Florence slips out through the sideline in the critical moment, when he was just about to throw the ball. The referee whistles it off. We get the ball, and the game is over.
Over and out.
PS: Does anyone know why Andrić didn’t play even a minute?

We won, but we have nothing to be proud of

Highlights:

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KK Partizan: Robinson (6), Ratkovica (7), Vrabac (2), Marinković (7), Veličković (15), Majstorović (4), Birčević (7), Koprivica, Andrić, Hatcher (6), Karahodžić (1), Luković (3)

Zielona Gora: Florence (16), Vaughn, Moore (4), Zajcev (6), Der, Majchrzak, Kelati (3), Gruszecki (8), Hrycaniuk (2), Zamojski (3), Đurišić (6), Koszarek (8)

Group E standings:
1. Besiktas 6 points
2. AEK 5 points
3. Partizan 5 points
4. Zielona Gora 4 points
5. Dinamo Sassari 3 points
6. Szolnoki Olaj 3 points
7. Ludwigsburg 2 points
8. Proximus Spirou 2 points

(photos: Facebook/KK Partizan)

Besiktas - KK Partizan 77:62 (Basketball Champions League, round 2)

This was painful :(
We didn’t have such a bad start though. In the beginning we kept the pace with Besiktas, we even took the lead (7:8). Turks took it back, but we were always behind them with one step (16:13, 19:16). The quarter ended with 25:16, though at this point it seemed nothing is lost yet.

In the second quarter Turks reached the 10-point difference (26:16). They couldn’t be too proud of themselves, because they missed out a lot of chances. So did we... that was the problem.

Besiktas missed out chances, thanks to Luković and his XXL blocks

We jumped to 30:25 with Robinson’s baskets, but we seemed to run out of breath even at this point. It was a tough quarter, we made many mistakes and even though Besiktas was not on top either, it brought us no comfort. (Small malicious grin: Partizan-players surrounded Štimac and brought him a few moments CZ’s ex-player surely doesn’t want to remember.) The first half ended with 35:31, Hatcher scored at the end.

In the third quarter Besiktas brought back their 10-point advantage (55:45). Something just didn’t work. No breath. We slowly collapsed. That’s the truth... The quarter ended with 60:45.
In the last part Besiktas practically did whatever they just wanted. At the end they were leading with 23 points... From this point on all that was left for us was to die with dignity.
That was all. 77:62.

Besiktas: Güler (3), Clark (8), Edge (3), Karli, Štimac (12), Thompson (14), Roll (16), Sanli (4), Strawberry (10), Sipahi, Weems (7), Karaman

KK Partizan: Robinson (5), Ratkovica (9), Vrabac (9), Marinković (2), Majstorović, Birčević (15), Koprivica (1), Andrić, Hatcher (13), Pot, Karahodžić (4), Luković (4)

Current standing of Group E:
1. AEK 4 points
2. Besiktas 4 points
3. Dinamo Sassari 3 points
4. Stelmet Zielona Gora 3 points
5. KK Partizan 3 points
6. Szolnoki Olaj 3 points
7. Ludwigsburg 2 points
8. Proximus Spirou 2 points

(photos: Facebook/KK Partizan)

VK Partizan - Pro Recco 7:18 (Champions League, Round 9)

Mea culpa: I was fully convinced that the game against Galatasaray was the last one in the Champions League and we have only the Serbian domestic league to focus on. Well, that’s what they call epic fail.
This one was really the last one though.
On this video you can watch the introducing of both teams. You can see what a great applause the former Partizan-players, Dušan Mandić and Filip Filipović receive.

Pro Recco kept the game under control from the face-off. (Duško Pijetlović told after the match, he had expected a bit more resistance from the home team.) The Italian team was in a fantastic shape, they have already qualified to the Final 6, they have good chances to win the title, and this difference was visible on both teams.
Pro Recco immediately took the lead. Jakšić equalized (1:1).
Then nobody knows what happened. Maybe it’s better not to know what happened. Nevertheless the first half ended with 2:8. The Italians were scoring, one after the other, we could earn only one at the very end of the half, by Lukas Gilen.

In the third quarter Pro Recco quickly scored two more (2:10). Gilen threw one more for us (3:10) from power play. We could score a 4th goal as well, yet the guests were leading to 4:12 for the end of the third part. It was one hell of a struggle and there was one more quarter left.

In the fourth quarter we scored three goals, Pro Recco had 6. I think it was high time to end this match as well as this ordeal in Champions League this season.

Gilen and Jakšić scored 2-2 goals, the others (Subotić, Drašović, Asanović) earned 1-1.

A message to Dušan Mandić & co.: after all these please, be kind enough to smash everyone in the F6 down and bring home the silverware. Thanks.

End result of Group B (this time it's really the end result):
1. Pro Recco 22 points
2. Szolnok 21 points
3. Dubrovnik 19 points
4. OSC 9 points
5. Partizan 7 points
6. Galatasaray 1 point

Galatasaray - VK Partizan 9:9 (Champions League, Round 8)

Question of the day: how on Earth is it possible to screw up a match so much that the half-time 3:7 turns into a buzzer beater draw at the end?
You get what I mean.
Galatasaray is at the last place of the group. So far they had zero (0) point. They earned their one and only point at the last game, that happened to be against us.
The official match report doesn’t tell many details, and there isn’t any other available. At first Galatasaray took the lead, then we quickly scored four goals (first one by Asanović, then Subotić threw two, Tigkas also earned one). Turks could get one more at the end of the quarter, ending it with 2:4.
In the second quarter Galatasaray scored one more goal, tighting the standing to 3:4, we urgently had to do something. Gogov quickly threw two goals (3:6), Subotić scored from penalty, the first half ended with 3:7. At this point it all looked swell.
Well, at this point.
No one knows what could happen in the half-time break. Nevertheless Turks overran us. They scored four (!!!) goals, while we could earn only one (by Nemanja Vico). For the end of the third quarter our advantage was only one goal (7:8).

Where were you, Miloš Obilić?...

The last quarter could be a nightmare. Turks equalized (8:8), then 40 (!!!) seconds before the end they took the lead from power play. (9:8)
Only 17 seconds were left from the game. We attacked. That was probably our last chance.
And we took it.
Draško Gogov scored and this way we could save a point. (9:9)
With this game the Champions League-series ended for VK Partizan. We finished it on the 5th place of Group B with 7 points. From now on we have to focus on the Serbian domestic league, which starts for us this Saturday against Banjica, right with the quarter-final.

OSC - VK Partizan 10:8 (Champions League, Round 7)

Not funny at all, believe me.
Even if this time the commentator was a relatively normal one

at least concerning water polo and regular pronunciation of Serbian names
okay, he constantly said "Vičo" instead of Vico, but at least he pronounced "Rističević" and "Subotić" correctly
yes, I’m a grammar nazi, so what?

named István Hajdú B. And even if one could hear the enthusiastic chanting and shouting of 3 (three) Grave Diggers from Nyéki Imre Pool through the TV and the constant murmuring of the commentator.

Greetings and respect to these three Partizan-fans. They were so great that even the commentator talked about them with appreciation.

 Rističević before the game

I have mostly screenshots, because all Hungarian media are a bunch of garbage, mentioning this game only "in brief"-style. The only exception was Nemzeti Sport Online.

The beginning was like a dream. Rističević had great saves, Gogov scored our first goal in the 3rd minute (0:1), approx. a minute later Partizan got a penalty. Subotić shot and scored (0:2).
Here came OSC’s first goal (1:2). Subotić scored another goal in the 5th minute (1:3). We dominated, everything looked fantastic.
OSC just had to get a penalty 6 seconds before the buzz.
The first quarter ended with 2:3.
Then came the second quarter and Drašović’s goal in the 4th minute (2:4). Afterwards OSC took advantage of a power play (3:4).
Then they equalized (4:4) even though Rističević had such saves that even the Hungarian commentator was amazed. While we were struggling. If it was not the goalpost or the crossbar we hit, then the goalkeeper saved our attempts. 4:4 was the half-time result, but at this point it already looked less and less happy.

Lukas Gilen

In the third quarter OSC took the lead in the beginning (5:4). We equalized from a penalty (5:5, Subotić), but the home team took the lead back soon (6:5). No problem, now Gilen scored the equalizing goal (6:6). But OSC just didn’t want to stop (7:6).
8:6.
Vladimir Vujasinović asked for time-out and it could be heard through the TV that he yells off everyone separately as well as the entire team.
I’m sure he was totally right.

Players wilting down

It didn’t use much. OSC dominated more and more, we made mistakes that was painful to see, and the cold shower was the home team scoring their 9th goal only 1 (one!!!) second before the buzz.
The last quarter was about hitting the goalposts and the crossbar. Really. I don’t know why it is so that we kill the wooden goal pieces. If water polo was played for goalpost/crossbar-hitting instead of goals, we would have won this game with flying marks.
Instead we had a penalty (9:7, Subotić) and Jakšić’s great goal at the end (9:8).
And the coup de grace just before the end buzz. 10:8

(photo: nemzetisport.hu)

Current standing of Group B:
1. Pro Recco 16 points
2. Dubrovnik 16 points
3. Szolnok 15 points
4. OSC 9 points
5. Partizan 6 points
6. Galatasaray 0 point

VK Partizan - Jug Dubrovnik 6:10 (Champions League, Round 6)

I have to confess it to you all, I was watching this game on a Croatian stream. The Serbian broadcaster RTS 2 was blocked at everywhere.

I swear those guys at the state-owned TV make some kind of sport of it that whenever they broadcast an important game, all stream sites show up only error messages.

There was one advantage of this situation though. Croatians broadcasted on ArenaSport 1 in HD-quality, so I could make some really good screenshots during the match.

Introducing the teams

Vladimir Vujasinović

Last discussion and captain Rističević’s encouraging words before kick-off

But the sad reality was that Croatians scored their first goal after 25 seconds (0:1). We missed out two attempts, at one we literally hit the head of a Croatian defender instead of the goal.

Partizan-attack some time in the first quarter

Croatians quickly scored their second goal from penalty (0:2). Our attempts were either saved by the goalkeeper or blocked by defenders. We tried, we attacked, but God knows what Croatians chewed before the game, chips soaked into plutonium or something, they ground us.

Lukas Gilen

Jug soon scored their 3rd goal. The end of the quarter was approaching when we could make our first score by Dimitris Tigkas.

And that was the end of the first quarter (1:3).
In the second quarter (though it was visible even at the end of the first one) our defense line got a bit stronger. We defended more aggressively, we bravely got into one-to-one fights with Croatians, while Rističević made fantastic saves.
Just the problem was that Jug scored their fourth goal, from power play.
We didn’t have to wait long for Partizan’s answer. Tanasković came, saw and threw. 2:4

Croatians immediately, instantly scored another (2:5). It was awful. They were strong, they had great rutin, while Partizan consisted of a lot of very young players.

Meanwhile it was rather depressing to listen to the Croatian commentator’s whoops of joy.

We missed out our chances, all our attempts were blocked. Vladimir Vujasinović asked for time-out...

...but even that didn’t help much. There were only 10 seconds left from the first half, when Croatians scored another goal. 2:6, it was high time for a longer pause.

It wasn’t a cool game, nor was it an exciting game. Nothing special happened, only grinding, struggling, and heavy battles without any spectacular movement.

Mateja Asanović and Dimitris Tigkas in the half-time

Jug started the second half, hitting the goalpost heavily with a shot. After that Stojanović scored our 3rd goal (3:6)

The ball is resting in the corner of the net...

...Stojanović calmly acknowledges it

Here came a short period when nothing happened, then Croatians scored one more goal. The standing was 3:7, it started to get more and more bitter. Partizan-players were fighting hard, but Croatians were just too strong.

One of them is trying to suffocate Nemanja Vico into the pool

Another time-out

Dimitrije Rističević some time during the third quarter

Draško Gogov is trying with a shot at the end of the quarter, but the goalkeeper saved it - so did he with all our other attempts

That’s all about the third quarter.
In the last one first Asanović shot, the goalkeeper saved. We got the ball back, first we shot it right into the goalkeeper from 10 centimetres, maybe. The ball dropped out, we got a corner shot, and this time we made it. Gilen scored, 4:7
The struggling and fighting continued. Subotić got two Croatians on himself as an extra weight, he still shot, the goalkeeper saved. Well, this one he could save. Because the next one left him helpless, Subotić shot and scored, our drawback was only 2 goals (5:7)
Dubrovnik attacks. Great upheaval in our goalmouth, referees whistle, they are convinced that Jakšić made a foul. Croatians get a penalty shot again.

Jakšić can’t believe his ears

Whistle, the Croatian player shoots... and Rističević saves! We swim up, we attack, but the Croatians steal the ball, counter-attack... and they score. 5:8, damn it.
At this point the stream collapsed and stayed in the state of apparent death for a while. When it was willing to work again, only a few seconds were left from the game and Croatians were leading to 5:10. But Subotić scored one last goal only 2 minutes before the end. That was the end result, a very brave, never backing down Partizan against a (compared to us) too strong Dubrovnik.

League table will be brought later.