The black-and-white half of Belgrade celebrated an important victory over Paris in Round 23
Partizan warmed up for Belgrade derby by racking up another win
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3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 23 of 34
Group Regular Season
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Ten rounds into the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season, fans of Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade must have been in disbelief. Their team not only had a 2-8 record but was 1-4 at home, and up next was the derby against archrival Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade.
Even though there were many doubts surrounding Zeljko Obradovic’s players, basically all of whom had only joined the club this past summer, they stood up to be counted in the derby and secured a 77-89 win – a victory as the road team, but on their home court at Belgrade Arena.
Since that derby win, Partizan has won six of its last seven home games, including Wednesday night’s 92-86 triumph over Paris Basketball, and gone 10-3 overall. Were it not for two MVP-level performances by Theo Maledon and Joffrey Lauvergne for LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne in Round 16, Partizan could quite easily be riding a seven-game winning streak at home.
Partizan has won its last three contests at Belgrade Arena and is on a three-game winning streak overall following a perfect double round last week that saw the Serbian side beat ASVEL and EA7 Emporio Armani Milan on the road by a combined 51 points. Yes, 51 points.
The margin of victory against Paris was just six points, but it was equally as important as the side from the French capital had defeated Partizan by three points (74-71) back in Round 8. As such, Coach Obradovic’s troops hold the tiebreaker advantage, something that could be crucial in 11 rounds’ time.
“It was a tough start, we knew they were going to play really fast," forward Isaac Bonga told EuroLeague TV after the Paris win. "We just adapted to it. Coach basically told us: ‘Every game we have in the future, we should treat it like a final.’ We treated today like a final and we came out with the win in the end.”
Partizan remains outside the postseason spots despite its Round 23 win, sitting in 11th place with a 12-11 record, but the standings are so tight that it wouldn’t take much to surge upwards. Either way, the mood is good inside the camp.
“We went out there and did what we wanted to do, which was get a win,” star guard Carlik Jones said on EuroLeague TV on Wednesday night. “[Paris is] a good team, a fast-paced team, a hard-fought team, but we’re a tough team, too. We play fast, we defend. The fans were great tonight. Man, it was an incredible win for us.”
Importantly, several of the team’s players are now fully on the same page, with Carlik Jones and Sterling Brown offering a thrilling 1-2 punch, and Tyrique Jones bringing a level of energy not seen since Mathias Lessort donned Partizan’s colors.
Which game is up next for Partizan, I hear you ask? A contest against the opponent that helped kickstart Partizan’s season back in Round 11 – Crvena Zvezda.
Curiously, Ioannis Sfairopoulos’s men have posted an 8-3 record since tasting defeat to Partizan in the previous Belgrade derby, so both teams come into this game feeling very good about themselves. Everything is pointing towards a very memorable occasion, and one that could have a big impact on the postseason picture.