Unlike last season, the Serbian team looks full of grit and composure when the chips are down
Crvena Zvezda showing new-found steel to keep marching on
Article
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 19 of 34
Group Regular Season
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Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade broke two unwelcome records in a couple of wins on Spanish soil over the past seven days, boosting its chances of making the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague postseason after improving its record to 11-8 in Europe’s premier club competition.
Last Friday, Zvezda staged a stunning upset to beat Barcelona on the road, 74-78, for its first-ever win over the Catalan giant before grinding out a 73-75 victory at Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, its first road win against the Basque outfit since 2017.
The Serbian side’s form this season is in stark contrast to what it was delivering last term, when it finished 16th with an unimpressive 11-23 record. With 15 games to go in the current campaign, Zvezda has every chance of getting into the playoff picture after its third win in a row, as Ioannis Sfairopoulos’s men look forward to playing the next six games in its hometown.
Following a tripleheader with Paris Basketball, Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul and AS Monaco at Belgrade Arena, Zvezda heads “away’ across town to Aleksandar Nikolic Hall to face Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv, which has been playing is home games in the Serbian capital since the beginning of last season.
Then comes the “visit” to Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade at the venue Zvezda shares with its archrival, where Partizan will have home-court advantage this time. A home matchup with visiting LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne completes the streak, presenting Zvezda an opportunity to gain ground in the club’s quest to make the postseason, which would be a major turn in fortunes on the biggest stage.
Apart from center Joel Bolomboy and guard Isaiah Canaan, who led Zvezda’s charge in Baskonia, the Spanish club’s former players Rokas Giedraitis and Codi Miller-McIntyre were also instrumental in Thursday night’s success at Buesa Arena. Giedraitis sank 12 points while Miller-McIntyre posted 9 points and 3 assists, of which two resulted in spectacular slam dunks for player of the game Bolomboy.
In no small part thanks to Miller-McIntyre’s hard work, with the versatile playmaker also recording 2 steals, Zvezda was able to weather the storm against Baskonia as the hosts had fought back from a 17-point second-half deficit before Canaan, who finished on 15 points, forced the final twist with a pair of clutch layups.
It was also an emotional night for Miller-McIntyre, who stressed that he had the fondest memories of playing in Vitoria-Gasteiz before he joined Zvezda during the offseason.
“It’s amazing. Vitoria is a special place for me and I was happy to see my old teammates and the fans,” the 30-year-old told Serbia’s Sport Klub television after the rip-roaring contest. “We had ups and downs, but we stayed focused for most of the 40 minutes They’re a great team with great scorers bur we did a good job in the end.”
Staying focused and keeping the composure under pressure has been a big factor in Zvezda’s run this term, as those traits were missing last season when the Serbian team kept throwing away leads in the home stretch – much to the frustration of its fans.
The win over Baskonia was almost a carbon copy of the one against Barcelona as Zvezda held firm in a dramatic finale, and Coach Sfairopoulos hailed his team for holding its nerve when the chips were down.
“When Baskonia made some tough shots and came back in the last five minutes, we showed our character. We didn’t panic and we made some good decisions, offensively and defensively,” the Greek tactician told the post-game press conference.
“We did a great job on Markus Howard as he scored zero points in the first half and made only 2 of 10 shots from downtown. That was important because he is a player who can score 20 points in three or four minutes.”
Sharpshooter Howard was limited to just 10 points as Baskonia finished on 6 of 28 from deep after going 0 of 15 in the first half, a testament to Zvezda’s ironclad defense which has been the pillar of the team’s impressive recent form.
Sfairopoulos will hope his men can keep up the good work as Zvezda aims to make the most of the upcoming run of games in Belgrade, in its bid to keep firing on all cylinders.
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