The big man shined against his former club to help the Lithuanian side eke out a gratifying home win
Zalgiris prodigy Alen Smailagic came back to haunt inconsistent Partizan
Άρθρο
3 Χρόνος Ανάγνωσης
Regular Season
Round 33 of 34
Group Regular Season
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Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade failed to keep alive its hopes of reaching the postseason after Alen Smailagic put his former club to the sword with an inspired performance that helped Zalgiris Kaunas to a 70-66 home win over the Serbian outfit in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.
Having already lost any chance of making the Play-In Showdown, Zalgiris gave its fans a fitting farewell in its last home game of the season, but more importantly, the hosts ended Partizan’s bid to earn a stay of execution.
Written off at the end of last term much like the rest of the roster after Partizan missed out on the play-in games, Smailagic came back with a vengeance and tormented the Serbian team with a rock solid performance.
The big man, who donned Partizan’s jersey for three years before moving to Zalgiris last summer, finished on 14 points and 4 boards, shooting 5 of 6 from the floor and 3 of 4 from the line while also putting in an impressive defensive shift.
The 24-year-old revealed that his heart was still very much in Belgrade but made it clear in no uncertain terms where his loyalty was after his monumental all-round effort lifted Zalgiris.
“I feel bad about it, but I play for my team and for the colors I wear now,” Smailagic said in his postgame comments. “I love Partizan and even if they had won it would have been a win-win situation for me, but we won so we’re going home to relax and prepare for the next EuroLeague game. We were down by 5 at halftime, but we stayed together, kept our concentration and came out on top.”
The victory was just as bittersweet for Zalgiris head coach Andrea Trinchieri, who coached Partizan 2018-2020, winning two Serbian Cups with the team before he made way for the club’s incumbent coach Zeljko Obradovic, the winner of a record nine EuroLeague titles. In fact, this was Trinchieri's first head-to-head win over Obradovic after eight consecutive defeats.
The Italian tactician offered some interesting analogies to describe his dismay with a disjointed first half from Zalgiris, which trailed 35-40 at the interval before stifling Partizan out with physical second-half defense.
Partizan still looked the more likely winner when it nosed ahead 59-62 in the fourth quarter but the visitors went ice cold from the floor in the home stretch as Zalgiris closed shop, while Sylvain Francisco and Smailagic did the damage at the other end.
“The first half was like a hot dog without mustard but we were good in the second,” Trinchieri said. “We played without the right intensity in the first half against a good team and it was a must-win game for them. It’s like you miss one penny to be a millionaire on every play and in the second half we found that penny. The thing that I liked the most was that despite struggling on offense, we never gave up on defense.”
Francisco, who paced Zalgiris on 15 points despite shooting 1 of 9 from downtown, added: “We managed to make a lot of stops in the second half. We put more pressure on Carlik Jones to wear him down, he had a good game as he finished on 23 points and 16 of them in the first half. The collective effort on defense in the second was crucial though.”
Game Videos
- 02:30
![https://dve-images.imggaming.com/original/p/2025/04/03/xfHjw4e3ivbQ5DcgKiDHjNcUgvWxxMBy-1743709548826.jpg]()
Sylvain Francisco: 'I just can't wait for next season'
![https://media-cdn.cortextech.io/2f100722-49f2-4f8a-91a6-6ee309d18b44.jpg]()
Zalgiris Kaunas-Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade | RS Round 33 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:16
![https://media-cdn.cortextech.io/c599f37b-7bc4-4bbf-9bfa-9be2501df55f.jpg?crop=1248%3A702%3Anowe%3A51%3A52]()
Jones with a spectacular move! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:10
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/c8ac5385-06a8-495c-970b-b69c2c187ada.jpg?crop=1080%3A608%3Anowe%3A94%3A121]()
Pokusevski with a sublime alley oop! Motorola Magic Moment
![https://img.youtube.com/vi/stpSs3dioYo/maxresdefault.jpg]()
EuroLeague & Friends: Hayes-Davis's role as a star player, TJ Shorts vs. Kendrick Nunn...
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The Fantasy Challenge Podcast presents: The Barcelona dilemma
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FC Bayern Munich-Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade | RS Round 32 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne-Zalgiris Kaunas | RS Round 32 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:26
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/3aabb40b-f1f2-4ba4-8690-79ad7925d9e3.jpg?crop=1080%3A608%3Anowe%3A100%3A67]()
Tyrique Jones with a hoodie dunk! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:09
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/1f3d67a8-c6c6-404c-a8d6-61dfa8967fdb.jpg?crop=1080%3A608%3Anowe%3A118%3A31]()
The Jones duo does it again! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:14
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/0b7754d2-35c6-49ca-93f2-ccd0882bc2a3.jpg?crop=1080%3A607%3Anowe%3A141%3A61]()
Smailagic throws it down in traffic! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:13
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/4570c537-a9cc-49b6-8027-ebb6ec8bf5e3.jpg?crop=769%3A433%3Anowe%3A83%3A62]()
Birutis hammers home the alley-oop! Motorola Magic Moment
- 01:25
![https://dve-images.imggaming.com/original/p/2025/03/25/6VdKEX0Jlij632qIVRRLlNGnMuKpPCEs-1742943339484.jpg]()
Carlik Jones: 'It's been a tough three games for us'
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/fc094d7c-287c-442a-97e9-52ec4317f26c.jpg]()
Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade-ALBA Berlin | RS Round 31 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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AS Monaco-Zalgiris Kaunas | RS Round 31 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:15
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/4f5dffc2-0d00-4116-9ea5-760ebab631a9.jpg?crop=1080%3A608%3Anowe%3A151%3A9]()
Davies charges away and dunks! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:14
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/434be5f2-482f-4257-89d2-1651d853a1f3.jpg?crop=1080%3A608%3Anowe%3A171%3A58]()
Tyrique Jones with a big dunk! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:09
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/b5ff2a7f-829e-4198-b311-cfcb072e6474.jpg?crop=1080%3A608%3Anowe%3A219%3A26]()
Wong finds Smailagic for the slam! Motorola Magic Moment
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/6d9f03b5-c304-4262-8080-8963e7998c99.jpg?crop=2408%3A1354%3Anowe%3A0%3A482]()
On This Day: When Dusan Kecman hit 7 threes in Game 1 of the playoffs
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/1e29304b-abd7-4650-85b0-12746ef3a04f.jpg]()
Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade-Anadolu Efes Istanbul | RS Round 30 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/bbefab8e-64cb-4194-aeda-27e69478c7c2.jpg]()
FC Barcelona-Zalgiris Kaunas | RS Round 30 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:11
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/d200e3f1-d88e-4c1b-a32a-d39adb1a2a4e.jpg?crop=1080%3A607%3Anowe%3A126%3A24]()
A vicious windmill dunk by Jones! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:15
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/919dabec-43fd-4117-8994-bc871581841f.jpg?crop=946%3A532%3Anowe%3A238%3A122]()
Dunston’s dunk! Motorola Magic Moment
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/da330e08-bef3-44cf-a806-54f1d2366fef.jpg]()
FC Barcelona-Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade | RS Round 29 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:33
![https://dve-images.imggaming.com/original/p/2025/03/13/aY6ZuSHQ1ckQI5JESBa6iX64VHfSkg5D-1741901436853.jpg]()
Francisco for the win! Motorola Magic Moment of the Night
- 01:59
![https://dve-images.imggaming.com/original/p/2025/03/13/wQHQCvSu3j71zNl41U5hGuEcrx6FXY2N-1741899200577.jpg]()
Sylvain Francisco: 'I knew I was gonna make it!'
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/005ea570-3a38-4dbf-8483-c9324e93d388.jpg]()
Zalgiris Kaunas-Paris Basketball | RS Round 29 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:07
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/26d5ed84-1017-4af1-9286-62a4b412dd3c.jpg?crop=1080%3A607%3Anowe%3A150%3A105]()
What a block by Isaiah Wong! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:14
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/4570c537-a9cc-49b6-8027-ebb6ec8bf5e3.jpg?crop=1080%3A608%3Anowe%3A65%3A38]()
Butkevicius and Birutis shine for Zalgiris! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:14
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/1af7ff40-20d9-4957-a4a5-ce0f77ca429b.jpg?crop=1080%3A607%3Anowe%3A128%3A31]()
Smailagic denies at the rim! Motorola Magic Moment
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/4231fb9f-dd15-43c5-b147-efc54e77da08.jpg]()
Olympiacos Piraeus-Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade | RS Round 28 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:24
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/f588be09-1100-4e04-b856-d4d7e396925b.jpg?crop=1080%3A607%3Anowe%3A33%3A29]()
Pokusevski with a big dunk! Motorola Magic Moment
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/e0fa80ee-8cb7-4406-9226-a53e66774730.jpg]()
Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz-Zalgiris Kaunas | RS Round 28 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 01:33
![https://dve-images.imggaming.com/original/p/2025/03/01/eIjaH2JWsYDkInPSg56AZbPhxhigF7z2-1740787851389.jpg]()
Carlik Jones: 'The team trusts me, the coaches trust me, the fans trust me...'
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/08e757ad-6be1-4fae-9f0f-76231fca9cb9.jpg]()
Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade-Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz | RS Round 27 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:10
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/a352a734-e395-449f-a879-f06f8d074c65.jpg?crop=1308%3A735%3Anowe%3A21%3A41]()
Mike gets airborne! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:10
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/cd2d17a3-af2f-4b62-9a57-bcb465abd7c9.jpg?crop=1080%3A607%3Anowe%3A97%3A71]()
Tyrique Jones on the alley-oop! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:29
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/789a5a3c-286a-4bb5-901f-e9479034af64.jpg?crop=1080%3A607%3Anowe%3A88%3A49]()
Pokusevski rocks the rim! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:59
![https://dve-images.imggaming.com/original/p/2025/02/27/BB5Pmh1HLORXCyHVCm6XXUn8OcMxhxMw-1740694559595.jpg]()
Alain Smailagic: 'We did everything that needed to be done to win'
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/3c5e7350-5e5b-4f28-952d-efcc090d35de.jpg]()
Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade-Zalgiris Kaunas | RS Round 27 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:34
![https://dve-images.imggaming.com/original/p/2025/02/07/bsccm3aUO3BAcOoakMtxiDN7YlK5bSes-1738972445915.jpg]()
Tyrique Jones: 'The black-and-white always travel'
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/1f15c08a-4477-47ad-9d1b-421ce982eda4.jpg]()
AS Monaco-Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade | RS Round 26 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:08
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/37475ece-209c-4c32-b15d-9aec406fdc76.jpg?crop=1281%3A721%3Anowe%3A17%3A59]()
Tyrique Jones bends the iron! Motorola Magic Moment
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/3470684f-50fe-4d66-bbbf-dd11119c7cdc.jpg]()
Zalgiris Kaunas-EA7 Emporio Armani Milan | RS Round 26 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:24
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/6b5c252c-9786-4617-9a18-c7bb7788b3fe.jpg?crop=1080%3A607%3Anowe%3A86%3A48]()
Walker’s circus bucket! Motorola Magic Moment
- 01:30
![https://dve-images.imggaming.com/original/p/2025/02/05/H0IEKyHLLwcizwFy3ScPDx4sxWM7d2vW-1738798387699.jpg]()
Sterling Brown: 'Arijan Lakic was huge for us tonight'
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/7376d075-ce19-40d4-93f2-3dec593c5e75.jpg]()
Virtus Segafredo Bologna-Partizan Meridianbet Belgrade | RS Round 25 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:22
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/014afc85-6d0a-4e18-893e-feb80f8a62cb.jpg?crop=1080%3A608%3Anowe%3A120%3A32]()
Brown dunks on the break! Motorola Magic Moment
- 01:42
![https://dve-images.imggaming.com/original/p/2025/02/04/zqdcXhxP94bn1s1NrWKgzKmZLx8JaYOb-1738702991317.jpg]()
Bryant Dunston: 'Our defense has to be what we hold our hat on'
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/37195cde-0beb-4439-a38c-3b16904a0455.jpg]()
Zalgiris Kaunas-ALBA Berlin | RS Round 25 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
Obradovic tried to put on a brave face after a tough loss, which made Partizan’s final regular season game at home to Real Madrid next week competitively meaningless for the Serbian team. However, Obradovic admitted that he had expected more from his team, which paid the price for a dreadful start and an equally poor finish to this term’s campaign.
Having opened its account with a 2-8 start, Partizan recovered superbly and appeared to be cruising into the postseason after a 13-4 streak lifted the club into eighth place on a 15-12 record, with a top-six finish and an automatic playoff berth beckoning.
Partizan then faded away when the chips were down, losing five of its last six games and will be reduced to being mere spectators when the business end of Europe’s premier club competition commences.
“We were very slow in the second half. Slow decision making, we failed to adjust when they switched on defense,” Obradovic said at the postgame press conference.
“Congratulations to Zalgiris, small details decided the game and their offensive rebounding was crucial in the second half. I am disappointed because I believed this team was going to make the top eight or at least the top 10, but we didn’t find a way. Especially not in the last few games when we needed to most and there are no excuses.”