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Belgrade's eternal rivals ready for high-stakes encore

Belgrade's eternal rivals ready for high-stakes encore

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Belgrade's eternal rivals ready for high-stakes encore

Everything is in place for another celebration of basketball in the Serbian capital as Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade (10-10) gets ready to host Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade (9-11) on Friday night. One of the biggest rivalries in the world had its premier in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague earlier this season, and now the two teams clash again, but this time, with the stakes even higher.

Belgrade's eternal rivals went against one another in the EuroLeague for the very first time in December, in what was one of the most hyped up regular-season games in recent basketball history.

That Round 12 game contest easily lived up to its billing, with all the emotions and atmosphere a fan could ask for, even before Nemanja Nedovic knocked down a game-winning corner triple for Zvezda's 73-76 victory, silencing about 18,000 Partizan fans in a jam-packed Stark Arena and sparking big celebrations of Zvezda fans in the upper ring of the stands.

Now, the place that will be booming is the legendary Aleksandar Nikolic Hall, formerly known as Pionir Hall, one of world's most special and loudest basketball venues. The scenery will change from Partizan's black-and-white to Zvezda's red-and-white. And while their first game carried the charm of the historic, first-ever clash, this one carries important playoff implications.

A win for Zvezda would give it a winning record with almost two thirds of the regular season gone, the result of an early-season coaching change. Ever since Dusko Ivanovic took over the bench, Zvezda has been a different team, winning nine of 13 games and holding opponents at 75 or fewer points in nine contests during that span.

Adding another victory over Partizan to that run would also give Zvezda both a sweep and a two-game cushion against a team that is not only its greatest foe, but also one of its direct rivals in the playoff race.

However, with all that a win on Friday would mean for Zvezda, the stakes seem even higher for Partizan and its playoff hopes.

Head coach Zeljko Obradovic's men suffered a four-game losing streak to open the season and a five-game slide that dropped them to 4-9 in mid-December. Partizan's defense allows a league-high 84.4 points per game and its opponents make a league-high 58.4% of their two-point shots.

Partizan is also tied for the league-worst 2-8 record on the road. A win against its biggest rival, in front of their fans, would do wonders for the team's confidence, but also allow Partizan to keep its playoff destiny firmly in its own hands.

To do so, Partizan will need to keep in check Luca Vildoza and Nedovic, whether in one-on-one situations they explore so well, or on pick-and-rolls designed to feed Filip Petrusev.

The hosts will look to boost their own confidence from long range, while using its aggressive perimeter defense to not allow the likes of Kevin Punter, Dante Exum, Danilo Andjusic and James Nunnally to get into their own rhythm, or feed Mathias Lessort inside, but also with the aim of getting a few easy fastbreak opportunities from that defensive effort.

For how it plays out on the floor, but also for the atmosphere and the meaning, we are set for 40 – or more – must-watch basketball minutes on Friday.