Crvena Zvezda Gets 16th Adriatic League Win
The fans of Crvena Zvezda “Red Star” Telekom Beograd (Serbia-KLS) have a lot to cheer about this 2015. Their team kicked off the new year by extending their record-breaking winning streak in the Adriatic League to 16 wins and remain undefeated. The latest victim is Union Olimpija Ljubljana (Slovenia-Telemach League), which had to endure its second loss to the Serbian powerhouse. Crvena Zvezda defeated them in Round 3, 73-65, this time they took them down 81-91 in Round 16. This unprecedented run by Red Star has yet to show signs of waning and they are still on track to achieve a perfect regular season record. At this point, even if they do suffer a streak-ending loss, they have already accomplished an amazing feat in ABA League history that will be difficult to match, let alone surpass. Montenegrin team KK Buducnost Voli Podgorica is a distant second in the standings with their solid 13-3 record.
Red Star took this win on the road and only really locked it down in the fourth quarter. Union Olimpija was boosted by the fan support in their home court and took an early 22-19 lead at the end of the first period. Crvena Zvezda’s reserves, led by Nikola Kalinic, provided a spark of offense in the second quarter to almost even out the score, 47-46.
Despite Red Star’s efforts, Union Olimpija would not crumble under the pressure of their aggressive offense. In fact, they replied with some excellent shooting from beyond the three-point arc to keep pace with the league leaders. The home team was able to knock down seven more treys than their guests, which wound up being a key factor in their ability to keep the game so close throughout the first three quarters of action. With on final period remaining in the game, Union Olimpija sat on a slim two-point lead. The turning point came in the fourth frame. The hosts’ three-point bombs stopped finding their mark and Crvena Zvezda’s preference for higher percentage shots proved to be the more consistent weapon in the last 12 minutes of the battle. Red Star doubled their host’s output in the last quarter 12-24, running them over to seize the important road victory.
As usual Red Star continued to employ a balanced attack, which in this case was able to overcome a game-high 23 points from Union Olimpija’s Klemen Prepelic. Nikola Kalinic led Crvena Zvezda with 21 points. Boban Marjanovic added 15 points and was a perfect 9-of-9 from the free-throw line.