Crvena Zvezda edges Partizan to win 2019 Serbia KLS title

On Monday night KK Crvena Zvezda (Red Star) MTS Beograd edged out Eternal Derby rivals BC Partizan NiS Beograd 75-76 in Game 4 of the Serbia KLS finals to capture the 2018-19 championship.

This is their fifth straight Serbian League crown and serves as an excellent send off for the 2018-19 season. It was a productive campaign as the team also claimed the ABA League championship. That’s two pieces of impressive hardware the organization is adding to their trophy case.

Game 4 was pretty close as expected with Partizan playing their hearts out in this must-win game. In fact, both teams were tied at 52-52 at the end of the third quarter. Closing this one out, a clutch go-ahead layup converted by Red Star’s Billy Baron in the dying seconds to seal the deal. He was also their best player in this game, leading the team with 21 points. Dejan Davidovac and Michael Ojo chipped in with 13 and 12 points, respectively.

On Partizan’s side, a more balanced attack led to Alex Renfroe and Djordje Gagic came through as team scoring leaders with 11 points each.

Crvena Zvezda powered through this Serbia KLS finals win with their solid 3-point shooting, converting 13-of-34 shots from deep. While it was not the most efficient of runs, they used sheer volume to wind up with those extra points on the board. Partizan hit 9-of-26 shots from 3-point range.

This round of the Serbian Eternal Derby definitely goes to Crvena Zvezda and while they’ve been getting the better of their rivals in recent seasons. Fans of Serbian hoops will be staying on their toes as this tug-of-war could swing in the other direction at a moment’s notice.