The Serbia international came up big in the fourth quarter to turn the game around for the home team.
Aleksa Avramovic turned on the heat as Partizan clinched a thrilling Belgrade derby
Άρθρο
3 Χρόνος Ανάγνωσης
Regular Season
Round 5 of 34
Group Regular Season
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Aleksa Avramovic had a quiet Belgrade derby for long spells, but the 29-year-old point guard saved his best for last. The Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade player stepped up late by hitting one trademark clutch shot after another to inspire his team to a comeback 88-86 home win over Crvena Zvezda Meridian Bet Belgrade in Round 5 on Thursday night.
Partizan looked out for the count after Zvezda overcame a slow start in a fervent atmosphere and turned an early 17-2 deficit into a 64-75 lead midway through the quarter, but the sublime Avramovic ignited the final twist with a couple of three-pointers and some spectacular drives to the basket.
“All 10 players were the man of the night, as well as the coaching staff and our incredible fans,” Avramovic said in a flash courtside interview after sinking 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor. “We were in a tough spot when we trailed by 13 points in the fourth quarter but we believed in each other. Winning the derby is always a special thing,” he said.
Forward Zach LeDay added: “Congratulations to Aleksa, he came up big in the second half. We are going through a tough period right now but we showed fight and resilience. In a derby game anything can happen but we stayed together and that’s the most important thing.”
Almost a perfect start for Coach Sfairopoulos
Partizan improved to 2-3 while Zvezda slipped to 1-4, after coming close to giving a perfect start to its new coach Ioannis Sfairopoulos, who took over from Dusko Ivanovic on Sunday.
Partizan fired on all cylinders in the early exchanges as Frank Kaminsky was unstoppable in the paint, scoring 8 of the home team’s opening 16 points. Ognjen Jaramaz, who managed a grand total of 0 points in the opening four rounds, was a surprise starter and sank 11 in the first half.
However, Zvezda quickly regained its composure after falling behind and drew level by halftime, 42-42, as Shabazz Napier, Adam Hanga and Joel Bolomboy got the visitors going on offense. The visiting team looked the more likely winner after romping into a 52-65 lead late in the third quarter and 55-68 early in the fourth, with Yago Dos Santos also finding his range from three-point territory.
Enter Avramovic! With Zvezda running out of steam late on, like it has done so often in the EuroLeague this season, Partizan’s point guard found two extra gears as he had more left in the tank than anyone else on the court. Zvezda’s seemingly insurmountable lead vanished in thin air as Avramovic sank a long triple over Napier to give Partizan a crunch 83-80 lead and the hosts held on to victory with cool shooting from the foul line, sending their passionate fans into raptures.