Belgrade’s Red Star beat Fenerbahce (68:56) in a roaring atmosphere of the Štark Arena for an excellent defensive intro into the new season.
Tonight’s match that started with the Red and Whites’ lead, went through a tie-breaking period halfway through when Fenerbahce started playing in style, with a great game by De Colo, who scored 19pts.
However, with a mix of strong defense and good two and three-way passes from Stratos Perperoglu and Dejan Davidovac was enough to bring this faceoff into a much needed positive finish for the home team and only 56 points for the Turkish side..
As last season’s Final Four participants, the players of coach Željko Obradović were unable to get onto their full level, this win gave an incredible boost to the confidence to the Belgrade side.
Post-match energy at Red Star’s locker room:
The atmosphere after the home team’s big win was just as you would expect it: ice packs, good vibes and some local music as the players were answering questions to the overcrowding press:
“It did give us some confidence (winning), beating this good of a team. We gotta keep working hard... We have a good leadership in this locker room, to keep us hungry, to keep us humble. Right now, we’re just gonna stay low, keep our heads down and keep moving forward”, said Billy Baron, as his team mates agreed.
On the other hand, the Fener stars weren’t in a talkative mood, as they were trying to leave the Arena without much noise. “Zvezda played better and won. There isn’t much left to say after that”, concluded Vladimir Štimac, a former Red Star player in a brief encounter with the Serbian press.
The Red and Whites’ next match is played in Tel-Aviv, against Maccabi, as they currently have a 1-1 score in the Euroleague.
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