Victorious Obradovic: Partizan win triple overtime thriller against EuroLeague team in Istanbul / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Partizan Belgrade Credit Partizan Belgrade

The first match of the Istanball Cup tournament produced a spectacular basketball show. Partizan NIS Belgrade beat AS Monaco120-114 (24-22, 27-14, 18-28, 15-20, 9-9, 9-9, 18-12) after three overtimes.

The first quarter saw 11 lead changes. Partizan had the biggest lead of 5 points, while Monaco were in front by 2. The Belgrade's club won the first period (24-22). Obradovic's squad was led by Punter, LeDay, and Smailagic.

Smailagic initiated a 10-0 run at the start of the second. The Serbian big man scored 8 points in a row and had 15 in total. Lee and Westermann tried to carry Monaco upwards but Partizan continued their domination (51-36).

After a break, Monaco shifted into a higher gear and were able to cut the deficit to 9 points thanks to Andjusic and Motiejunas' buckets. However, Madar and LeDay did not let Partizan release control of the game. The game flow changed as Monaco started to share the ball better. They reduced the margin to 5 points at the end of the third quarter (69-64).

In the last period, teams were trading efficient attacks. But Monaco managed to make a small spurt with 4:58 left to play. Obradovic was forced to call a timeout. After 1 minute pause, Punter hit a crucial three which let Partizan breathe easier. Motiejunas got an unsportsmanlike foul but Belgrade's team missed both free throws (Smailagic) and a dunk (Kurucs).

Monaco spurted 4-0 again and cut their deficit to 1 point (82-81). Smailagic made only one free throw out of 4 in the last minute (83-81). Motum hit a dagger three with 16 seconds to play to turn the score in Monaco's favor (84-83). Punter drew a foul and made one free throw (84-84). The last Monaco attack was unsuccessful. Teams went to overtime.

Lee started the first overtime with 5 points in a row but Smailagic and Avramovic answered with 6 (90-89). Then Diallo made a steal and finished the fastbreak with a two-handed dunk (91-90). Andjusic added two (93-90) but Madar scored from deep (93-93). The last attacks from both sides were not successful. Second overtime.

Squads exchanged with 2 free throws. LeDay's dunk and Smailagic's two-pointer gave the lead to Partizan (97-93). Gray answered with three but Smailagic also hit a shot from behind the arc (102-98). 2 dunks from Boutsiele leveled the result (102-102). The defense was a key during the last attacks. Third overtime.

Andjusic began with 4 points (108-104) but 2 treys from Madar and Punter regained the advantage for Partizan (110-108). Madar's, LeDay's, and Punter's buckets secured the tough victory.

Partizan: Alen Smailagic 32 (8 REB), Zach LeDay 23, Kevin Punter 21, Yam Madar 19.

Monaco: Rob Gray 19, Danilo Andjusic 17, Donta Hall 15 (12 REB), Alpha Diallo 14, Paris Lee 14.

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