By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Crvena Zvezda outscored Unicaja Malaga 51-29 in the second half and beat the Spaniards 72-78 on the road, making a decisive step in the battle of qualification, whereas the hosts have already been eliminated.
For the winners, Stefan Jovic had 16 points, five rebounds and seven assists, with Marko Simonovic scoring 12 points and hitting crucial three-pointers in the fourth quarter. On the other hand, Nemanja Nedovic had 22 points for the losing squad, as Will Thomas added 13 points and six boards.
Malaga made a better start to the game and quickly took control of the match (15-8), ending the first quarter in front by eight (20-12).
Later, the Spaniards managed to extend their advantage to double digits (32-21) and closed the first half with a 16-point lead (43-27), as the Serbians were playing very badly, both defensively and offensively.
In the first minutes of the second half, things didn’t change much (49-30), however the visitors quickly came back. Executing perfectly on both ends of the floor, Crvena Zvezda went on a 23-11 run to cut the deficit to seven, after 30 minutes in the game (60-53).
The Serbians started the fourth quarter in an 8-0 run and were in front by one (60-61), however Malaga immediately managed to tie the game (65-65). The visitors, though, went on a 7-15 and secured a crucial win on the road, which increases their chances to qualify to the play-offs.