Unhappy Radonjic praises his team's efforts in dire circumstances / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Dainius Lukšta Credit Dainius Lukšta

Crvena Zvezda is coming back from Istanbul with a defeat against Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul in the opening EuroLeague game.

Player of the Game EFF 19 Dyshawn Pierre Points 13 Accuracy 5-8 Rebounds 4 Assists 1

As the Serbian club was struggling with the injuries of Aaron White, Branko Lazic, Dejan Davidovac, and Ogjen Dobric, a late covid case of Maik Zirbes exacerbated the roster situation.

Coach Dejan Radonjic thinks that his team did not put in a bad effort, but at the end of the day, a loss is a loss.

"We had so many problems with injuries in the last 20 days. It was tough to work in these circumstances, and in the end, we had COVID-19 cases as well. Hopefully, their comeback to the roster in the next few days is going to be very important for us.

In our circumstances, it is a really good game for us, but I cannot tell you that I am happy because we lost the game."

Crvena Zvezda made a rough start to the game as they failed to score in the first five minutes of the opening quarter.

Fenerbahce made it 14-0, thanks to easy buckets that came out of transition, which was triggered by some unorganized offense by the visitors.

"Beginning of the game was really bad for us. A lot of bad decisions defensively, transition defense was bad, we made a lot of mistakes. In the offense, there were so many turnovers."

Despite all the adversity, Crvena Zvezda refused to give up early. Thanks to the enhanced defensive efforts and former Fenerbahce Beko player Nikola Kalinic's leadership in the offense, they found a way to rally from a double-digit deficit to go up by 3 at the beginning of the second half, 31-28.

Nevertheless, Ognjen Kuzmic's early foul problem and lack of depth on the bench were the ultimate deciding factors. Fener carried much more energy towards the critical junctures late in the game.

Free throws this season

80%4,0Points made:4,0Accuracy:80,0%Place in standings:18Record max:4Record min:4Most made FTs:Nikola IvanovicTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

"In the second half, I think we played with 8 players. We tried to stay in the game. It was totally different, we played better defense with better focus.

We had problems near the rim, and Fenerbahce created an advantage in this aspect. Last 10 minutes, we had maybe some situations to change things on the court, but it was a win for Fenerbahce."

One of the bright sides of the game for Crvena Zvezda was Nikola Ivanovic, who had known Radonjic from the early days of his career.

Coming to his second EuroLeague season as a summer signing at the age of 27, The Montenegrin guard created a big impact after he was introduced into the game in the late first quarter.

Ivanovic finished the night with his EuroLeague career-best 16 points and 6 assists.

"I know Nikola Ivanovic from the age of 17 when we were both in Buducnost. I agree with you, this was his best Euroleague game. I hope he will continue to play good games for us."

The rough schedule will not give Crvena Zvezda an easy time as they need to play two of their next three games in EuroLeague, away from home.

They are getting ready for their next game in the ABA league against Buducnost on the 4th of October, before flying to Israel to face first-round winners Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv on the 7th.

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