Zeljko remains calm despite winless week: ‘I have no reason to be dissatisfied with the team’ / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Imago Sport – Scanpix Credit Imago Sport – Scanpix

Sunday evening featured the first Serbian ABA League derby of the 2021/2022 season where Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade(7-1) cruised to a win in Aleksandar Nikolić Hall over Partizan NIS Belgrade (7-1).

2-pointers this season

56%20,3Points made:20,3Accuracy:55,6%Place in standings:6Record max:24Record min:18Most made 2FGs:Nate WoltersTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

In the post-game press conference, Zvezda coach Dejan Radonjic expressed his happiness over an important rivalry win after a difficult matchup against LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne in the Euroleague.

"After a tough match against ASVEL and a period of intense schedule, it was necessary to use the time we had to rest and prepare well to play a match with a desire to win," Radonjic briefly noted. "We played a pretty good match and got the points we needed, which is the most important thing for us at the moment."

Coach Obradovic was much more open to sharing his ideas and criticisms after a tough road loss, complimenting his opponents with a deserved win.

"Congratulations to Crvena Zvezda on the victory, they played better than us throughout all 40 minutes. We started off well, we shared the ball, but we just didn't make shots.

Our three-point percentage was awful in the first half, we missed free throws that could have helped make a return. Once again, a deserved victory for Crvena Zvezda," the legendary coach explained.

Crvena Zvezda dominated right from the start, as Partizan didn't lead even for a second of the match. The hosts only allowed them to score 21 points in the first half and were down by 11 at halftime (32-21). Partizan made just 4 out of 19 three-pointers in the match shooting just 38 percent from the field.

Zeljko Obradovic's squad didn't win any games this week, as they also lost to MoraBanc Andorra by one point this week. However, the Serbian legend was happy with his return to Adriatic basketball.

"I'm extremely pleased with the decision to return to Serbian basketball, and I was really motivated for this game.

I wanted to help the team as much as I could, but it wasn't enough. We'll have to analyze the reasons. We are 7-1 in the ABA league and 3-1 in the Eurocup, I have no reason to be dissatisfied," Obradovic said.

"I believe in these players, and we'll continue to work as we did before. Obviously, their youth leads to mistakes, but that's a part of the process," Obradovic noted. "There are many reasons why we played poorly. We will work to eliminate the mistakes one game at a time and try to be as good as possible."

Crvena Zvezda are traveling to Spain for the EuroLeague clash against Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz on Tuesday while Partizan welcome Lietkabelis Panevezys in the Eurocup on Wednesday.

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