Zeljko Obradovic erupts: 'It's a great shame what is happening' / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: K. Kavolėlis Credit K. Kavolėlis

Partizan NIS Belgrade extended the final series of the Adriatic League, but after everything basketball people have seen, the least talk is about basketball.

Points this season

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

The duel between the Serbian archrivals lasted more than usual in the Aleksandar Nikolic Hall, with the game being interrupted, referees leaving the court, and unnecessary fans' behavior.

To some purpose, Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade filed an appeal for incidents in Game 3.

Due to all the above, the head coach of Partizan, Zeljko Obradovic, did not enjoy too much of the taste of victory.

"The team tried to do their best, to fight from the first to the last second, and that gives me pleasure. Thanks to the desire in very difficult playing conditions and slippery floor - it's a real miracle that no one got hurt.

We will do our best to reach Game 5. It will take a lot of energy, concentration, desire, and respect... It's not easy, especially for the players. I hope we gather the energy to play another game this way," the legendary coach began, via MozzartSport.

Then he touched on the situation in the stands during Games 2 and 3 of the ABA finals.

"From the first day, I appealed to some things, to calm the passion and play basketball. This is a serious league, and in order to be serious, all the players in the game must be respected. Players and others on the bench.

Tonight, the referees made the decision to empty a part of the stands and they were absolutely right, but why didn't that happen in the previous game? The safety of the players and everyone on the bench is the most important thing, however, why were the criteria different?" Obradovic asked rhetorically.

He also tried to address the Partizan Belgrade supporters.

"I appeal to Partizan fans to never do this again and allow the opponents to play basketball. The images of the scenes go out into the world, like the pictures from three days ago. What will people think of us and what will they talk about? It's a great shame that there was the sound of explosions three days ago, just like tonight."

For his part, Dejan Radonjic compared the basketball court to the ice arena.

"I hope that the floor will be less slippery in Game 4. Maybe we should start practicing attacking on the ice. I think we tried to get out on the court and show how much we can at that moment. With all the great effort and the final atmosphere, this is something that further affects the quality of the game and can be very dangerous," said the bench boss of Crvena Zvezda.

"Compared to the first two duels, this match was not of that quality. The first two duels were good and there were a lot of nice things to analyze.

Due to the slipping, there were specific conditions for the game. We had a chance to win it. Nevertheless, we want to play better in Game 4," concluded the 52-year-old specialist.

Thank you for reading us! We have even more content for you.