Crvena Zvezda extends Adriatic lead

Crvena Zvezda Belgrade continued to dominate the Adriatic League with a dominant display over Bulgarian powerhouse Levski Sofia. The Serbian Red Star club travelled to Levski’s own court and put together a stunning display that ended with the scoreboard reading 58-99.

The victory kept Crvena Zvezda cruising at the top of the league table, undefeated and with an impressive 14-0 record. The club has been in superior form this season and is starting to pull away from second placed Buducnost with 11-3. As for Belgrade’s biggest rivals in the competition so far this season, they slipped to defeat at Metalac.

Levski Sofia vs. Crvena Zvezda, 58-99
Levski was outclassed throughout the game and Crvena Zvezda built victory from a strong showing off the glass. The Adriatic League leaders offered 41 rebounds compared to Sofia’s lowly 23, while an unselfish performance from the winners saw them lay on 25 scoring passes.

The visitors started to build victory from the first quarter with an early blitz, especially in defence as Levski could only manage 7 points. After 10 minutes Red Star held a 7-22 lead and were in early command. The scoring hardly picked up for the Bulgarians in the second quarter as they only mustered 10 points, allowing the Belgrade contingent to take a 17-48 lead into the third frame. A thirty point cushion was plenty for the away team to romp to victory through the second half, winning the third stanza 22-23, before storming the final act 19-28 to cap an emphatic win.

Nikola Kalinic set the scoring pace for Crvena Zvezda with 22 points and 7 rebounds, while Maik Zirbes offered 14 points. Three players finished on 11 points, Nikola Rebic, Jaka Blazic, and Nemanja Dangubic.

Dimitar Dimitrov nailed 18 points for the losing effort, followed by Hristo Zahariev with 14 points.