The rugged and physical contest between Serbia’s big two created an unmatched atmosphere in which brave Zvezda prevailed
The latest Belgrade derby delivered in so many ways

Belgrade, Serbia -- First-time city derby goers who flocked to the Serbian capital for the event must have felt like they were in another universe on Friday night. Those of them fortunate enough to scramble a ticket for the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague’s most anticipated regular season fixture surely got their money's worth.
When Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade and Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade lock horns, life in a city of some two million souls comes to a standstill.
It had the buzz of a championship game, but, in fact, it was just another city derby, like many before. By Serbian standards, that is. In a country where basketball is so much more than just a game and the rivalry is so intense, the atmosphere is beyond pulsating whenever these two clash even in a pre-season warmup, let alone in a EuroLeague blockbuster.
This time was no different, as 20,000 fervent Partizan fans turned the gym into a cauldron, shaking the Belgrade Arena to its core with support so frenetic that it sends a chill down the spine of any visiting team and their supporters.
Not Zvezda, though, as Partizan’s bitter city foes are all too familiar with the atmosphere and they were able to weather the perfect storm by coming out on top, 71-73, allowing their own 1,000 fans in the venue to do all the singing and dancing at the end of a grueling matchup.
In no small part thanks to Filip Petrusev, who produced yet another monster performance to lead Zvezda with 17 points and 8 boards, having been complemented by Joel Bolomboy as the twin tower racked up 14 points and 8 rebounds.
The duo subdued Partizan’s big men Tyrique Jones and Brandon Davies while playmaker Codi Miller-McIntyre provided the backcourt spark required to tame Partizan’s perimeter, where Carlik Jones cut a lone wolf with a game-high 20 points.
Petrusev keeps excelling in his second spell with Zvezda on loan from Olympiacos Piraeus after a brief stint in the NBA and in his post-game comments, he revealed just how strength-sapping the captivating low-scoring contest was.
“I don’t remember playing a tougher game,” Petrusev told reporters as his jubilant teammates headed out of the locker room. “It was a real fight and it wasn’t pretty, but such is the derby sometimes. We showed character and the will to win, as we racked up a lot of loose balls and offensive rebounds.
“We were under pressure as they had caught up with us in the standings so we were really focused and at full strength this time, as Joel was absent in the reverse fixture. We knew what to expect so we put our game faces on when we stepped out there.”
Asked by Euroleague.net how big an impact Bolomboy has made after missing Partizan’s 77-89 victory in the reverse fixture as well as a bunch of other games earlier this season, Petrusev was unequivocal in heaping praise on Zvezda’s silent water that runs deep.
“Joel’s return from injury is priceless,” he said. “He brings so much to the team and to me personally because we complement each other when we’re both on the court. We switched on defense a lot so having two big men out there for much of the game really helped.”
Brazilian guard Yago dos Santos, who performed the thankless job of facilitating at both ends in a manner not reflected by statistics, summed up the magnitude of the result which propelled Zvezda to 14-10 and lifted it back into the playoff picture.
“This is the Belgrade derby, the best game in Europe,” he told Euroleague.net. “There is nothing like it and winning it can change your season so we’re delighted for the club and the fans. We played good defense on Partizan’s guards as we knew they had the quality so we knew we needed to contain them.”
The clash was also a stern test for Zvezda head coach Ioannis Sfairopoulos, who got his first taste of defeat against Partizan in the reverse fixture after eight successive wins against counterpart Zeljko Obradovic and his men in all competitions.
The stone-faced Greek tactician refused to get carried away at the postgame press conference, insisting Zvezda must keep its feet on the ground after a monumental effort to come out on top against Partizan this time in a most dramatic finish.

“It wasn’t an easy game for either team,” said Sfairopoulos. “We believed that we could do something good tonight and we controlled the rhythm for the best part of the game. Partizan has a lot of quality but we were focused and we had so much desire to win. We wrestled away most of the 50-50 balls and picked up a lot of offensive rebounds.
“Now we have to take it one game at a time in the remaining 10 rounds. I want to thank our fans for being here to support us. We played good defense. We didn’t shoot well from outside but we did well from inside and from the foul line.”
Having seen his men roar back into postseason contention with a 10-3 run after a dismal 2-8 start to the season, Obradovic must now go back to the drawing board and lift his troops for the final push in the home stretch, as Partizan handed over the city’s bragging rights back to Zvezda. Obradovic was also brave in assessing his own shortcomings on a night when thin lines made all the difference.
“It’s simple, the players didn’t react the right way tonight and that means the coach too didn’t do his job to the best of his abilities,” he said. “We’ve got to knuckle down back to some hard work, it’s the only thing we can do. We had a chance to win despite being very apprehensive, but it didn’t pan out for us.
“Things just didn’t go our way when the chips were down. We won’t roll over, there are 10 games left and we’ll do all we can to reach the postseason.”