By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Duane Washington Jr. matched his career high with 40 points as Partizan Mozzart Bet edged out FMP Soccerbet, 84-74, in Game 1 of the AdmiralBet Basketball League of Serbia Semifinals.
The 25-year-old combo guard dominated in Belgrade’s Aleksandar Nikolic Hall on Sunday, sending his side to a 1-0 lead in a best-of-three series. In addition to 13/23 field goals, including five three-pointers, he tallied five assists, three steals, and three rebounds over 36 minutes. Helping his side come back from a double-digit deficit, Aleksej Pokusevski added 18 points.
Due to league restrictions allowing only four foreign players on the active lineup, Sterling Brown, Brandon Davies, Carlik Jones, Tyrique Jones, and Gabriel Iffe Lundberg were not registered for the domestic portion of the 2024-25 campaign. Also, Frank Ntilikina, hurt during warmup for Game 4 of the AdmiralBet ABA League Finals, went on the injury list, alongside Mario Nakic. Isaac Bonga and Vanja Marinkovic were available but did not play.
Beyond being shorthanded on the court, head coach Zeljko Obradovic started serving a four-game suspension stemming from the incidents in last year’s Final. “Since I came to Partizan, I’ve insisted on fair play. I always fight and will keep fighting for that. I’m not someone who can change the world. I can’t speak about the Serbian championship, but everyone knows what happened last year. It was a scandal of unprecedented proportions. I was told the game would resume the next day, so I sent the players home, and then an hour later we were called back to return to the court. Of course, we didn’t do that, and I was suspended for four games. God willing, I’ll never again have to coach Partizan in the Serbian championship, as long as the current people are running the competition,” he said during a postgame press conference after winning the ABA championship, commenting on the sanction.
Spartak steals advantage from Zvezda
Opening a best-of-three series on the opposite side of the bracket on Saturday, Spartak Office Shoes took down Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet, 93-81, in Aleksandar Nikolic Hall, putting the team coached by Giannis Sfairopoulos on the brink of elimination. In addition to injured Joel Bolomboy and Dejan Davidovac, Mike Daum and Rokas Giedraitis remained unregistered for Zvezda.
The Game 2 schedule stretches from Monday to Tuesday, sending both series to opposite venues. Game 3, if necessary, will be played on Wednesday and Thursday.
AdmiralBet Basketball League of Serbia Playoffs
Eighthfinals (home and away)
FMP Soccerbet – Zlatibor Mozzart 207-151 (108-69, 99-82)
Vrsac Meridianbet – Borac Mozzart 162-143 (69-91, 93-52)
Quarterfinals (best of three)
Mega Superbet – FMP Soccerbet 0-2 (81-86, 73-77)
Spartak Office Shoes – Vrsac Meridianbet 2-0 (94-76, 84-83)
Semifinals (best of three)
Partizan Mozzart Bet – FMP Soccerbet 1-0 (84-74)
Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet – Spartak Office Shoes 0-1 (81-93)
Finals (best of three)
Partizan Mozzart Bet / FMP Soccerbet – Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet / Spartak Office Shoes
Photo Credit: ABA-Liga.com