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Domestic Leagues: Partizan survives in ABA Finals

Domestic Leagues: Partizan survives in ABA Finals

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Domestic Leagues: Partizan survives in ABA Finals

Serbia: Partizan wins Game 3, stays alive

Partizan NIS Belgrade saved the first match ball in the ABA League Finals as it managed to defeat Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade, 70-67 in Game 3 of the series. The series is now 2-1 still in favor of Zvezda. Kevin Punter led the winners with 22 points and hit a three in the final minute that would be crucial for Partizan's options. Aleksa Avramovic helped with 14 points. For Zvezda, Ognjen Dobric had 20 points and Dejan Davidovac, 19.

The trio of Dallas Moore, Zach LeDay and Punter scored the first 19 Partizan points in the first quarter, while Kalinic and Davidovac combined to keep the guests in the game, 21-17 after 10. In the second quarter, Partizan played more collective and managed to increase the lead despite Zvezda's Ognjen Dobric, who was leading the charge of the guests in offense. At the break, Partizan was in charge, 39-31.

At the start of the second half, Zvezda turned things around completely, taking the game by storm with a 8-23 partial in the third period, including a 0-7 run to cap the quarter and end in the lead, 47-54, thanks mainly to Dobric. The hosts re-gained some control of the situation and the game entered the last 3 minutes with a 63-61 Partizan lead. With 57 seconds to go, Punter hit a three that made it 68-65 as the referees had to stop the game because of objects thrown to the floor. When the game resumed, Yav Madar went to the line and hit to free throws for 70-65 that put enough distance for Partizan to survive.

Lithuania: Lietkabelis falls to Rytas in third game

Domestic action started on Wednesday with the third game in the Lithuanian League best-of-seven final series between Rytas Vilnius and Lietkabelis Panevezys. When the dust settled, Rytas had managed to jump ahead 2-1 thanks to a 82-55 win. A 22-9 opening allowed the hosts to play comfortably the second quarter, in which the score difference was increased to 51-27.

The second half saw Lietkabelis try to react but when the last period starter it was clear that Rytas had it under control and both teams were already thinking about Game 4. Djordje Gagic was the only player to score in double digits for Lietkabelis with 13 points. For Rytas, Gytis Radzevicius led the winning effort with his 14 points.

Greece: Patras falls to 0-2 in semis

Olympiacos Piraeus thrashed Promitheas Patras once more in the Greek League semifinals on Wednesday with a 72-102 road win to make it 2-0 in the series. Game 3 will be played next Saturday and if the Reds win, they will advance to the finals. All-EuroLeague First Team selection Sasha Vezenkov led the Reds with 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Hassan Martin also added 17 more points. All players in Olympiacos played at least 6 minutes and scored 3 points in the game. For Patras, Marcus Foster led the losing effort with 19 points and Dimitris Agravanis added 10.

Early foul trouble sent Moustapha Fall to the bench, but Martin filled in for him with no problems. Patras managed to take the edge in the first quarter however, and pulled within 18-20 after 10. In the second period, the guests rolled to 31-46 thanks to the efficiency of Quincy Acy. Good defense and ball circulation allowed Olympiacos to keep rolling in the third quarter and the score difference increased to 35 points in minute 37, 63-98. The Reds put the game on ice thinking about the decisive game next Saturday.