Partizan confined Fenerbahce to just 28 points after the interval and got back to winning ways.
Milestone man Obradovic credited win over Fenerbahce to steely second-half defense
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Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade’s head coach Zeljko Obradovic celebrated a unique milestone of 500 games on the sidelines with a memorable 85-84 home win over Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul in Round 7 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season on Thursday.
The 63-year-old is the most trophy-laden European coach, having won nine continental crowns with five different clubs. Obradovic also reigns supreme in the number of games on the sidelines and he could not have asked for a more fitting gift from his players.
Obradovic won his maiden EuroLeague title during his first spell with Partizan in 1992 and although that now must be a distant memory, Serbia’s giant rekindled some of the past glory with a gritty second-half performance that erased a 47-56 halftime deficit.
Regular Season
Round 7 of 34
Group Regular Season
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Fenerbahce led by as many as 14 points early in the third quarter and looked the more likely winner, but Partizan played ironclad defense for the remainder of the contest to come out on top.
“We beat a very good thanks to our improved defense in the second half,” a serene-looking Obradovic told the post-game news conference. “It was a game of two different halves. Fenerbahce outshot and outscored us in the first but we reduced their percentages in the second. In the end, it came down to one shot.”
Obradovic also praised a fervent home crowd which lifted Partizan when a comeback looked off the cards. “The incredible energy from the fans carried the team. At haftime, we said to each other that we needed to switch defense and that we had to believe we could turn it around.”
Victory was that much sweeter for Partizan after several tough losses, namely an 84-83 reverse at Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz in Round 6 which came on the back of a 98-94 overtime setback at Olympiacos Piraeus.
“We suffered a bunch of tough losses this season, now we got lucky. At halftime, I said we didn’t even try to play defense in the first half and that was very annoying. But after we put our game faces on in the second half, the momentum changed and we also played smarter offense. I hope we can use this momentum to string a few wins together.”
Obradovic also reflected on the input of 20-year-old power forward Tristan Vukcevic, who produced another superb offensive cameo role with
8 points in as many minutes on the court. “Tristan helps the team on offense with his soft touch, but he also hurts the team defensively. He is a weak link on defense, he knows it and so does the opposition. He has to be more aggressive.”