Partizan NIS Belgrade (4-1) bounced back after last week’s loss against Andorra MoraBanc in 7Days EuroCup.
The Serbian powerhouse 84-77 (20-14, 19-24, 27-22, 18-17) beat the visiting Lietkabelis Panevezys (2-3), which suffered their second defeat in a row.
Partizan took control of the game only in the fourth quarter. Alen Smailagic sank a 3-pointer, Gregor Glas and Dallas Moore added buckets from mid-range, and after a 7-0 run, the hosts increased their lead to 13 points (73-60).
Despite that, Lietkabelis managed to organize a comeback. Gabrielius Maldunas converted lay-up, Nikola Radicevic made both free throws and a 3-pointer, while Lietkabelis made an 11-2 run, and with 42.4 seconds left to play Lietkabelis were trailing by 3 points (77-80).
However, Kevin Punter showed his class when it needed the most. The American guard went inside the paint and made a difficult jumper which increased Partizan’s lead to 5 points with 11.2 seconds remaining (82-77).
Zach LeDay was the leader for Partizan as he finished with 19 points (5/6 2PT, 2/3 3P, 3/3 FT), 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 7 drawn fouls, 4 turnovers, and 24 PIR.
Smailagic added 13 points (1/5 2PT, 3/4 3PT, 2/4 FT), 12 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 turnover, 1 block, and 20 PIR.
Meanwhile, Lietkabelis was led by Gediminas Orelik, who accumulated 19 points (2/4 2PT, 4/8 3PT, 3/4 FT), 2 assists, 1 rebound, 1 turnover, and 16 PIR.
Partizan: Zach LeDay 19 (5/6 2PT, 24 PIR), Alen Smailagic 13 (1/5 2PT, 3/4 3PT, 12 REB, 20 PIR), Gregor Glas 13 (3/8 3PT), Aleksa Avramovic 12 (5/6 2PT), Balsa Koprivica 12 (5/6 2PT), Kevin Punter 11 (4/5 2PT).
Lietkabelis: Gediminas Orelik 19 (4/8 3PT), Kristupas Zemaitis 12 (4/5 3PT), Kaspars Berzins 12, Vytenis Lipkevicius 7 (10 REB, 7 AST, 23 PIR).
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