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:

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