Credit: Buducnost VOLI
Credit Buducnost VOLI

Clutch Nikola Kalinic's free throws earned Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade an important victory in the ABA League against Buducnost VOLI Podgorica 80-76 (19-12, 27-24, 13-23, 21-17) in a hard-fought battle to close in on 1st place in the league's standings.

Points this season

45%
73,8
Points made: 73,8
Accuracy: 45,4%
Place in standings: 16
Record max: 98
Record min: 57
Best scorer: Nikola Kalinic

Crvena Zvezda were the better team in the first quarter and got to an early solid lead of 16-7. The lead grew up to 8 points in the early minutes of the second quarter, but Buducnost were not going to let the EuroLeague team win that easily.

However, when the home team cut the lead down to 2, Zvezda went on a 12-2 run to bolster themselves a 13-point advantage with just under 5 minutes to play in the first half.

It was a different story in the third quarter though. Buducnost went on a huge 15-3 run to recapture the lead (51-49), and the game gained a whole new palette of colors. Marko Jagodic-Kuridza made a two-pointer at the end of the quarter and the teams were even after 30 minutes - 59-59.

The 4th quarter showed who the more experienced team is. The trio of Nate Wolters, Austin Hollins, and Kalinic took the lead into their own hands and notched Zvezda a difficult victory on the road.

Crvena Zvezda were led by Nikola Kalinic who amassed 18 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists for 25 PIR points. Nate Wolters added 14 points, while Luka Mitrovic contributed with 12 points and 5 rebounds.

D.J. Seeley was the top scorer on the Buducnost team with 18 points.

Crvena Zvezda: Nikola Kalinic 18 (4/6 3PT, 5 REB, 4 AST, 25 PIR), Nate Wolters 14 (3/6 3PT), Luka Mitrovic 12 (4/5 2PT), Aaron White 11 (4 REB, 6 AST, 21 PIR).

Buducnost: D.J. Seeley 18 (5/9 3PT), Marko Jagodic-Kuridza 11 (7 REB), Danilo Nikolic 10 (6 REB), Donatas Tarolis 10.

Comments:
We want to hear from you. Be the first to comment!
Thank you for reporting a comment

Add comment

We have the right to remove comments which are offensive, contains abusive language, or violates other rules of the website