Crvena Zvezda crowned as Adriatic League champions after hell in Belgrade / News - Basketnews.com

Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade won their third Adriatic League title in a row, excluding the 2019-20 canceled campaign due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Points this season

45%73,8Points made:73,8Accuracy:45,4%Place in standings:15Record max:98Record min:57Best scorer:Nikola KalinicTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

The Red Star prevailed over their archrivals Partizan NIS Belgrade 80-77(18-20, 15-17, 26-21, 21-19). It's the sixth ABA trophy for Zvezda and they are now tied with Partizan.

On top of that, Dejan Radonjic's squad secured a place in next season's Turkish Airlines EuroLeague. Partizan will have to wait for the final decision on the two remaining wildcards.

The decisive Game 5 was marked by several off-court incidents and was temporarily suspended.

After the duel was resumed, the last 16 minutes went neck-on-neck. Kevin Punter scored 6 points in a row late in the fourth and Partizan had a one-point cushion (73-72) with 2:40 to play.

After a minute without points, Nikola Kalinic converted from deep (75-73). Dallas Moore responded on the other end but Nate Wolters hit a crucial three-pointer (78-75) with 58 seconds to go.

Both squads exchanged with inefficient attacks while Aleksa Avramovic made one free throw in two attempts with 19 seconds on the clock (76-78).

Dejan Davidovac was fouled and seemed to fortify the W with two successful shots from the charity stripe (80-76). However, Partizan had a chance to tie the game after the offensive rebound but Kevin Punter's shot was off the mark.

Davidovac had 15 points (3/3 2PT, 1/8 3PT, 6/6 FT), 6 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 turnovers, and a team-high 20 PIR for the winners.

Kevin Punter put on a show for Partizan, accumulating 27 points (3/6 2PT, 5/11 3PT, 6/6 FT), 1 rebound, 2 assists, 4 turnovers, and 21 PIR.

The beginning of the second half was delayed due to the decision of the referee Sasa Pukl to empty one part of the stands. The Slovenian official saw that some Zvezda fans were in the part of the tribune near the tunnel, where, according to the ABA League ban, they should not be.

The chaos continued, as referees left the floor with 6:46 in the third tally (39-39) after a missile barrage from the stands. Eventually, the players of both clubs also left the court for the locker room and the game was interrupted.

Referees ordered the whole arena to be emptied. This took a long time as some fans were not too hurried to leave.

The Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic attended the do-or-die game in Belgrade.

He played for Buducnoct before his successful career in the NBA.

Zvezda: Dejan Davidovac 15 (6 REB), Nate Wolters 12 (7 AST), Nikola Kalinic 11 (6 REB), Luka Mitrovic 10.

Partizan: Kevin Punter 27, Aleksa Avramovic 11 (5 REB), Dallas Moore 11.

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