Two teams fighting for the same goal meet on Thursday night (19:00 CET) at Aleksandar Nikolic Hall, with Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade playing host to Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz in Round 30. Baskonia (15-14) ranks eighth right now and is looking to grab a good-as-gold road victory before heading back home for a three-game stretch at Buesa Arena, where it is 11-3. Zvezda (12-17), meanwhile, is in a do-or-die situation but is feeling confident, as it plays four of its five remaining games in front of its incredibly passionate fans.
Of course, it will be a special game for Zvezda head coach Dusko Ivanovic, who led Baskonia to the European basketball elite in the early 2000s. With Ivanovic leading the team, Baskonia made it to the 2001 EuroLeague Finals and the 2005 Final Four, as well as winning the Spanish double (league and cup titles) in 2002 and lifting another Spanish Cup trophy in 2004. Above all, Coach Ivanovic is credited with Baskonia's trademark competitiveness, what has been known as "Baskonia Character".