KK Partizan - Krasny Oktyabr Volgograd 84:70 (Eurocup)

It was obvious we couldn't qualify for the next round of Eurocup, therefore we had absolutely no pressure on us and as an outcome we beat the Russians like hailstorm does the crops. Five wild Volgograd-players ran out to the ground ready to eat us up, and at the end of the match five sad, philosophic Russians walked to the tunnel towards the locker-room.
In the beginning it didn't seem to be this smooth. The Russian top gun Ponkrashov immediately threw a 3-pointer. Mačvan replied instantly (2:3). Russians threw another basket, Tepić did so from our side with an easy movement (4:5). Then Mačvan, who, by the way, played the troll tonight, took us on the lead teamworking with Tepić (6:5). Volgograd entered Ponkrashov again (6:7), from our side arrived the one and only Gagi Kapiten (8:7).

Marinković vs. Ponkrashov

At 8:9 Mačvan got a rebound and switched the counter again for our benefit (10:9). At this point the team got fed up with this seesaw and gave full throttle. Saša Pavlović arrived, who is definitely Partizan’s two-legged nuclear reaktor and the standing jumped to 12:9. Mačvan got another rebound (14:9), then again Pavlović (16:9) and Dallo also helped to stabilize our advantage (16:14). The end of the quarter was 23:16.
In the second quarter the standing was modified from 28:20 to 27:20, referees were on the viewpoint that Andrić was standing inside the 3-pointer area when throwing a basket. (I disagreed. Pity I’m not a basketball referee.) Then the Russians equalized making a 7-point series. They even wanted to take the lead (28:30), but Tepić caught a rebound by Marinković and equalized. And so it was going. Volgograd was on the lead with 2-3 points and we always equalized. At 36:36 Milutinov got a bonus shot and scored, of course (37:36). The half time was 41:42.
But then came the third part when we heated up the Parni valjak and there was no return anymore. The standing was 45:42, when Milosavljević himself had a 9:2 series out of three 3-pointers, with the ecstatic chanting of fans "Jedan je Gagi kapiten".

We got into an upward spiral, the difference was more than 10 points for us (65:53) after Milutinov’s free throw. At the end of the quarter Andrić and Victor had a wrestling fight, it brought a free throw for Volgograd (66:56), but our advantage was still two-digit.
In the final we just ran through the Russian team led by Pavlović and Mačvan.

Bezbradica played well, too

We even had a 20-point advantage (80:60), the only thing was that we took the end a bit too easy, the Volgograd team made a 5-point series at 84:65, that made the final result.

A famous and beloved guest on the tribune: former Partizan-player Saša Đordević, who is currently the trainer of the Serbian national basketball team

Slightly offtopic, but still basketball-related news that after the upsets of the last Adriatic League match Telekom Srbija, that is one of the team’s sponsors, threaten KK Partizan to quit if Duško Vujošević stays in position. Partizan’s head coach laughed them off, but Grave Diggers were not really in a funny mood. Hundreds of Partizan fans burned or tore their mt:s SIM-card and flooded the net with memes.

(photo: Facebook)

If there’s any further news, I’ll post it immediately.

(unsigned photos: Facebook/KK Partizan)

Volgograd - KK Partizan 61:59 (Eurocup)

Another match, when we didn’t deserve at all to lose. The team was fighting heroically until the end, didn’t give up, hung in there, but finally we were defeated.
Everything was going fine in the first quarter. We were on the lead to 2:6, then to 4:8. Murić crowned it all (4:10). But referees didn’t find their peace until the home team equalized. Volgograd earned an amazing amount of free throws, the counter switched to 12:10 from 4:10. Finally Milutinov scored 18 seconds before the end buzz, that resulted 15:12 after the first period.
At the very beginning of the second one the referees fouled Andrić, for sure out of pure love. Andrić thanked it with a score (15:14) obviously this one was full of pure love as well. The team was fighting hard, Murić threw a basket (20:16). Then Aranitović got a technical foul, then at 24:16 the new king of 3-pointers, Mihajlo Andrić made it (24:19). Milutinov had a fantastic score, just before the buzz. The home team made a six-point series, Murić made one from free throw. The half time result was 32:25.
The difference was only 6 points in the third quarter (36:30, after Murić’s bonus shot), then the mountain troll-sized, strict-looking Travis scored, standing under the backboard all alone. It was followed by a fantastic Milutinov-Tepić teamwork (38:32), then Gagić reduced the difference at 43:32. And the difference was reduced again. And again. 45:36 (Milutinov), 45:38 (Gagić), 45:41 (Tepić, phenomenal 3-pointer). We headed to the last quarter with 47:41.
Well, during the last quarter Average Fan’s nerves were torn to pieces. The home team made it to 52:41, their advantage was more than 10 points. Tepić disagreed (52:43). So did Milutinov (52:46). Just like Gagić (52:48). The disagreement was so strong that even Murić joined (52:50). Finally Bogdanović dusted himself off and made the Russians absolutely sure they are faced by a real movement. We equalized. 52:52. The problem was that Volgograd operated with 8 players on the ground. You know what I mean. 5 players + 3 referees. After a long period of wrestling they pressured a basket out of themselves (54:52). Andrić answered with an easy and cool 3-pointer (54:55). There came the referees and a row of free throws for Volgograd. The home team suddenly found themselves on the lead with 4 points (59:55). Andrić scored two points, guess how, from free throw (59:57), the last basket was scored by Tepić (61:59).

This anti-Tepić campaign that has been frothing in the Serbian media since the final whistle of the match is more than disgusting. Especially that the guard scored 10 points during the game. Raise your hand if you never ever screwed things up in the critical moment. Also, I wish everyone who wrote those bullying lines while sitting at the monitor, scratching their ass to live without a dinar for months, working only for the love of the company while all public works kick off the door and burst in for not paying the bills

Volgograd: Zamanszkij, Komisszarov (4), Zavorujev (8), Victor (7), Travis (10), Korsakov, Liggins, Ponkrasov (12), King (1), Culpepper (13), Liholitov, Cousin (6)
KK Partizan: Tepić (10), Aranitović (1), Kouzeloglu, Murić (12), Marinković, Milutinov (13), Gagić (10), Andrić (10), Milutinović, Glišić, Bogdanović (2), Šalić

As soon as there's any video or photo, I'll update.

Coming up: TODAY!!! Volgograd - KK Partizan (Eurocup) and VK Partizan - Jadran ST (Triglav League) + tomorrow: Besiktas - FK Partizan (Europa League)

Today at 17:00 starts the basketball team against Russian team Volgograd.
- It will be a very tough match, we must do our best - said Milutinov.
Duško Vujošević explained in the meantime that the schedules of Adriatic League and Eurocup do not match each other and sometimes it means serious difficulties to balance the two.

I can totally relate to that.

Beside this the team's self-esteem and combative spirit reached a low level, due to all the losses in the past weeks. Plus Mačvan is still not healthy.
- We are in a very difficult situation, but I hope the saying "darkest before dawn" will be proven true - said the trainer.

At 20:00 the water polo team welcomes Jadran ST at the Banjica swimming pool. After the 5th round the team is 6th on the league table, while the opponent is the 7th.

The basketball team’s match will be broadcasted live today by ArenaSport 1. Around the water polo team there is big silence, if I get to know anything about a possible broadcast, I’ll update the post.

The football team departed to Istanbul today to take revenge on Besiktas for the defeat of last time. They clash tomorrow at 19:00.
- It is a great chance to match our strength against a serious opponent - said Marko Nikolić - In Belgrade we could see the dominance of Besiktas. Now we meet again and I hope we could gain some good experiences. This time we are the "underdog", yet I hope we will play a better game than last time.

The football match will be broadcasted live by RTS 2.

Until then, here is a video about the boys arriving at Nikola Tesla airport.