Codi Miller-McIntyre, Chima Moneke and Jordan Nwora all starred against Real Madrid in Round 5
A perfect week: Coach Obradovic's winning return to Crvena Zvezda
Rungtynių ataskaitos
3 Minutė skaityti
Regular Season
Round 5 of 38
Regular Season
Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet BelgradeCZV
9075
Real MadridRMB
Overview
w
w
w
l
l
l
w
w
w
l
Last week, life was already pretty great for coach Sasa Obradovic, who returned to his beloved Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade after making history with AS Monaco. One week later, he is a perfect 2-0 in his second stint with the club. Zvezda is now riding a three-game EuroLeague winning streak, and a sellout crowd at Belgrade Arena just witnessed two massive wins over top-tier opponents in Rounds 4 and 5.
Even more impressive? Zvezda did it without six players who are sidelined due to injury: Devonte' Graham, Tyson Carter, Uros Plavsic, Isaiah Canaan, Ognjen Dobric and Joel Bolomboy.
After taking down previously unbeaten Zalgiris Kaunas 88-79, Zvezda went on to dominate Real Madrid 90-75 in front of an electric home crowd. The win broke a six-game losing streak against Real and stands as Zvezda’s largest-ever victory over the Spanish giants in the modern EuroLeague.
Prior to this, Zvezda’s best result against Real was an 82-70 home win back in December 2016. All four of their other victories in 19 meetings had been by single digits. So, what exactly did Obradovic change?
"The rule is there is no rule. For me, it was much more important the way we played the game," Obradovic said. "And it was amazing, especially on the defensive. We stopped them completely in some moments, and I'm really happy for this."
Obradovic didn’t have time to overhaul tactics but focused instead on clearly defining roles. It’s now obvious that Jordan Nwora, Chima Moneke and Codi Miller-McIntyre are running the show, while Nikola Kalinic, Donatas Motiejunas and Semi Ojeleye provide key veteran support. With everyone understanding their job, the chemistry has clicked.
Still, Zvezda had a rough start. Real jumped to a double-digit lead, 20-31, early in the second quarter. But Moneke, Kalinic and Miller-McIntyre sparked a 13–2 run to tie it at 33-33. Once the crowd got involved, the hosts became unstoppable.
Moneke opened the second half with a three-pointer and a driving layup. Nwora and Miller-McIntyre extended the lead to double digits, and when Dejan Davidovac hit a one-legged catch-and-shoot triple to beat the shot clock, the crowd knew they were in for something special.
Miller-McIntyre controlled the game’s tempo, feeding Moneke for a monster fast-break slam and connecting with Nwora for a highlight-reel alley-oop. Zvezda’s defense got Real star Walter Tavares into foul trouble and held Real to just 1-of-14 shooting from deep (7.1% 3FG) in the second half.
When it was all over, the stats said it best. Miller-McIntyre had 18 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists. Real’s main guards – Facu Campazzo and Andres Feliz – combined for just 5 points and 3 assists, highlighting the impact of “The Wolf”.
Nwora also scored 18 points, while Moneke added 15 and 7 rebounds.
“We just have to fight. Every night we come out, we have to give our all on defense, and that's what we did tonight,” said Miller-McIntyre.
As for the fans, Miller-McIntyre added: “They are always loud, but tonight I had the impression they were super, super loud. They are amazing. I've said it before – one of the best fanbases in the world, if not the best. So thank you to all the fans who continue to support us and came out tonight.”
Kalinic also made his mark with 10 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists, good for a PIR of 20. Meanwhile, Ojeleye – who had averaged just 1.0 points and a PIR of 1.3 in Zvezda’s first three games – has thrived since Obradovic’s arrival. He’s now averaging 11.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and a PIR of 13.0.
"Maybe some period of adaptation has passed, so we are connecting better. We know who likes what, who likes which positions," Kalinic said.
"It was a great game. I think we are playing good right now. We are helping each other, we are supporting each other. And that's the most important. We are covering each other's mistakes. That's basketball."
More than anything, Obradovic has brought Zvezda the confidence it needed. The team already had top-tier talent and one of the most passionate fanbases in the world. Now, with renewed self-belief, it looks ready to beat anyone, anywhere.
“It's a long season, but here, momentum is on our side, definitely,” Obradovic said.
“We should work on recovering, bring back our injured guys, and integrate them into the team. Then it's going to be even better.”
