


Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade will be heading into its best-of-five playoff series against Real Madrid devoid of any pressure, but hoping to pull off the kind of upset which saw the Serbian club reach the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in 2010, when it knocked out better-ranked Maccabi Tel Aviv.
The two teams split Games 1 and 2 in Tel Aviv and after the series moved to Belgrade, Partizan engineered two wins in front of a fervent home crowd at Stark Arena – a scenario the 1992 champion hopes to repeat against Real.
Head coach Zeljko Obradvic, who has won a record nine EuroLeague titles with five different clubs, will relish facing Real after guiding the royalty of European basketball to the 1995 title during his three-year stint in Madrid. The trophy-laden 63-year old has masterfully steered Partizan into the postseason as the Serbian side returned to Europe’s premier club competition for the first time since the 2013-14 season, marching into the playoffs after a 16-5 run in its last 21 regular-season games.
“We have a lot of reasons to be proud of our EuroLeague season,” Obradovic said during his post-game press conference after Partizan ground out a comeback 83-81 home win over Panathinaikos on Friday. “The support we get from our fans is incredible and so is our connection with them. I am proud that we will be hosting at least one postseason game here in the Arena, hopefully two. It’s an incredible achievement to be in the playoffs and we know the level we need to be on. We know who we’re up against and we have 10 days to prepare ourselves.”
Real will start the series as firm favourites, but Partizan’s point guard Aleksa Avramovic stressed that the Serbian team would do its best to pull the red carpet from under the Spanish giant’s feet.
“This win paints a picture – the way we fought until the very last moment in every game of the regular season’s second half,” Avramovic said in a flash post-game interview after Partizan saw off Panathinaikos. “Real may be the most difficult opponent in the playoffs but we’ll go there full of confidence and to enjoy the basketball. No one can take away from us our dream of reaching the Final Four.”
Exum, who led Partizan’s effort against Panathinaikos with 18 points, was just as excited about Partizan locking horns with Real. “It’s only going to get harder from here but the fans will give us the energy we need," he said. “I am really looking forward to it, as it’s going to be a great series. I just can’t wait for it.”