Frank Kaminsky and Bruno Caboclo combined for 38 of their team’s 87 points
Partizan’s big man combo showed what they can offer in Baskonia win
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Regular Season
Round 30 of 34
Group Regular Season
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Every win at this time of the year is crucial, but especially for a team like Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade that is fighting to stay in the race for the Play-In Showdown.
The absence of Zach LeDay, who returned to the United States for personal reasons, could have had a negative impact on the team, but instead Frank Kaminsky and Bruno Caboclo stepped up as Partizan grabbed an 87-83 win against Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, another team currently occupying one of the four play-in spots.
In fact, it was Kaminsky and Caboclo who got Partizan going early, with the American scoring the first five points of the contest. The decision of Zeljko Obradovic to start both big men had had mixed results in previous games this season, but in Round 30 it paid dividends, particularly in the first quarter. Baskonia simply had no answer for the two centers as Kaminsky stretched the floor and Caboclo did his damage inside.
Partizan held a 23-16 lead over Baskonia after the first quarter, but 17 of those points had come from Kaminsky and Caboclo: 8 for the former, 9 for the latter. While Caboclo was able to add to his tally in the second quarter, moving to 15 points with yet more dominant play in the paint, Kaminsky sat on the bench. That would prove to be a masterstroke after halftime, though, as Kaminsky scored 10 third-quarter points to give him 18 in the game, the same as Caboclo.
When the final buzzer sounded, Kaminsky had 20 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists while Caboclo had posted an 18-point, 13-rebound double-double which also included 1 steal and 2 blocks. As Kaminsky recognized after the game, it was important that both he and Caboclo had a performance like this.
“There was a huge whole in our team without Zach being here,” he noted. “I know Kevin [Punter]’s our captain, but Zach is like an emotional leader for us. I think Bruno and I both were thinking about it, that we had to step up and fill that role and provide some of the energy that Zach always brings every single game, especially at home – he’s the one that really gets the crowd into it. Just wanted to pick it up for our brother and go out there and perform.”
Things don’t get any easier for Partizan as it hosts Real Madrid on Thursday, but Tuesday’s win over Baskonia showed that Kaminsky and Caboclo could cause some problems for Los Blancos. Although both players were not on the team for last year’s playoff defeat to Real, a similar level of performance to Tuesday night – and a win – would quickly see them become idols among the Partizan supporters.