KK Partizan - Levski Sofia 94:66 (Adriatic League)

That's how the match started.
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)

 

Levski Sofia - KK Partizan 66:98 (Adriatic League)

At first it rather looks like a finger-work than an actual match. More than 30 points difference, at an away match. Best dream of all fans.
In the beginning it was really smooth-looking. We were leading to 2:10, then the Bulgarian team reduced it to 9:10. They even equalized to 11:11. Partizan players watched Bulgarian actions with a compassionate smile for a while, then made it to 11:15, thanks to Edo Murić.

Message to those two assholes with bed-sheet sized black-white-blue flags waving them right in front of the camera, perfectly covering the paint for the whole first quarter: I hope rheumatism will get your flag-holding arms.

In the meantime Gagić powered up the Parni valjak and we got again on the lead to 14:21.
End of the first quarter. (Commercial) break. When we were back to the sports hall in Sofia, this image shocked Average Fan (and probably many others):

Hundreds of raging Bulgarian fans attacked Partizan fans and players (!!!). Levski players, may God bless them in their entire life, saved our boys by making a wall of themselves between Partizan players and their very own fans running amok. They tried to help even Partizan fans.

I would especially like to point to that thin, bald little Gollum that appears at 2:03 lurking behind the person with bleeding head. This disgusting little worm kicks into the injured person from behind, who just lays on the floor. I wish you from the deepest of my heart, you little rat to be kicked the same way, just by at least 10 heavyweight wrestlers who then push your balls up to your throat, so you can wear them as bow tie.

Players then got back to the locker room, question was if the match could continue. Finally the referees and ABA League officials decidec to go on, but without audience.
From this point on it was rather like a training match. The standing switched almost immediately to 20:30, then Bogdanović threw a 3-pointer (20:33). Murić made a fantastic slam dunk (24:35). 30:37 was the closest standing of the quarter, then Mačvan and Milutinov quickly corrected it to have double digits (30:40) before half time.
In the third quarter Levski picked themselves together and slowly but surely reduced the difference to 41:47. What is more, they made it even to 47:51. After Andrić’s amazing 3-pointer it was 47:54, then Tepić also adjusted a bit (49:56). From then on we were unstoppable. Milutinović said 'hi' (49:61), Tepić got the grip (49:63), Mačvan scored a 3-pointer (51:66), then Gagić fixed the result before the end of the quarter (63:68).
The final one was for the show. Milutinović was shining (55:71, then immediately 55:73).

Mačvan also didn’t want to miss a moment (55:75, 55:77), raising the difference to 20 points. Bulgarians slowly fell into pieces, while Tepić sent a marvellous 3-pointer with love not just to Levski’s ring, but also to all those who had any doubts about him (57:84). In the next moment the Tepić-Gagić axis made such an alley-oop figure that Average Fan’s eyes got wet.

Then 57:88.
Then 57:90.
Then 60:90 (eventually Bulgarians found their breath for a short while). Milutinov scored (60:62), as well as Šalić, rebounding after Dallo (63:94, 66:96). And finally Bezbradica returned, in style, putting the dot to the letter i (66:98).